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Husband with Epilepsy

Mon, 03/02/2015 - 08:03

I'm having trouble coping with my husband's epilepsy. He usually has partial seizures, they started last year. The doctors have no idea what's causing them, and all they're doing is increasing his medication whenever he has an episode. Yesterday I had him taken to the hospital because he had two seizures back to back and they were much worse than they have been. He turned blue, and convulsed, and I think he bit his tongue because his spit was bloody. Afterwards he became very combative (which is also unusual) and was grabbing at me and my 2 yr old. I got the baby away from him and he was fine, but he pinned me down and wouldn't let me up.. it was scary. We've talked about his reluctance to obey the doctor's orders, like not driving and I think I'm finally starting to get through to him on that note but I'm terrified to leave him alone in the same room as the baby anymore, because of what could happen. He wants two more children and I don't think I can even think about having more until we figure out what the fuck is going on and get it under control. But at the same time, I also know a lot of seizures and seizure disorders are idiopathic so we might never know their origin. Hes currently being discharged from the navy because of the seizures and thankfully my step mother knows a lot of very good doctors, because the Navy isn't running anymore tests and have pretty much given up on determining the cause.

Comments

I know about the side effects

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2015-03-04 - 13:59
I know about the side effects. I also know that it takes time for the medication levels to get to the therapudic levels the doctor had set. It does taake time for levels to be brought up. Seizure medications are not like asperin where when you take it it stops the seizures right then. There are no one size fits all medications for seizure control. Each persons seizures are different. Just like each persons medication and dosages are different, If the doctor prescribed a medication he generally has a patient how is being helped with that medication and the dosage he is put on is started at levels low enough to start stopping the seizures. A visit is generally set for 2-3 months and the petient is askes questions. Those questions and the answers generally let the doctor know if the dosage needs to be increased or decreased. With each cahnge on the dosage the levels need to start again and the next visit will be made in order for the doctor to know if those changes worked or didn't work. Doc knows that it takes a higher dosage of medications for me. So he wouldn't put me on a dosage that is for people that haven't taken any seizure medications.  I do know that it is a tring delima. It is both hard on the person with epilepsy and hard on family members. I am the person that has epilepsy. I also know that medications take time to get adjusted in the body. I also know it was hell on Mom.Keppra is the best medication I have ever used in stopping my seizures and I have been dealing with seizures and epilepsy for 50+ years..Keppra reduced the number of seiuzres I was having and the time in those seizures and time to get back to normal. The seizures I was having were simple partial seizures which lasted a few minutes. The time to get back to normal was 15-45 minutes. Now I can have a simpal partial seizure while in a group of people discussing something and they would know nothing about the seizure. If I had one I don't fall. I can hear and understand what is going on. I had one while discussing a problem in my PG's office. It delayed an answer to his question. after we had finished with that part I asked him what he thought the delay was in my answer. He said he thought I was trying to come up with words I wanted to use. when I told him it was a seizure he was amazed. SInce he had seen me in some of my seuzyres before and he knew what they looked like back then. He wants me to stay with my neurologist even tho he is with another hospital. Ifhe had a convulsion then he may have other seizures. When I was diagnosed hte diagnosis was Grand Mal, Petite Mal and Focal Motor epilepsy. That was man many years ago. So I know that a person can have more then 1 type of seizure. I spoke of keppra and it reducing my seizures. It did but Doc and I wanted fewer seizures. Doc coupled my Keppra with Vimpat. It helped reduce the seizures farther and the dosage was incresed again. After that the number of seizures was reduced to the numbers I posted up htere ^^^ before th coupling was done I was still having 6-8 seizures a month. Now the number is 2-3 a month and at time none a month. Also understand is his medications are prescribed 2 times a day those times need to be 12 hours apart. If they are taken at 7 am and 10 pm that 3 hour delay can bring on breakthru seizures. I would suggest you talk to his neurologist and see if coupling the keppra with another medication.  I hope this helps and he gets seizure free.................I also think that yall might have a fre more kids Joe

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