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Epilepsy Mental health- help

Fri, 03/13/2020 - 08:51
Hi guys. This is a very long story so brace yourselves... 13 years ago I suffered my first seizure, I had 3 more all during pregnancy and then I was very lucky and went 12 years seizure free on lamotrigine 400mg. All up until now :-( in Jan this year I was at work and had a feeling I’d not had in a very very long time- an aura/partial seizure, these used to be followed by a grand-mal but nothing happened and I went on about my business! Anyway weekend came and it happened again, this time I was worried! All sorts going through my mind! Anyway to cut a long story short for 3 months now I’ve been having auras but no grand- malls following, neuro put me on Clobozam thinking it was due to an infection anyway that didn’t help so he has now put me on keppra alongside my lamotrigine. Day 2 of the keppra and I am still having my partials- I am heartbroken this has come back! It’s always been something I’ve swept under the carpet, I’ve always been ashamed to say I’m epileptic, I don’t know why I just have! Since this has all kicked off again I’ve been severely depressed, not going out, not going in work, having suicidal thoughts u name it I’ve felt it. Please help! Any success stories, advice anything will be much appreciated at the minute!

Comments

Hi, Thank for posting. We

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2020-03-13 - 09:45
Hi, Thank for posting. We understand this must feel frustrating and upsetting for you to experience, especially since you had not had a seizure in several years. It’s important to remember that you are NOT alone, and we do have resources available that can help. If you ever need to speak with someone immediately,  please contact our 24/7 Helpline: 1-800-332-1000, where trained information specialists are available to answer your questions, offer help, hope, support, guidance,and access to national and local resources epilepsy.com/helpline , or by calling the national suicide prevention lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ .We know that living with epilepsy is more than seizures, it also means learning how to handle the way epilepsy affects your life including your physical well-being, social and emotional health. https://www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/healthy-living/emotional-health . One of the most important things to help you live with epilepsy is to find a support network. The Epilepsy Foundation has many resources available that can help you find your support network. Contact your local Epilepsy Foundation, here: https://www.epilepsy.com/affiliates , to find support groups, events, and programs in your community. Additionally, you may want to consider participating in treatment, seizure and lifestyle management programs, that can help people with epilepsy learn skills to better manage their epilepsy and its effects on daily life: https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/managing-your-epilepsy/what-managing-epilepsy-well-network . Treatment and how the body may react to certain medications varies for each individual. The goal of treatment with medicines should be –No Seizures and No Side Effects. However, we know that some individuals may experience too many side effects, that are very bothersome or cause other health problems. It is common for some people living with epilepsy to report experiencing feelings of depression. It’s important that you’re continuing to address these challenges with your healthcare team who can work with you to help determine what individual treatment plan is best for you. Be open and honest about how you’re feeling, and how this is affecting your health and daily life. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/challenges-epilepsy .You may also want to consider keeping a journal or a diary to help track your seizures and document how you’re feeling. My Seizure Diary: https://www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/epilepsy-foundation-my-seizure-diary ,is a great tool for identifying & tracking seizures, setting reminders, managing medications & side effects, recording medical history, moods, behaviors, triggers, and other therapies or personal experiences, that may affect seizures and wellness, which can be shared with your healthcare team.

Hi. I’m a licensed clinical

Submitted by Patriotrehab on Fri, 2020-03-13 - 13:47
Hi. I’m a licensed clinical social worker (psychotherapist) and a person with epilepsy. As my epilepsy specialist said to me one time, it can take up to five days for a missed dose to build back up into your blood and that can cause a seizure...so if we apply that principle to just starting a medication...we can expect that it can take at a week or more before we start to see an improvement in our symptoms too and that’s if it’s the right medication for our seizures and body. If you do not experience improvement with the Keppra and you are not already connected with an epilepsy specialist at an epilepsy center, then I strongly encourage you to talk with your neurologist about getting you connected to a good one to see if further testing like long term video EEG monitoring, high resolution MRI or a new perspective (second opinion) may help him to figure out what is going on with your seizures since you’ve had this change. Please also continue to monitor your mood and suicidal thoughts especially if they are situational or if they are getting worse because Keppra can have a negative affect on some people’s mood and cause suicidal thoughts. If it’s getting worse for you and not just feelings of despair over your seizures, it may be medication related and you need to tell your doctor right away.

Don't worry too much, I know

Submitted by KevinT on Fri, 2020-03-27 - 01:10
Don't worry too much, I know that saying that doesn't help though. You also need to be very careful about what is real and what is not when on Keppra. The depressed thoughts may be a result of the drug. I was on it last year, about maximum dose for 6 months and I pretty much lost touch with 'normality' (if it affects your mind badly, then the answer is not to take more of it !! It is easy for me to say now but I had trouble being strong at the time as I questioned everything - including my questioning the medication). I'm now on sodium valproate and I am feeling more normal (woman need to be on birth control with that though). Please stick up for yourself as much as possible, get to a health professional if your not seeing one already and if I were you I would strongly insist that you try ditching Keppra if you think it isn't agreeing with you. 

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