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How to Determine if it is Temporal Lobe Epilepsy or Schitzophrenia
Mon, 09/15/2014 - 16:33My son is in the US Marines Corp. He sustained Traumatic Brain Injury when he was hit by several IEDs in Afghanistan. He came home to Camp Lejeune and after a year and a half of testing they determined that he had a low grade brain tumor. Brain surgery was performed on him on May 16, 2014 by Dr. Friedman at Duke University. We were told they got all of the tumor and he shouldn't have anymore problems.
In the last few months, he has had several psychotic episodes which included delusions and some hallucinations. We reported these instances to his commanders, but nothing has been done for him.
Two weeks ago we were contacted by his Sgt and stated that he was found walking down the road at 5:00 am saying that he was walking with Jesus home to Alabama. He was hospitalized and immediately given two drugs for psychiatric medications.
We have spoken to him several times on the phone and he will sound himself at times and then others he is completely delusional. He has been agressive and had to be sedated on several occasions.
I have been doing research on anything I could possibly find to explain this behavior and I have finally gotten the doctors there to order an EEG to determine if it could possibly be Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.
Does anyone have any opinion or any information on this that might could help me? I would appreciate it so much.
acentilli - I think that if
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2014-09-17 - 12:34
acentilli - I think that if you think something is not quite right, you should push for more investigation. I have had doctors tell me sorta right things but also incorrect things that don't fit my child but fit their expected experience (problem being not all doctors are so experienced in all the ways things can be a bit wonky) - and when I've thought something is not right, it has been worth it to seek a specialist who knows the topic inside and out. And mereloaded - there are common seizure descriptions associated with different lobes that people use sloppy language to refer to (that is temporal, frontal, occipital, parietal type lobes, I don't think 'right' and 'left' are lobes by themselves but I allow that you probably know that and are as poor a communicator as the rest of the world but, then again, you may be confused by reading things online). The descriptions I've read of TLE associated seizures are more varied than you mention - although I was under the impression that TLE isn't something your child has. I only bothered to read about it because my child has seizures that were misinterpreted by pediatricians and now that I've read more, I can understand it is easy for well intentioned and moderately well educated people, includes doctors, to misinterpret. If you have credentials that apply to diagnosing these things, do let people know.