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Middle-Aged Adults With a Seizure Disorder
Tue, 08/08/2006 - 15:26I am a 52 year old male and just recently started having seizures. I have yet to be diagnosed as having epilepsy and am still going through the process of elimination through EEG study and monitoring, and also psychological treatment. My Psy therapist believes my seizures are pseudoseizures [a term I have never heard before last week].
If my seizures are diagnosed to be idiopathic, I refuse to call them pseudoseizures, a very incorrect name, as these seizures are all too real and extremely dangerous and debilitating. I went from total independence to total dependence in a matter of two months. What do I do and where do I turn?
According to my therapist and Psychiatrist, if I am having pseudoseizures, then I have complete control over them. Oh really?!!! Why would I give up my freedom? It all sounds a bit judgemental.
When the medical community doesn't have an answer, they point to the psychiatric community, and when they don't have an answer, they invent one.
Comments
Re: Middle-Aged Adults With a Seizure Disorder
Submitted by maggie on Tue, 2006-08-08 - 19:53
Buckboyy~ I totally understand what you are going through,because I'm going throught the exact samething as you,even the same age.I would love to chat with you sometime.Wow!sounds like I wrote what you said.Really hit home for me.God bless you
Re: Re: Middle-Aged Adults With a Seizure Disorder
Submitted by Ree on Tue, 2006-08-08 - 22:15
I started having Grand-Mal seizures 5 years ago after the death of my late husband.I had about 8 in 2 months.Until last week I had been seizure free.Back 5 years ago I to was told they were pseudo-seizures brought on by the trauma of my husbands death.I bought it at the time even though no tests were done because it did seem possible considering how traumatic it all was.Now here I am happily re-married with a fairly good and happy life and on the 2nd I had a seizure at home in which I actually stopped breathing and when the hospital released me I had another one in the cab I was taking home and returned to the ER.Yesterday when I notified my primary,he said I was to immediatley go through the ER where him and a Neuro met me and had a CT scan and Lumbar puncture done.Both were fine.Next is the MRI and EEG.For right now they have me on Valium because they don't want to start me on seizure meds until a definite diagnosis is made.Both DR.s seem to think the pseudo diagnosis is wrong because what I have is Grand-Mal and there are different things that happen with those that don't happen with pseudos.If they were pseudos why would I out of no where have two of them after not having any for 5 years?They think it's either adult onset Epilepsy or that there's scar tissue on my brain caused by several head traumas I suffered in my 20's.I had my first one at 35 and had them for about 2 months and then they just stopped for 5 years until the other day.I've had a terrible headache since that day.They also say since I have migraines,chronic and cluster headaches that those could be the cause as well.I've also for the past year had these episodes where I'll be in a dead sleep and my body will jerk so violently it wakes me and sometimes my husband up.Does anyone here have that happen while there sleeping?It's not just my leggs it's my entire body.
Re: Middle-Aged Adults With a Seizure Disorder
Submitted by m.campbell on Tue, 2006-08-08 - 16:46
I STARTED HAVING MY BUDDYS AS I LIKE TO CALL THEM IN 85 ALL WAS WELL DRUGS WERE WORKING TO KEEP THEM UNDER CONTROL TILL 98 WHEN ON NEW YEARS DAY I WAS GETTING READY FOR WORK WHEN THE NEXT THING I KNOW IM ON THE FLOOR OF THE BATHROOM NOT KNOWING WHERE THE HECK I AM SINCE THEN AND AND ALMOST EVERY DRUG AND A VNS THERE IS IM STILL HAVING MY BUDDYS IM ON A NEW DRUG NOW THAT SEEMS TO HAVE CUT THEM DOWN SOME BUT THE SIDE AFFECTS ARE HARD ON ME.BUT DONT GIVE UP IT TOOK A LONG TIME THE FIRST TIME TO GET THEM UNDER CONTROL YOU CAN DO IT IM 54 AND DO ALOT OF THINGS HUNT FISH GARDEN AND PLAY ON HERE!!!! MIKE