Hi!

[residualvisuals]

Guess I should do a quick intro.

I'm 22 years old, was diagnosed with epilepsy at 13 shortly after my first seizure and EEG. Was prescribed Tegretol, that made things worse, and went to a new neurologist. He gave me a second opinion on the EEG and told me that I actually had juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, which is aggravated by Tegretol. Whoops. So they switched me to Depakote, which controls my seizures now.

Apart from the epilepsy stuff, I'm an artist/support specialist by trade, and a bit of a homebody the rest of the time. I have a boyfriend and a room mate that I'm living with at the moment. By the end of next school year he should graduate from college and we plan to get engaged, and hopefully move into a place to live that doesn't involve a room mate. Oh, and I just adopted a cute little ball of fur named Manny

-Res

[skillefer]

Hi Res! Welcome to CWE! Feel free to ask any questions. I used to take Depakote, but then the neurologist said I outgrew my petite mals...so now I'm just on phenobarb. Congratulations on the fiance. And, is Manny a cat or a dog?

[hawke86]

Is your ball of fur a dog or cat? Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Everyone is cool and nice. We're all here to help one another. Again welcome to the forum.

[Bernard]

Hi Res, welcome to the forum.

Make yourself at home here.

[residualvisuals]

Wow, what an awesome response! Manny is a cat, he's a year and a half old. He's still got a lot of kitten left in him. I think he may just turn out to be a very energetic kitty.

I tried to post a picture of him... but I guess I can't quite yet.

[skillefer]

Awwwww.....I used to have 3 cats. But my hubby is allergic, and one of the cats really hated him. She'd pee on anything of his that he left on the floor. How are you liking the mad half hour? You know...that 30 min. when the cat tears around for no aparent reason....

[hawke86]

I don't like cats.

[residualvisuals]

Haha, the mad half hour? More like mad day. After day. After day.

I'm used to it though, I grew up with a crazy cat when I was living at home with my parents, and we have another cat in the apartment. She's a bit calmer though, and looks at Manny as if he's absolutely crazy when he dashes around.

It wakes up my boyfriend and I, but at least I won't be late for work.




Sorry you don't like cats, Hawke. I'm not a big fan of dogs.

[skillefer]

*chuckle* For 6 months after we were married, my hubby had to work out of state....so thinking that I was going to move there, I went ahead and took the cats to stay with him. I figured that it would make moving easier for me. The funny thing was, the only time he could sleep in the bed was if I was visiting. If I wasn't there, the black cat would leap (and she was an 18 lb. cat..so that wasn't easy) onto the bed, turn around and hiss at my husband. My hubby would leave his clothes and my clothes on the floor. She would go to each pile, sniff each one, and then pee on his. She really hated him. I think she must have been traumatized by a man before I adopted her....because she only reacted that way with men. She actually scared my hubby's cousin so bad that he backed out of our apartment and asked me to come get the cat. The hilarious part was that she had no front claws. I kept telling my hubby to stand his ground, and he looked at me and said, "I'm scared she's going to smother me in my sleep." So, he let her get away with her bad behavior.

[residualvisuals]

Oh my god! That's awful, but so funny! Well, I hope your hubby's keeping his clothes out of pissing range these days.

Thanks so much again for the warm welcome. I'll definitely be around

[skillefer]

LOL....well, we ended up having to put the three cats up for adoption. It was really hard. The new house we have doesn't allow cats or dogs.

[RobinN]

Hi Res -
Welcome. I don't have epilepsy, but my daughter does. She was put on Tegretol for her first med, but it made her lose her vision often. We tried three more, and then decided that alternatives was the best choice.

I like cats...
We had two until my one year old siamese went and found an orphan cat. He brought him home and now we have three. The two of them are the best of friends.

[Nenne]

Haha cats are funny, we have 3 at home also, and all 3 of them have completely different personalities. But i think its something with Girl cats, they a lot of the times seem to hate men, my Nezla, hates all my male friends, and i have had her sense she was a baby so nobody has been mean to her.

[residualvisuals]

We had two until my one year old siamese went and found an orphan cat. He brought him home and now we have three.

That is the sweetest thing ever!

What alternative does your daughter use? Is it working out well?

[RobinN]

Yes it is very sweet, they are the best of buds.

My daughter is now med free, and she has a combined approach with the alternatives.
My thinking is to raise her threshold, since she was fine for 14 yrs of her life.
So I started with diet. This is gluten free, casein free, soy free, corn free, reduced sugars, no HFCS, no MSG or related byproducts.

Secondly she has a variety of vitamins and minerals that are taken morn and eve. I believe in them all, but I have an extra high amount of magnesium and Omegas that are showing positive results.

Third she uses a bio-identical progesterone cream that helps her get through the surges her body has experienced through her cycle. We are still working to balance it out and taper it after 14 days, instead of stopping after two weeks on it.

And fourth, but the best results is the neurofeedback therapy that we have been doing.
Positive results all the way around. A few set backs, but for the most part, it has been the best choice we have made. We will continue it here at home soon, and I hope with daily therapy for a few months she will be completely stabalized.

You can read the diary that I have kept while she has undergone this treatment.
It is in my signature at the bottom of this post.

[tinasmom]

Welcome to CWE. We have 3 cats and 4 dogs in our house. Oh yeah, we have 3 kids also. It's quite the zoo around here.

So glad that you are here.