Carpe Diem

[SeizeTheDay]

Greetings Everyone!

I've spent the last week lurking around here before finally deciding to sign up. You have so much wonderful information here that I couldn't resist any longer.

Oh, where to start... Let's see. I started having seizures back in 79 when I was five years old. In other words, I've seen the field of neurology come a long, long way. Around 11-12 my seizures stopped and by 13 I was off my meds and I put my seizures behind me. Woohoo no more meds! What a wonderful thing.

Well, as they say all good things must come to an end. Right when I hit six months during my second pregnancy I was in for a rude awakening. Two seizures in two days and a lovely one week all inclusive vacation at the hospital. *growls* This was back in 01 so I'm now six years in which basically puts me as halving epilepsy for about half my life.

Fortunately things have changed since the 70's and 80's. Even though a lot of the "old" anti-epileptic drug's are still in use there's some out there now that allow a much better quality of life. God Bless Lamictal!!

That's my E-life in a nutshell although obviously it's not my WHOLE life. I'm known to have a bit of a dark sense of humor about the whole deal but that doesn't mean I'm a negative person or that I allow this to keep me down. I guess that would explain my user name

I have a wonderful, supportive husband that I've been married to for almost 6 years now. Two boys who are no longer afraid when the "bad thing" happens and my best friend... my border collie. She's ever so protective. Can't say she's a seizure dog per se but she sure blocks the steps when I have the "stutters." Too bad the bathroom is upstairs! *yikes*

Currently on Lamictal, 150 bid although my neurologist and I have an understanding. I typically only take 100mg a day except during my periods. He's learned by now that I'm not worth fighting with lol. I've also discovered the power of magnesium! Wonderful stuff there... Seizures are mostly under control. tonic clonic's about every 6 months these days. As a child they were petit mals... Oh how I'd love to have those again instead!

Ok, that's more than enough to start with here. At this rate I'll have to publish it as a book so I'll stop here lol.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you lovely folks!

[alivenwell]

You can start your book here! It sounds really interesting. And, I don't think the drugs did my warped perspective, either.
I am also on Lamictal. It was practically a turn around from having occasional seizures to practically none. I do take a daily vitamin which probably has all the recommended stuff in it.
And, best of all, we BOTH have border collies! Smart little buggers, aren't they! My dog demands a good active fun play session or a long outdoor walk. EVERY DAY!

[TeeTees]

Hi SeizeTheDay,

Welcome aboard....you'll find a nice bunch of people on here, and a whole load of great information.

Talk away all you like - keep typing.

If you have ANY comments / questions, just post 'em up. The more information we can get on this site about combatting the dreaded E, the better. Anything's worth a try in my opinion.

[RobinN]

Yes another point for Magnesium!

Glad you joined us. I agree there is a wealth of info here.

[Bernard]

Hi SeizeTheDay, welcome to the forum.

I usually shorten long usernames in greetings, but addressing someone as STD just didn't seem right...

[speber]

Great name...(no matter WHAT the firey headed little fat guy says!)

Actually, he is probably THE BEST source of info here!.......or at least the nicest host you ever want to meet!

Merry Christmas!

[brain]

LOL @ simple partial! (You are a riot, but
it was the firey guy's fault!
*laughs*)

Seize the Day!

Glad to have you here at CWE!
As you can see, we're a little OD
on EEG Nog, I mean Egg Nog ...
*laughs*





Have a seize-free-day Holiday!

[angel]

Hi SeizeTheDay!,

speber is telling the truth.. BARNYARD, I ment to say Bernard is a really nice person Brain geez back off with the Egg Nog! NO NO Brain no more egg nog for you missy!!!

(((((((((hugs))))))))))

Love
angel

[Meetz1064]

Welcome to the group, Seize the Day.....

Some of the others in the group have uh, been hittin' the EEG nog pretty early in the day, I see. Geesh, didn't y'all save me some? *EYE ROLL*

Now, I guess I'm gonna have to go find me some EEG nog of my own........hehehe

[SeizeTheDay]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! It's great to see people with a sense of humor for a change. There's enough we need to be serious about so we might as well enjoy a few laughs along the way!

Heh, I guess the username did have some unintentional laughter lol. Oh well, goes to show how well I think things through some times

As for the EEG nog... I hope I didn't miss out on ALL of it! Can I get mine without the paste? :P That stuff doesn't smell any better than it did back in the 70's. You'd think with all the medical breakthroughs they could do something about that smell already...

Now that the insanity, err... I mean holidays, are over with I should be around a bit more.

Border collies do rock Just found out ours has a bit of cocker spaniel in her which explains why she isn't quite as neurotic. This is a good thing though.

And yes, definitely another vote for magnesium. I will never forget to take it again. I swear that it helps more than the Lamictal (Yes doc, I *know* I have to be a good girl and take it. No doc, I'm not being non-compliant again...)

[Elisa]

Can you guys tell me how much magnesium you take. I take some, but I don't know if I'm taking enough.

[speber]

...I now take 1000mg/day of Magnesium Citrate.

I take two 500mg pills twice a day in other words.

I recently upped my dosage to this because I found a supplier for this from a particular manufacturer and I try to go with what has been 'proven to work over time' for me when possible instead of just any over the counter brand.

I would recommend starting off with a low dose and ramping up slowly. Too much-too fast can cause unwanted side effects (diarrhea to say the least).

Peace

[RobinN]

Elisa - I personally take aprox 720mg Ionic Magnesium (this is approx as it is a liquid. I use a dropper and sometimes mix it with a small amount of water and other times I do drops under my tongue) This has been one of the main cures of my migraines I have suffered with for 30 yrs.

My daughter Rebecca is starting on 1000mg of magnesium. She is about 110 lbs. When I increased her magnesium in May she did not have any seizures. I am trying to repeat that. For now she is taking Chelated Magnesium 500mg morning , 500mg night.
I might put her on the Ionic Magnesium once we have dealth with (constipation).

[Meetz1064]

Yeah, well, I take 1000 mg.....all at once in the morning.....otherwise, I'll forget to take it. Most of my meds are in the morning. (I only have a few throughout the rest of the day.) But I take it to help with other issues too, so that's why I'm taking the maximum.....

[skillefer]

Ok...I know I'm new, so be gentle.... What is the Magnesium for??? I've never heard of taking magnesium, and my neurologist hasn't told me to take it.....does it help seizure control??

[RobinN]

There is a cure for epilepsy...

Check out this thread and you will learn more. Ask questions on that thread and we can keep the ball rolling... or at least at the top of the stack.

[skillefer]

Oh wow! Thanks for the info! Considering I also have hypothyroid problem, I think tomorrow I'm going to go get some Mg. Thank you sooo much!

[speber]

When someone (like you Skillefer!) searches and finds not just what they HOPED to find but MORE!

It makes this forum great!

CWE Rocks!!!

[S-J Walsh]

Hi you...good for you for having such a great sense of humour about this. It's refreshing to see. Congrats on joining this club. I just joined last night. lol. s-j

[SeizeTheDay]

I started at 250mg. It's always a good idea to start low and work your way up. I was taking it for months and then realized, "Wow, I haven't had a headache in a long, long time." That wasn't the reason for me starting but ended up being a glorious "side effect." Not only that but I felt better in general. More energy, improved concentration and mental clarity. I didn't start taking it expecting this. I didn't even tell my husband what I was up to but after a few weeks he noticed on his own so it couldn't have been all in my head.

I forgot to take it one day which led to two... and then a week. I ended up having my first tonic clonic since I had started the mag. Coincidence? Maybe... but I'm definitely not forgetting it again.

When I started back up I figured I'd go to 500mg but ended up feeling sluggish instead of the "alive" feeling I had before so I've gone back down to 250mg again. After a couple months I'll try to bump it up and see what happens. I don't believe in taking any more of anything that absolutely necessary so if 250 works for me then so be it.

When I went in for my all clear checkup (after a license suspension) I told my neurologist what I had been up to. He's a believer in it helping migraines but was surprised to hear that it seemed to help with the stutters as well. He did find that quite interesting and told me to keep going if it really seemed to help.

This is the reason why I love this guy. He may be one of those stand-offish types but he's at least open-minded. Also, after seeing him for so long he's realized that I kinda sorta know what I'm talking about at this point. Funny story but when I tell him I've cut back on my meds a bit he'll put his fingers in his ear and say "Not listening..." Makes me laugh everytime considering that he's given me the non-compliant lecture in the past. We've come a long way in our doctor/patient relationship lol.

See, for me the seizure every 6-8 months seems inevitable. It doesn't matter how much or how little I take. So, if it's going to happen regardless then I might as well take a lower dose. Like I said before, this is my second go around and I'm six years in so it's definitely an established pattern. The only time I'll have an "one off" seizure is under extreme stress... like mom being in the hospital and calling me 5x a day or when some nutbag was pseudo-stalking us. Obviously at times like this I increase my dose. He's even prescribed a 25mg Lamictal for me so I can self-medicate as necessary.

But yes, magnesium all the way!!! Next time I go in to see him I plan on printing some reading material off for him since he did seem interested in it. Thank goodness he's the type to believe in supplements. Like he says, it makes sense for me* and if it seems like it's working it can't hurt.

(*every time i've landed in the hospital my mag levels were always bottomed out. no way of knowing if the low level was the cause of the seizure or the effect of it but either way it's obviously something i'm lacking. plus, those mag IV's are freezing cold and BURN! *ugh*)