In denial

[Bulladore]

This is my first post at this site and still trying to learn how to navigate through it.

I was dx'd with partial seizures about six months ago, two weeks later with cancer. Still can't believe that I have either, well I guess I had to except the cancer after having a golf ball sized tumor removed from my bladder.

My symptoms were at first a disconnected feeling from my body and unclear thinking, dream like state. Then I found that I would get lost while driving and it would take a minute or two to figure out where I was. The neurologist put me on Lamictol and thing got better until three weeks ago, when I thought I was lock out of the house, only to find out I had unlocked the house enter, got a mail box key, yet had no recollection of any of this. My Lamictol has now been increased.

EEG and MRI were normal, yet my brain is fried, does any of this sound familiar. I wonder if the AI that I have could be a contributing factor.

[katie's mom]

I remember feeling somewhat similar when they first told me that my 4yo Katie had seizures. It is so strange how your life can be fine one minute then totally altered the next. The first time I went on one of the epilepsy sites I felt - this can't be happening to my child!! However, I hope you will find this site a great source of information, advice, and support! Without talking to other parents of kids with epilepsy, I might not have started the miracle diet which has so far left my child seizure-free for 3 days in a row after being told a lot of grim forecasts before this treatment.

There are many people with all types of epilespy experiences here that can certainly speak to Lamictal, partial seizures, perhaps even cancer and definitely with the process of coping through the journey.

[skillefer]

Hi Bulladore!Welcome to CWE. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate.Believe it or not, a lot of us here have had normal EEG's and MRI's. So don't take that testing to be the end all be all. In the last 30 yrs or dealing with E, I've only had 1 abnormal EEG. As Katie's Mom said, we have a lot of people here with a lot of different experiences...including dealing with cancer. Just remember, you aren't alone. We're here for you. It's not a matter of hiding from life's storms, it's learning to dance in the rain.

[KellyD]

Hi Bulladore! You have come to the right place for information and support, this site was a saviour to me when my son and I were diagnosed last year. Both of us had normal eeg's and mri's as well. Try to stay positive through your rough journey ahead and if it starts to get too much you can always visit us here!

[Bulladore]

Thanks Kelly, the more I can learn from other people, the better I will understand what's going on. It is hard to separate seizures from reality, it's not like having a broken leg.

[RobinN]

It can be something as simple as a sensitivity to a food causing this.

If you are open to different causes, you just might find the answer. But you have to be open minded. Whatever caused the cancer might be causing the seizures... (I say "might be", as I am not a medical doctor).

Just understand that you were seizure free for part of your life. You need to consider that there is the possibility that you can return your body to that state, but it will take time and some work on your part.

[Bulladore]

The problem I have with the seizures is that I don't remember having them, I just know that I have period of time that I can't account for.

Does anyone suffer from extreme fatigue and could it be from an increase of Lamictal?

[RobinN]

My daughter does not know she has seizures, until she wakes up and sees the paramedics or school officials standing over her. She does not even know most of the time what she ate for breakfast, or what she learned in English that day.

It can be quite scary.

Rebecca had fatigue and severe muscle aches while on Lamictal. She could not get up from a prone position. She is a competitive athlete.

[Bulladore]

Robin,

Your daughter's seizures sound far more serious then mine, I never lose consciousness, but I have no memory of the events that have just passed or how I got to where ever I find myself.

Everything else sounds very familiar, I just wonder why the neurologist didn't mention that the Lamictal could be causing my fatigue, but mentioned doing a sleep study.

[skillefer]

That would be because a lot of people with epilepsy also have sleep apnea.... The lack of good sleep places stress on the body..and we're so used to functioning with the poor quality of sleep that we don't realize it's stressing our body. the stress builds up, until it can trigger a seizure.

However, it was careless of your doc not to mention fatigue as a possible side effect of the meds. If it's due to the meds, as your body adjusts to the medication being there, the fatigue should dissipate.

[Bulladore]

Skillefer,

Maybe the doctor felt the after being on medication for 8 months that it must be something else. I have had a lot going on in the last eight months with surgeries and chemo, also having an auto immune disorder doesn't help.

[RobinN]

It is rare I have found that a doctor will admit that any Pharma Drug could be causing your problems.

Why not go on a search for causes of autoimmune disorders, fatigue, simple partial seizures. I believe you will find a lot more info online, than in a sleep study. Even if they were to find that you have a sleeping disorder.... there is a cause to that too.

http://www.dogtorj.com
Has some great articles on these issues, and what he believes causes them