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Do I really have Epilepsy?

Sat, 03/26/2016 - 10:45
I had been having problems since 2009. I felt fatigue, had episodes of brain fog and had an occasional sense of smoke smell. I thought that it was due to poor sleep quality because I never felt rested. I seemed to get the best sleep/rest if I could sleep in to about 8 a.m (I felt like I got better sleep between 4-8 a.m. I went to the doctor and was referred to a sleep specialist. He did a sleep study that only noted minor sleep apnea but noting major (I didn’t really feel like I was able to fall asleep during the study). He then referred me to an ear, nose and throat specialist., who said that he could fix a deviated septum and wanted to remove my uvula to open my airway in an effort to increase quality of sleep. I didn’t get a good feeling about the procedure so I did not proceed. Fast forward to 2015. I was having about a week long episode of smelling smoke, it happened in my office, car and in my home. I was also still having the other problems as weland seemed to happen around 10 a.m. on days that it occurred. I thought the smoke smell was weird so I googled it. I was concerned to see that smelling smoke could be symptom of a brain tumor so I went to my physician who referred me for an MRI. The MRI was normal, but did note 2 “cyst” in the temporal lobe that looked like past trauma. They recommend a re-scan in 3 months, which I did with no change to size or shape was noted. I asked to be referred to a neurologist and was sent to Naval Hospital Bremerton. I relayed my symptoms, and believed I was having seizures. I completed three EEGs, and depending on who read them whether they were normal or showed some activity. I was placed on keppra but was taken off due to anger side effect. I was then placed on lamotrigine starting at 25mg X 2 daily and increased to 150 MG X 2 a day. I feel like I get better sleep on lamotrigine, haven’t had any brain fog episodes or smoke smell problems. However, this medication has brought on a whole new set of problems that seem worse than the initial symptoms. Below is the list of before and after symptoms. Symptoms before medication: Occasional Smoke smell Stuttering/hard to get words out at times Brain fog Headache Hot sweats Symptoms after 7 months on lamotrigine: Memory loss Confusion (increases by stress or lack of sleep) Eye problems (slow focusing/blurred vision) Anxiety Hard to get words out/misspeak order of words or sentences don’t make sense **All are worsening with stress or poor/lack of sleep** Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms, I am not convinced that I have epilepsy?!?!

Comments

The before are parts of

Submitted by just_joe on Sat, 2016-03-26 - 11:31
The before are parts of several different seizures. The cysts could be causing an issue without you knowing it. The EEG's is the question I would have. Some peoples come back normal. I had 20-25 different EEG's that all came back normal. I fell asleep in one which showed abnormal discharges (spikes or waves).. Now the neurologists then went back to the MRI and looked closer at the area those discharges came from and they found scared brain tissue. So that scar tissue is causing the electrical impulses to hit wrong in my brain. Those abnormal discharges can start seizures. The seizure itself is the chain reaction following the abnormal discharge.... Without knowing how long you have been using your lamotrigine it is harder to say much. lamotrigine does work and it takes 4-6 weeks for your body to et used to the medication. With each dosage increase it also takes some time. Seizure medications are not like aspirin where once taken it goes away after some hours. The neurologist set the dosage he wants you to take and that sets the therapeutic level the neurologist wants in you body. The newer medications (todays) have fewer side effects then those I was taking back in the 1960's. Back then they had side effects too and some were like those you posted but I worked to find ways to deal with them. In other words I concentrated no the thing in front of me before moving to the next task. It may sound weird but in doing that my reports and things needed to be done were better supported then the people who sped thru theirs and were on the next task.  When I started doing that my memory was better. It did take longer but I remember almost everything being done or what I did. As for your medications.. You posted you take them 2 times daily. Please be sure to take them at the same time each day. Morning and night. By doing that it can keep a break thru seizure from happening. Take them 12 hours apart. Unless the neurologist tells you otherwise.I hope this helps Joe

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