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My husband has sz. from a car accident in 1977

Mon, 07/12/2010 - 20:54
Hello. My husband had his first sz almost 5 years ago. He was in the hospital for 7 days. He does not remember clearly what happened two wks before and DAYS afterwards. He is on depekote 1250 mg a day. The doctors found that it was from an accident he had in 1977. He had hit his forehead on the steering wheel of his car and now has scar tissue. They said they could operate to remove this but it would only cause more scar tissue etc. He was clear up until November of 2009. He had another. I was not there for the first one but was for the last one. It was the middle of the night. Thank God I am a first responder at work as I did not panic. I just did what I had to do. Not that I wasen't freaked out because I surely was. I have been reading alot of the discussions on here and feel so much better that there are others out there that are going through the same thing we are. Some of those things are him not believing he has had a sz., feeling spacey, or as one guy said like he's walking through sand. Having docs that don't listen. Also he is very unsteady most of the time. He will stumble or wobble. Sunday he fell down some stairs and said it was because he was looking at pictures on the wall but I'm not sure if he's being totally honest. I have been reading alot of things that I find here to him and I think he is finally realizing that we are not kidding with him about this. He hasent believed that he ever had one. I even told him one time that I was going to tape him if it ever happened again. We laughed when I said it but then he said maybe thats a good idea. I really feel for him that he has the short term memory loss. This is a guy thats always been at the top of his game and it kills me that this frustrates him so bad. I think my question is (now that i have all of the other things off my chest) He said he has these times when he feels like he's kind of not there and doesn't feel like he's doing anything right. And he really can't do much. This can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to all day. We call them "Bad Days". The doc didn't really understand when he was trying to explain so he ordered a 24hr eeg which of course came up normal. Does anyone else experience this? I've been handling things pretty well but am at the end of my rope for answers. If anyone out there has these same feelings that he does or has family members that do please contact us. thank you all in advance and I am SO glad I stumbled on this sight, it has already helped us out even though this is the first time I am posting.

Comments

Re: My husband has sz. from a car accident in 1977

Submitted by phylisfjohnson on Tue, 2010-07-13 - 11:32

This comes from braininjury.com: "Unfortunately, seizures may develop immediately after an injury to the brain or may develop in delayed fashion, showing up months or years after the initial trauma. Generally speaking, the risk of post traumatic seizures is related to the severity of the injury- the greater the injury, the higher the risk of developing seizures. Even mild to moderate injuries can result in seizures.

There are many kinds of seizures and seizures are not an uncommon condition among persons without head injuries. It is thought that a head injury disrupts the pathways of the brain and that an epileptic seizure can be viewed as a sort of short circuit of the brain's electrical functioning. During the seizure the electrical fields in the brain are overloaded, resulting in seizures...

Longer onset epilepsy beginning more than four years after the trauma occurs in 20% of patients who developed epilepsy...

There is a type of seizure know as "Complex Partial-Seizure Disorder." A majority of the persons suffering these more subtle types of seizure (in which one's perception is changed, sensors are altered, blanking out occurs and other more subtle things occur) would have normal findings on the EEG. However, all of the patients in the studies confirming this disorder had evidence of cerebral dysfunction on neuropsychological testing."     Phylis Feiner Johnson www.epilepsytalk.com

 

This comes from braininjury.com: "Unfortunately, seizures may develop immediately after an injury to the brain or may develop in delayed fashion, showing up months or years after the initial trauma. Generally speaking, the risk of post traumatic seizures is related to the severity of the injury- the greater the injury, the higher the risk of developing seizures. Even mild to moderate injuries can result in seizures.

There are many kinds of seizures and seizures are not an uncommon condition among persons without head injuries. It is thought that a head injury disrupts the pathways of the brain and that an epileptic seizure can be viewed as a sort of short circuit of the brain's electrical functioning. During the seizure the electrical fields in the brain are overloaded, resulting in seizures...

Longer onset epilepsy beginning more than four years after the trauma occurs in 20% of patients who developed epilepsy...

There is a type of seizure know as "Complex Partial-Seizure Disorder." A majority of the persons suffering these more subtle types of seizure (in which one's perception is changed, sensors are altered, blanking out occurs and other more subtle things occur) would have normal findings on the EEG. However, all of the patients in the studies confirming this disorder had evidence of cerebral dysfunction on neuropsychological testing."     Phylis Feiner Johnson www.epilepsytalk.com

 

Re: My husband has sz. from a car accident in 1977

Submitted by shellylp on Mon, 2010-07-19 - 18:36

Thank you for the information. The last part is very helpful. Hubby in bed now but will read this to him tomorrow. Just want him to know he's not alone and not going crazy. Thanks again so much!

Thank you for the information. The last part is very helpful. Hubby in bed now but will read this to him tomorrow. Just want him to know he's not alone and not going crazy. Thanks again so much!

Re: My husband has sz. from a car accident in 1977

Submitted by phylisfjohnson on Tue, 2010-07-20 - 08:22

Shelly, there are other diagnostic testing options you might want to explore:

CAT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) or CT (Computed Tomography) – provides detailed information about the structure of the brain by using a series of X-ray beams passing through the head to create cross-sectional images of the brain.

These may reveal abnormalities (blood clots, cysts, tumors, scar tissue, etc.) in the skull or brain which may be related to seizures. It allows physicians to examine the brain, section by section, as the test is being conducted and helps to point to where a person’s seizures originate.

MRI ( Magnetic Resonance Imaging) – provides a detailed picture of brain structures which helps physicians locate possible causes of seizures and identify areas that may generate seizures.

Because seizures can arise from scar tissue in the brain, an MRI can show scar tissue and allow doctors to determine the nature of it. The images produced from the MRI are extremely precise. The information provided is valuable in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with epilepsy.

Functional MRI – takes images in “real time” sequence and faster than the traditional MRI. By providing information about active brain tissue function and blood delivery, it is more precise and is often used to create a “map” of the brain and indicate where language, motor, and sensory areas are located. During the scan, the patient is asked to perform certain tasks, such as tapping fingers or repeating a list of words. From the image, the neurological team can locate the exact seizure area of the brain.

Has anybody suggested further testing?    Phylis Feiner Johnson    www.epilepsytalk.com

 

Shelly, there are other diagnostic testing options you might want to explore:

CAT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) or CT (Computed Tomography) – provides detailed information about the structure of the brain by using a series of X-ray beams passing through the head to create cross-sectional images of the brain.

These may reveal abnormalities (blood clots, cysts, tumors, scar tissue, etc.) in the skull or brain which may be related to seizures. It allows physicians to examine the brain, section by section, as the test is being conducted and helps to point to where a person’s seizures originate.

MRI ( Magnetic Resonance Imaging) – provides a detailed picture of brain structures which helps physicians locate possible causes of seizures and identify areas that may generate seizures.

Because seizures can arise from scar tissue in the brain, an MRI can show scar tissue and allow doctors to determine the nature of it. The images produced from the MRI are extremely precise. The information provided is valuable in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with epilepsy.

Functional MRI – takes images in “real time” sequence and faster than the traditional MRI. By providing information about active brain tissue function and blood delivery, it is more precise and is often used to create a “map” of the brain and indicate where language, motor, and sensory areas are located. During the scan, the patient is asked to perform certain tasks, such as tapping fingers or repeating a list of words. From the image, the neurological team can locate the exact seizure area of the brain.

Has anybody suggested further testing?    Phylis Feiner Johnson    www.epilepsytalk.com

 

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