Hello

[The_Bob]

Hello everyone.

First off, I would like to apologize in advance for my odd sense of humor. I am a stand-up comedian in training who has shot one too many videos with Andy Dick.

My wife, 52 years old, was diagnosed with Frontal Lobe epilepsy at the age of 18 months. For most of her life she had been on Phenobarbital and Dilantin to control her seizures. She is now taking Keppera (500mg bid) and Tegratol (200mg bid). She has had two grand-mals in the past ten years.

I suffered my first major seizure a little over a month after I suffered a minor stroke. So far I have had ten grand-mal seizures since January 11th. I currently take 3000mg of keppera a day and 2mgs of Lorazepam when needed.

I tell ya, life sucks because I lost my drivers license because of my medical condition. Now I have to rely on friends and family to get to the grocery store.

 

[RobinN]

Welcome to CWE Bob. Sorry under the circumstances that you have found your way here.
We are an eclectic group here, and I am sure there are more than a few that will appreciate your special gift of humor.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your drivers license. I think that is one of the most difficult losses of independence we face. My daughter has yet to get her license. Thankfully she has been seizure free for 1 year, so now it is only a matter of time. She had over 50+ seizures, but we figured out ways to raise her seizure threshold enough to stabilize her. She does not take any medication.

 

[huskymom]

Hello Bob! Bummer that we meet under these circumstances, but always nice to have a new face. Not driving pretty much sucks, but then you find out who your real friends are.
Best of luck to you, and come back often

 

[Nakamova]

Hi The_Bob, welcome to CWE!

It must be at least a tiny silver lining that you and your wife can truly empathize with one another. I hope you aren't both suffering from "Kepprage", but if so, consider trying a Vitamin B6 supplement to help.

Does your neurologist have a plan to change your medication in any way? 12 grand mals in the last few months suggests that the current ones aren't doing the trick.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[Believer]

hello

Hi ,
I understand how you feel, however I was diagnosed at the age of 3 1/2 years old with epilepsy. I had grandmal seizures most of my childhood; I was taking all sorts of meds from phenobarb, tegretol, valproic acid and presently I'm on phenobarb, gabapentin/neurontin , dilatin. I had brain surgery on Sept. 2009, my seizures had improved and I went back to work and then I began was about to get my licence back in august 2011 and then I had a seizure, another in november. I 'm presently seizure free since then and I can get my licence back since I've been seizure-free for 6 months. In canada or at least manitoba those are the rules but you need the OK by your neurologist. Yeah , it is no fun to rely on everyone to drive you where you would like to go. On top of that I live a small town and we need to use a car to even get to a convenient store. Hang in there.

 

[Krista2882]

Hi, TheBob,
Welcome to CWE.
Wow, you're on a high dose of Keppra. I believe that's considered the highest recommended dose of that med. I was up to 3000 mg per day at one time, but now I'm down to 2500. If you're still having seizures, then the Keppra isn't working. You should ask your doctor about switching to a new med.

 

[The_Bob]

Hi The_Bob, welcome to CWE!

It must be at least a tiny silver lining that you and your wife can truly empathize with one another. I hope you aren't both suffering from "Kepprage", but if so, consider trying a Vitamin B6 supplement to help.

Does your neurologist have a plan to change your medication in any way? 12 grand mals in the last few months suggests that the current ones aren't doing the trick.

Best,
Nakamova

Thanks for the replies.

Matter in fact, the neurologist started me on a new medicine, Depakote(250mg bid) . I took my first dose last night and it pretty well knocked me out for the night. The Keppra does not seem to do the job, I am hoping this combo does the trick.

Both my wife and I have a whole new respect for each other. She now knows how heartbreaking it is to see a loved on having a major seizure and I now know how it is to wake up in the emergency room begging for the license plate number of that bull moose that ran my BLEEP over.