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Just been diagnosed with epilepsy

Wed, 02/10/2016 - 05:14
Hi everyone , I have just been diagnosed with Temporal lobe epilepsy , having partial seizures that they found on my 24 hour EEG , The neurologist didn't go in much detail about it, the appointment lasted 10 mins so it's hard to get all the answers in a short time. I didn't know how often in the EEG that epileptic changes happened he just said often. I have been prescribed Lamotrigine and just wondered if anyone knew how long usually it takes for them to work? they are building me up on them 1 a day for 2 weeks, then 1 twice a day for 2 weeks, then 1 in the morning 2 at night for 2 weeks and finally 2 a day. He has referred me to a epilepsy nurse, would she be able to tell me more about my results?

Comments

Welcome Caz First appts may

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2016-02-10 - 16:26
Welcome Caz First appts may last a short time. The way they are putting you on the medication is slowly. There are reasons for that. When first starting medications a person can have side effects. It is easier to take one off meds at lower dosages then to take someone off a high dosage. I know been there done that. The nurse can probably answer your questions The EEG is a brain wave test showing the electrical output coming from the brain. To answer your question does your heart beat at the same speed every minute or is it slower when you are at rest? Medications for epilepsy are not like aspirin where once taken it goes away after a few hours. Each medication is started slowly because of side effects that might happen. It takes some time for the medication to build up in your body until it is at the therapeutic levels the neurologist wants. If you had been on meds like this and stopped taking it it would take 4=6 weeks for the medication to get completely out of your system. For someone to give you answers on if a medication works fast when putting someone on it or whether it works up to where the doctor wants it. Each person is different and dosages for each person varies. When I was put on medications they started slowly and found out I need more medications then the average person needs. One person may use little amounts. Then there are those like me how can take the maximum dosage and still need another medication to work with it to get better control of ones seizures. As Amy Jo posted establish a good relationship with the neurologist and the nurse. If you do that then your questions may be answered in a phone call rather then a visit. Some people do not want to take medications. I never liked taking them even before I was diagnosed. For me medications have been good and I would not be setting in this forum answering peoples questions if it weren't for medications. This site has a lot of information that people can use. It have this forum and other places you can get answers to your questions. You will get answers to your questions in this forum. Many answers will be from parents or people who have epilepsy and they have researched it. I am old school and I answer from my own experiences and the knowledge I have gotten from my neurologists. When the neurologists went into specialties is basically when they came out with new names for epilepsy and types of seizures. That info is in the get help section. Triggers are listed there and they do need to be watched. Some triggers hit some people and others don't. Lamotrigine is a good medication and I used it for some time. Doc and I wanted more control so we went to another medication and coupled it with another which did help more. I can say that I had been having seizures we didn't know about for about 2 years before having a grand mal seizure. Petite mal and focal seizures are the names used back then. today they would be absence seizures and focal seizures or even land in simple partial seizures. I had been written up for daydreaming in class. Those daydreams were actually seizures. Afterr starting on medications the daydreaminf slowed down a lot, In other words after treatment was started the seizures slowed down vastly. I hope this helps and please come back and let us know how the meds are working and if your seizures have slowed down or you haven't had any. Joe

HI, I've had TLE epilepsy for

Submitted by Suzanne Porter on Wed, 2016-02-10 - 19:38
HI, I've had TLE epilepsy for 44 yrs. and I am taking the same drug you are it took me about 2 full weeks to get up to 300 mg. a day but the med has workedgreat reducing my sz.  I also have found taking vitamin B12 1000 mcg. once a day a big help reducing my sz. also.   I found seeing an Epileptologist the best thing I ever did because these Drs. specialize in epilepsy and are up to date on how to treat someone with E along with keeping them on the least amount of meds.    Start keeping track of your sz. write down on a calendar what time of day/night you have any sz. and describe the sz. by doing this the Dr. may be able to see a pattern in your sz. as to what time of day/night the sz. happens and what days of the month. My Dr. found I had more sz. during the fall and winter which are called "seasonal seizures" this happens because there's less serotonin outside compared to the spring and summer. I also had more sz. when hormones were changing each month.  Stress and lack of sleep and the 2 main things that can trigger a sz. so try and keep calm. Also you may want to go on the ketogenic diet which is a diet for epilepsy the diet is high in fat but low in carbs and starch foods. This diet will help build up ketones in your body which help reduce the sz.  I also lost over 50 lbs. in 4 months while on this diet. Whatever you do stay away from nutra sweet  because the nutra sweet causes more electrical activity in the brain which in turn can trigger sz. for many people. I found this out after drinking diet soda. Keep track of the weather once in awhile a low pressure in the weather can also trigger sz. for some people.  I will sometimes have a sz. 2-3 days before bad weather hits my area and I found out that the air is getting heavier which in turn effects the hormones and that can cause sz. for me and sometimes it bothers other people also.  I wish you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!   Sue

Hi caz,  You may be having

Submitted by Suzanne Porter on Thu, 2016-02-11 - 18:58
Hi caz,  You may be having more sz. in the summer because there's more serotonin outside compared to the fall and winter. If you have any warning that you are going to have a sz. try doing cold water therapy. What you have to do is put a cold washcloth on your face and the back of your neck 3 times a day at the same time and each time you feel a sz. starting up, by doing this it will calm the neurons down in your brain and it will stop the sz. if you catch it in time. When I start to see colors in my eyes or get a nervous feeling in my stomach I will do this. Another thing you can do is tighten up all the muscles in your body and make your hands into tight fists by doing this it stops the sz.. I learned all about this back in the 1970's from my neuro I had then. Wishing you only the best and May God Bless You!  Sue

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