surgery? or not.

Hey Jackie, My old neuro mentioned surgery a few times to me and I have the same thoughts/feelings that you seem to have. I had to change dr the first of the year and because of that they did all the tests over and on the MRI they found something...all the others have been fine. My neuro wants me to get a 2nd opinion from a neurosurgon. I go in on May 17 and I am not sure what to expect. I can keep you posted. Anyone else who knows more...I would like info too. Mary

Hi Jackie, My story goes on for a while, and I'd hate to bore you, so I'll try to keep it short. I had a partial lobectomy in my left temporal lobe 6 weeks ago (in mid-March). So far, so good. No seizures which is a very good sign that it was a success. I will go for tests in June, once my brain swelling has eased. At that time, they will do an IQ, MRI, sleep EEG, and blood tests. Surgery has been wonderful in many ways and I certainly don't regret the decision I made. The surgery was tough though, physically and emotionally, and I wouldn't have considered it if my seizures weren't so out of control. While I had epilepsy starting about age 13, I wasn't diagnosed and treated until I was just a day away from age 26. From 26-35, I tried many meds. Most didn't work at all, and those that did work caused extreme side effects for me. I didn't have much choice but to try and prevent seizures some other way. I saw an epileptologist (which I GREATLY recommend you doing) to give his opinion on my case. That is when I began understanding exactly how poorly controlled my seizures were for so many years and the effect they were having wasn't good. The epi told me that I seemed to be a good candidate for surgery (before any of the major testing), so I decided to go forward with all of the tests. The tests still kept me as a lobectomy candidate, but we wouldn't know for sure whether or not my focus could be removed until after I had seizures after craniotomy testing (major brain surgery to implant devices--that records all brain activity within the spot/s). They wouldn't know for sure whether or not my focus/foci could be removed until after they saw exactly what that focus was in charge of, if it would have a major effect on my language or memory. I had my seizures quickly, and the decision was made by ALL docs that I was a terrific candidate for a partial lobectomy. It was still up to me, and I made the decision to go for it. Best of luck to you! I hope that things go well for you.. Heather :)

Jackie Not to push you away from surgery, for I had many surgeries in the past for left temporal lobe surgery. But you said you went seizure free for 11 months. You need to really think of what is happening before you make another decision. What where you doing at the time? What has changed? Are you going through any hormone changes? For having surgery is not going to change anything if you are having seizures because of hormones. Is your diet changed from last year? When I make changes in my seizures, I make sure I figure out if it is the right decision or not, by going over everything. Just keep this in mind, for surgery can cause scare tissue too. It doesnt always happen but it can and cause problems. Hope these questions help make your decision. FOr it is very scary that is just natural to respond like that. Take care and good luck with your decision Lisa http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/epilepsyapproach/