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surgery at 40

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 01:55
I was diagnosed with grand mal seizures at the age of 13. I was really scared about the hole situation at hand, i have heard that there are surgerys that can help, but not sure if it is right for me...I have been seizure free for almost 5yrs now. I also found out that the medication that i take causes weight gain and liver damage. If there is anyone out there that has had any of the surgerys that they perform on seizure's can you please write back...... thanks 4 your time

Comments

RE: surgery at 40

Submitted by Bandcheryl on Mon, 2004-02-02 - 20:35
Hi, I'm 22 and just had one of the surgery's that they can perform last Sept. Of course I was really scared, but I wanted to at least try it. My seizures are coming from both sides of my brain which makes my chances very little, but I still wanted to take that chance. I was in the hospital for about a week. I won't lie, of course it hurt, but look at what they had to do. I feel a lot better now. But if you have any chances, my advice is to do it. Better than having these stupid seizures. So far I still have mine. In the last month though, they have lessoned. So hopefully they will lesson to nothing. Good luck

RE: surgery at 40

Submitted by tracul2004 on Wed, 2004-02-04 - 17:14
HI,,MY NAME IS 'TRACEY' & I HAVE HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH 'EPILEPSY' SINCE 'BIRTH',,,THEY'VE JUST NOW TOLD ME I NEED 'SURGERY' 2,,(KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TROUGH) BUT HAVE ALSO BEEN TOLD BY OTHER'S (WITH EPILEPSY) THAT I ''SHOULD' NOT DO THIS,,WHERE AS IT COULD CAUSE 'MORE' DAMAGE',,,YET MY 'NEUROLOGIST' SAY'S BY DOING THIS , COULD COMPLETELY 'CURE' MY 'EPILEPSY',,,(I APPARENTLY HAVE 'SEVERE-TISSUE-DAMAGE') ON LEFT-SIDE OF MY BRAIN,,"WITH 'PLAQUE",,?? ANYWAY,,I TOTALLY FEEL LOST & UNSURE WHAT 2 DO EITHER,,SO IF YU COULD HELP ME,,OR JUST CONTACT ME 4 ADVICE (JUST SOMEONE THAT KNOW'S WHAT IT'S LIKE LIVING WITH 'EPILEPSY') I WOULD ''TRULY'' APPRECIATE IT,,,, I COULD ALWAY'S USE A ''TRUE-FRIEND",,,,,THANX 4 YOUR TIME,,,TRACEY,,,,,,

RE: surgery at 40

Submitted by mommy2kyra on Wed, 2004-02-04 - 17:56
I'm no expert, but I wonder why you would want to go through such a surgery if your seizures have been controlled for 5 years. Is your main concern weight gain and possible liver damage? There are risks and side effects for every procedure (and medicine) out there, you have to weigh the good and the bad of each. Usually, doctors won't recommend surgery unless your seizures are severe and/or very difficult to control. From what I've read, even after surgery, people still need to be on AED's because surgery doesn't fully get rid of seizures. I'm not sure if the same is true for vagus nerve stimulation. My advice would be to talk with your doctor to see if you are a good candidate for any procedures. Ask him or her what your chances are of having seizures afterwards. Would you still need to be on AED's? What are your other options? There are lots of medications out there. If you are at high-risk for developing liver problems, maybe you could switch to another.Best of luck!Heather

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