Living with Epilepsy/Seizures

Born in 1962. I had cranial damage at the age of 8 months according to my mother. I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 17. Then I was having only small absense seizures I spent the next 17 years on Dilantin in conjunction with depakote, depakene, tegretol, phenobarbitol, and a couple others I don’t remember. EEGs and MRIs were done, and they found two scars and a calcium deposit on my brain. I continued to have up to 6 or more seizures every month. THe seizures became grand mal during these years.

In 1995 I moved to Florida. I took Dilantin till the prescription ran out. From then until 2006 I never saw a neruologist. I just continued to have the same amount of seizures. In June 2006 I had a bad fall during a seizure and cracked my head on the floor in a bank. From that time my head has a VERY tender place there. I started having more seizures and severe memory problems and decided it was time to see a neurologist again. (I had had shingles in 2003) The neurologist prescibed Lyica to control the presisting shingle pain, he said with the side effect of controlling seizures Well, no go.

Lyrica made the shingles worse, I continued to have seizures, and within a week, I could barely walk or talk normally. I spent, August, Sept and Oct 2006 on leave of absense while the doctor tried lamictal and keppra to control the seizures. They ran an MRI and EEG and told my they were both CLEAR!. (I could not believe them)I finally gave up and told him no more meds. The seizures were just as bad and the meds side effects were making me so I could not live with them. I went back to work in Oct and miraculously did not have a seizure for 7 months for the first time. Then in April 2007, I was dealing with a lot of stress at work and started having uncontrolled pain in my abdomen and started having seizures again. I continue to see the neurologist every 6 months.

My mother just sent me some information on an implant(VNS therapy) that I will be asking about when I see the doctor in March. Right now the seizures I have occasionally give me a small aura, sometimes none. I will be fine one moment. Then I come to 15 minutes to an hour later. Apparently, though, those around me are unaware that I am not actually fully functional for most of that time that I lose after a seizure. I work in a call center, in an office. They found me trying to log into a computer on the call floor once after a seizure. They did not know that I did not know anything about what I was doing.

Any tips or advice anyone can give will be greatly appreciated. Also, I really want to know if scars and calcium deposits just disappear, or should I be asking for the tests (MRI and EEG) to be run again.