Hello All

[stringbean]

Hello, my name is Tammy. I am really not positive when my seizures started. I am 47 and and when I first was told I had E was around 20 years ago.
I have partials, complex partials, grandmals and have went into status epileptis twice.

I remember a bicycle wreck that happened when I was around 7 or 8, my brother Jeff who also has E since, and my uncle David who had E.(He now is in Heaven due to a grandmal seizure that struck him while swimming and caused him to drown.) We lived on a pretty steep hill and we went on a ride with my uncle operating the bike, my brother behind him and myself on the handle bars. Well my uncle decided to slam on the brakes while coming down that hill I flew off the handle bars hit the road head first, (my forehead) my brother went flying off the bike hitting his head on the side. We had several bad road burns, my forhead swelled and bruised really bad, my brother the side of his heads hair was gone. Our parent just went to the drug store and bought several different things to treat us and not to the ER, I am not blaming my parents, I am sure if they really thought that was nessasary we you have been taken immediately.
I can remember being told by my very mean fourth grade teacher, I was 9 years old,not long after bike , wreck, when one day she decided to go from student to student and tell them what she thought of them-mostly mean and nasty things she had to say, for me, it was that sat at my desk like I had a wall built around me for my own private little area to deal with life, well could this have been because of such times I was having absence seizures?
Then several years later I was 14, I can remember asking my brother to walk up to the store to get me some poptarts, I had menstral cramps so bad and had taken about 4 to many over the counter pain killers and needed something in my stomach, I had to go to work. Well after my brother left I was watching Family Affair and the next thing I remember is big yellow balls coming out of the TV screen and me running from them and hitting the floor in the dining room. Well the next thing I remember is my brother coming in and throwing the pop tarts on my lap, I was laying on the couch and don't even remember asking him to go and get them from me.

Then about 8 years after that, the what I know now were partial and complex partial seizures. However, at first I literrly thought I was going crazy. I was hearing things, going through experiences that just weren't right, getting this odd feeling and able to hear the people around me talk only I was hearing something different and couldn't remember either what they said or what I heard. There is alot more to this.

When I went to the doc finally to see what was wrong with me I was diagnosed as having panic attacks and put on meds for that.
Then came my first grandmal, still not put on any meds for E or diagnosed with it.(which I know just one seizure doesn't mean you have it) Then right around a year later another grandmal then put on meds and told I had E. and that was about it no explantions or nothing just You have E take this med and see me in 6 months.
Finally about 10 years ago Finally, a new neurologist I went to see told me those were not panic attacks they were P's and complex partial'S. And I was tryed on several other different meds to try to get them under control, no luck they controlled the grand mal's and thats all.
Then after some more years tests finally showing where in brain the seizures were coming from, my left temporal lope, and all kinds of other stuff that never showed up before, well I know why I had to have all those seizures to cause that damage so know what caused the damage but still not the seizures that caused the damage????????
Then surgery which removed a good bit of my left temperol lope. Seizure free for about 1 year, after recovery from surgery. and summer 2006 they return in full force, different complex partial's and oct 2006 Status.
Oh my this has gotten extremly long I could go on and on and on.
I was supposed to go in for another video EEG to see if they do more sugery. However I know have to have a hysterectomy, due to several female problems.
So a video EEG and a another possible brain surgery will have to put off for now.
I will be back soon as long as my computer doesn't crash again. Thanks to all for reading and can't wait to do more reading, answereing and more on here.
Tammy

[Bernard]

Hi Tammy, welcome to the forum.

Make yourself at home here.

Then surgery which removed a good bit of my left temperol lope. Seizure free for about 1 year, after recovery from surgery. and summer 2006 they return in full force, different CP's and oct 2006 Status.

Unfortunately, this seems to be a somewhat common story on forums. I wonder if efficacy studies on lobectomy surgeries are capturing a long enough periodicity. I think most of them only measure to 6 months. Most of the forum stories I see about seizures returning after surgery mention time frames from 1-2 years.

[RobinN]

Hi Tammy - Now that is quite a story.
My head is spinning from all that you have been through.
Any talk amoungst your doctors that there could possibly be a connection between your female problems and your seizures? Just wondering

Glad that you joined us.

[stringbean]

Hi Bernard and Robin,
Bernard I have read so much on E just in the last 5 years. I have read that after 2 to 3 years after the surgery in most people they do return. And alot of the reason is because of scar tissue. One reason I have really and am still debating another surgery is because isn't that just going to cause more scar tissue that will bring back the seizures in 2 - 3 years?

Robin,

They ruled that out several years ago, and now due to E meds I have been through menopause for over 3 years now.

To All
I tryed to word a part of my introduction several times and it still seems like not coming out right.
I am trying to say, they finally could tell me what was causing the seizures the damage becuase of them being uncontrolled for so long, But they still have never been able to tell me what caused the seizures to begin with, which those are what caused the damage. I hope this sounds better and makes sense.

Tammy

[RobinN]

I knew exactly what you meant Tammy.
I wonder the same thing. Why so many are fine for so long and then POW.
In your case was it the bike accident that lowered the seizure threshold?

Zoe is away today but she has some surgery stories, and how she eventually became seizure free. I am sure she will be by to say HI.

[speber]

Sorry the surgery wasn't a homerun. Ask them questions!

Ask these guys to your heart's content....Robin's right, I bet Zoe has some good info!

Here's hopin' you find something helpful!

[Birdbomb]

Welcome Tammy

I think you're going to enjoy this forum. So much information and a great place to blow off steam. Thanks for the history. Don't you just love it when you are misdiagnosed? Been through the same thing on more than one occasion! Not pleasant at all!

[brain]

Tammy!

Welcome to CWE. There's so much info
in this place, like Birdy says, and this site
is fully loaded to the core! You'll be an
addict to this place in no time flat!

[kris1230]

Sorry that the surgery didn't stop the seizures permentely. You've been through a lot. I would talk to your doctor and speak with a surgeron and see what they think. Maybe you should get several opinions. Just keep pluggin' along!!

[Bernard]

There are many events that can cause brain damage. I don't know that your doctors will ever be able to answer that question with authority - could be head trauma, high fever, a virus or any number of other obscure reasons.

[stringbean]

Thank You to All for being such great supporters and already much info.

I was working on going back in the hosp. for another video EEG and another possible surgery, has to be put on hold now until recovered enough from Hystrectomy.

I will never know for sure what caused the seizures, my neurologist said that the bike wreck was to long ago, when I was 7 or 8 to have caused the E. however, just because the seizures were detected many years later doesn't mean I didn't have them before then.
My oldest brother started having GrandMals within 2 or so years after.

I plan on asking many, many and many more questions this time when I can get back to working on a better control of My E again. There are several things that I have now that the first surgery more than likely caused that they didn't tell me about, !. My eyesight was much worse and I went from just a plain ole pair of glasses to read like a book, to a pair of much stronger ones with bi'vocals and the eye doctor was the one that informed me of that being caused by the surgery. My temper is so much worse, It is like it comes right from my brain and out my mouth before I even realize what I said and then can't remember what I said. My short term memory is practically not there anymore. I have pens, pencils, paper and all in every room to write down stuff or I won't remember it within 10 minutes or less. I also go through a whole lot of ink for the printer.
Thanks again for wonderful welcomes!
As long as my computer doensn't crash again I will be back soon. Tammy