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Left Temporal Lobectomy

Tue, 11/08/2011 - 21:24
I had my first seizure February 2010. I was away at college in my apartment talking to my mom on the phone then the next thing I knew I was at the hospital. My mom said I started crying saying I was scared then she heard the phone moving around and me gurgling. She called my boyfriend and he had to bust in the door to get me and said that I looked fine at first then realized I wasn't all there and could tell I didn't know what was going on. I next remember sitting at the hospital and the nurse asking simple questions and I couldn't think of the answers. Later after running tests and leaving the hospital I felt fine just tired. Afterwards I started taking zonegram which made me extremely emotional so my doctor started me on keppra and had me on 5000mg that made me angry all the time and I'm not an angry person but I was still experiencing auras. I then decided to get a second oppinion who said that was too high of a dosage and started easing me onto lamictal. I'm now on 350mg of lamictal and 500mg of keppra twice a day and still experiencing auras. My doctor said its a long chance of the medicine to completely stop the auras and has strongly suggested a left temporal lobectomy. I'm 21, in college, and have one year left after this and I'm majoring in education so I will need to be driving to the schools so I'm thinking about having the procedure this summer but I'm pretty scared. I was hoping to get some feedback and ease my mind.

Comments

Re: Left Temporal Lobectomy

Submitted by dt.2507 on Wed, 2011-11-09 - 06:02

My advise - you should only have a left-temporal lobectomy as your LAST choice.  Medication does work for some people so you should rather give it a chance - you may have to try several different medications and hopefully, you will find some which work for you. 

I think you must read up - a lot - about the effects of LTL.  

I tried hard to find medications that worked, and unfortunately I didn't. Only then did I have a LTL.  It does affect you - my memory is poor and so is my concentration and I battle with words. I struggle to do my work. If I'd had a choice, I would rather have been on medication.

Do some more reading, ask lots of questions and get more advise.  

My advise - you should only have a left-temporal lobectomy as your LAST choice.  Medication does work for some people so you should rather give it a chance - you may have to try several different medications and hopefully, you will find some which work for you. 

I think you must read up - a lot - about the effects of LTL.  

I tried hard to find medications that worked, and unfortunately I didn't. Only then did I have a LTL.  It does affect you - my memory is poor and so is my concentration and I battle with words. I struggle to do my work. If I'd had a choice, I would rather have been on medication.

Do some more reading, ask lots of questions and get more advise.  

Re: Left Temporal Lobectomy

Submitted by anotaris on Fri, 2012-09-28 - 09:47
HI .. it took him many years to come to this conclusion.. but he wants the doctors to assure him he can go back to work and you know they can't promise anything... He is a lawyer and CPA and we have 4 young children. Did you have the deep electrodes and grid surgery before the lobectomy? Did they tell you your personal risks on memory issues from your wada results prior to moving forward? Where did you have your surgery? His Wada test shows that the left side is still functioning well.. which is the bad part.. our surgeon said the wada test is notoriously inaccurate and from the grid surgery we should get a better picture of how his memory and language will be effected and at that point we can still have the LTL or close up and forget it. No medications work for my husband.. he has been trying medication combos for 17 years and even tried the neuropace. amanda

Re: Left Temporal Lobectomy

Submitted by anotaris on Thu, 2012-09-27 - 18:59
Hello. My husband has decided to go forward in Nov with Left TL surgery. I was wondering if you ever decided to move forward and have the surgery. I have come across a lot of success stories but I am still scared to death for him and our family.

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