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Hi I'm a new to the site

Wed, 10/25/2006 - 12:15
Hi, I am 25 years old, I have partial complex seizures, and I was reason diagnose with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. I have been taken medicine since I was about 13 years old. I start off with Tegretol, and once god blesses the doctors to get me on the correct dosage to prevent me from having seizures. I was able to drive once I turned 17 years old and I was blessed to be seizure free until I turned 24 years old. I had peer pressure to smoke weed at early age, and since I knew I had seizures I was not move by the peer pressure to pursue smoking period. My doctor told me if I drink then I would have seizures and I only had one drink in my life and that was on my 21 first birthday. Last year, I worked in a cooperate office and I had a seizure at work and it a great effect on my life was not getting my body enough sleep and a lot of time going off my second wind. I was taking tegretol at the time since and I then switch to a second drug which was tegretol XR and I still had a seizure, and I was switch to Lamictal and had a great side of effect of being by-polar, so then I started Keppra. I had a seizure on Lamictal and my doctor prove that sleep, stress, and missing medicine, and not taking my dosage on time was not causing my seizures. I was referred to a different specialist at Washington University in Saint Louis, and I under took some testing. I had to take a pet scan, MRI, and was put on EEG monitoring so they could find where my seizures was coming from. Every thing match to left temporal lobe and all the test match the same spot in which the seizures were coming from. The doctors think I an excellent candidate for surgery with a 60-80 percent chance of not having seizures. I am now at the stage of making a serious decision on what choice I should make regarding my seizures. I could have left temporal lobe surgery, try to find another medicine (which have a ten percent chance of controlling or preventing less seizures), or they could insert some thing like a pace maker kind of thing in my chest to send electros to the brain (which have a ten percent chance of controlling or preventing less seizures), or have a strict diet to follow to prevent or control the seizures.

Comments

Re: Hi I'm a new to the site

Submitted by Jonzen on Sun, 2006-10-29 - 19:41
Jonathan, Hi! You are going through quite a time right now. So many paths from which to choose. Have you made any decision since you wrote on the 25th? I am always uneasy about surgery, but that's just me. Can you tell me more about the strict diet you mentioned? I would like to hear about it. I have had seizure activity for longer than I care to think about.......since I was 15.....and I am 55 now!!! S--t! I'm taking Dilantin still. But a diet? What would it be? I've heard that wheat is not good for E. I do not drink, smoke, I am vegan, and I watch my sugar and salt. Boring! Anyway, nice to meet you! Hope to read more from you. "Be kind to all that lives"

Re: Re: Hi I'm a new to the site

Submitted by angel_lts on Tue, 2006-10-31 - 09:37
Jonzen, The diet would be great, it can partially help. I personally have been on the ketogenic diet as an adult. Our brains are fully developed so most likely you will not be seizure free, but will help some seizures. I see you are a vegetarian. Well this diet would certainly be hard for you to do. For this is a high protein, high fat diet. Look into http://www.andrewsreiter.com/ or Neurofeedback http://www.eegspectrum.com/ Also check out my group for info take care Lisa http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/epilepsyapproach/

Re: Re: Re: Hi I'm a new to the site

Submitted by Jonzen on Wed, 2006-11-01 - 09:34
Thank you Lisa! I will look into the sites you listed. Today I am going to visit with a Kinesiologist that I trust. Last night I read a lot of information about the side-effects of Dilantin. Most of what I am experiencing these days as borderline challenges (memory loss, lack of drive and purpose, depressive tendencies, easy bruising and bleeding, tingling and numbness in my toes and sometimes fingers) can all be attributed to Dilantin. Not to mention the negative effect on my liver and possibly even my brain! This really is bothersome! Ethically I will not take another life. Thus I practice veganism. Today's treatment might illuminate some aspects of my current state of being and might help direct me also. I wish, of course, that we didn't have to take a form of poison in order to stop the negative effects of epilepsy! Thank you so much for your compassion, Jonzen "Be kind to all that lives"

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