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New Doctor: Will this work?
Mon, 09/10/2007 - 13:43Hi,
I am going to write a bit because I need your assistance. I have been with an epileptologist for several years, in the hope that I could finally end the breakthrough seizures I have. However, the complex partials, as many of us know, are difficult to control. Generally, I have 4 to 6 complex partials a year. Although this is not much, as most of us discover, just one seizure can have an impact on your driving, career, children, etc.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am seriously thinking about changing my doctors from the current epileptologist to a well known epilep. specialist. However, the potential epilep. specialist is suggesting taking me off the medication for one week to see how I will react.
I guess my question to you is has anyone ever done this? You come off the medication for one to two weeks, the doctor observes you and then after a short period of time, you are returned to medication. Hopefully, the observation will lead the new doctor to a successful diagnosis.
Has anyone ever done this? Successfully? Can you go back on your medication? Does this even work?
I take 2000 mg of carbitrol.
Thanks!
Comments
I have had the VEEG. I had
Submitted by pan06 on Mon, 2007-09-10 - 22:03
I have had the VEEG. I had nine seizures while I was in the hospital. During my stay, my doc saw on the EEG that my seizures were bilateral. My doc is actually the president/leader of the UAB Epilepsy Center. He thinks that my seizures come from one side (according to the tests I have had). I am glad that he is taking the next step to see if they are coming from one side. I go October 24 for depth electrodes. All in all, my doc does not want me to lose the opportunity of temporal lobectomy, if my seizures are coming from one side.
Grant it I still have break-through seizures all the time. He increases my meds until I am maxed out on the dose and then he switches my meds. I am allergic to five seizure meds and have failed on two others. At least he is trying to get a hold of my seizures.
I would recommend, that if your neurologist is not making the effort to get your seizures under control, to swith to a new neurologist/epileptologist. Since I have been going to UAB and have had a doc that actually cares about me and my probs, I have had a better outlook on life. I am not near as depressed as what I was, and I look at the good things in life. At least I can work, while others have seizures so bad that they cannot even work. So all in all, consider yourself lucky that you are only having a couple of seizures a year, while others are having 20 a day.
Re: I have had the VEEG. I had
Submitted by Seruzies on Tue, 2007-09-11 - 00:22
I have been having quite a bit of seizure activity in the past few weeks, and have been given many different medications to try. I think I caught my Neuro a little off guard when I said, "Let play hit or miss with another one." I then asked him, "You don't know for sure, you're just trying until we find one that works." He then rolled his eyes at me, shrugged his shoulders, and tore the new script off of his pad.
Today it isn't uncommon for
Submitted by solis on Mon, 2007-09-10 - 19:16
Today it isn't uncommon for people to be hospitalized while take off meds so they can be medically observed. I had this done while on a VEEG when being tested for surgery. I was taken off meds for a week and was sucessfully put back on meds before I exited the hospital. Best of luck with your new physician, ~sol