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Fifteen and Struggles with Epileptic Dad

Fri, 01/23/2015 - 23:26

Hi,

I'm 15 and my dad has had frontal lobe epilepsy since he was about 30. His triggers are hunger, stress, physical stress, and lack of sleep. I am writing for any suggestions/similar experiences, or really anything. I'm confused about his condition, and, as far as I know, they're arent many people with similar experiences to mine.

Early in my life, I can recall my dad having abstence seizures, very minor ones were he'd go around the house, and sometimes even fold laundry, or wipe down countertops. The only difference from his normal state was that he didnt seem to hear people when they talked, and wouldnt speak either. If we started talking to him, he would give us a small smile and ignore us. When he started to come out of it, he would be confused, and ask me questions repeatedly. Once he came out of an episode and demanded I get my shoes on; we were going on a walk. I think they lasted about 5 minutes, and they never really affected my life very much. Later, my parents divorced, which I later realized might've had something to do with his epilepsy. He was always forgetting things, and it could come off as him being inconsiderate. I think the memory loss was due to his medication, but I honestly don't know anything.

After my parents divorced, the epilepsy got worse. Sometimes he would run during a seizure, just run anywhere and unexpectedly. His reasoning skills seemed to decrease too. He would make irresponsible decitions. I think he got in about 5 car crashes before he got his liscence revoked. He went on this spiral downwards at one point. He stopped taking his medication which he said "wasnt fixing the problem." He had seizures, longer seizures, and more seizures. He had never had a grand mal seizure before, but he did, and I think it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I called the ambulance, and a while later, he told me he didnt want me to call one again; I could handle a seizure myself.

Behind my dad is a family that discourages open talk about epilepsy. I dont know if this contributed to any of his behavior, but my dad was very secretive about his condition. He told me it made people uncomfortable, and I agree it does, but I think it made him even more uncomfortable.

My dad decided to learn a bit about his epilepsy, so he explored the prospect of surgery. To locate the exact location of the epilepsy, doctors drilled holes in his skull and positioned sensors around his head. In the end, my dad and his doctor concluded the risks were too high, and learning to speak again would be too tedious. He decided to try medical marijuana, and it helped him a lot.

Ever since then, my dad has had explosive anger issues, exceptionally irrational thinking, and a very strange perception of emotion. When he gets mad, its usually unprovoked, because of built up stress. He cant contain it. It's hard to maintain a relasionship with him.

Dont worry about me though. I'm safe and ok.

Please write. I'm looking for any thoughts on it, and I'll answer any questions.

 

 

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