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[celticgoddess1955]

I am celticgoddess. I am new here. I am trying to understand seizures and why or what causes them and need some info on meds. My husband has them, well he has had 2. In 2005, Jan. he was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis. First week of February he had neurosurgery for a brain abscess that contaminated the left side of his skull and covered left side of his brain. He was in a coma for two months. They did not give me much hope for him. He started to come around slowly and in late Feb. they put him in a rehab hospital till the second week of April and he came home to await his artificial skull implant. May 12 he had right sided seizure that took them 4 hours to control. The plate had arrived so they sent him to the hospital 50 miles from home where he had been originally and they implanted his plate. Neurologist put him on Keppra. He went back to teaching full time in Sept. 2005. He was weaned off of Keppra after a year.

Since that time he has been better than he ever was, just a little short term memory trouble, but considering what he went through he is a miracle.

July 6 this year he had a full blown seizure (whole body) sitting at the computer desk. Took me by surprize. Never occurred to me the seizures might return because he was not diagnosed with epilepsy. They put him back on Keppra and gave me no answers as to why or what to expect. He is complaining that food taste sour to him. It is mostly pastry, which is a good thing cause he needs to lose weight. I am trying to find out if anyone else has had this side effect. He swallow the pills right down. He doesn't even know if they taste bitter themselves. This is a side effect hours after taking the pill.

I feel very naive about all of this even though I have tried to research it all.

I was hoping to get some insight into it all from those of you who do have seizures. And I wonder if he has had them when I was not around and he would not have known it.
I am a bit lost in all this. I just want him to be safe.

Thank you for allowing me to join your forum.

[RobinN]

Welcome Celticgoddess - I don't blame you for being lost. This is quite a story you have told. I am very glad that you have joined us and I hope others that have had surgery can give you some suggestions.

I wouldn't get caught up in the label of Epilepsy, obviously your husband has had many reasons for his seizures.
I believe the taste sensation might be considered an aura. Or perhaps he has a mineral imbalance that might be making his body retain certain enzymes that can cause this.

Others will be around to chime in here, but I hope you have a doctor that both of you are comfortable with. Certainly needs further testing I am sure.

[Wally]

Wow! That is quite a story. Your husband is quite fortunate to have you. The taste sensation your husband described is interesting. I am also on Keppra. I do recall eating and drinking things that didn't taste right to me some time ago. Although it was OK to others. It may have been part of the adjustment to the Keppra, it never occured to me at the time. I am still very sensitive to odors, perfumes etc. My wife brought home one of those room air fresheners in a bottle with the sticks in it. It was jasmine and it about made me crazy. I also read about a woman that could control her seizures by smelling a vial of jasmine. I've know a few women named Jasmine in the past and I thought they were nice, so it must have been the Keppra.
Welcome to the group, there is alot of info here. Enjoy.

[RobinN]

I've know a few women named Jasmine in the past and I thought they were nice, so it must have been the Keppra.

will men smell good if I take Keppra?

[Wally]

will men smell good if I take Keppra?[/quote]

Aw Jeez

[Meetz1064]

and welcome to CWE!! You've found a wonderful place to be! Mr B (Bernard) has made us a AWESOME home here.......

RobinN is right, the taste could very well be an aura, BUT it could also be a side effect of the Keppra, too. I don't take Keppra, personally, so I couldn't tell you for sure. However, because it's a constant thing, I'm betting it's a side effect.

Check out the Epilepsy 101 thread....there's TONS of good information there. Epilepsy 101 - Part FAQ, Part tips and advice

Feel free to hang around, ask questions, whatever you need! We will be here.

Take care,

Meetz

[Wally]

The weird thing about the side effects is that they are different for everyone. I met this girl that is a medical assistant in a dr. office. She was drawing my blood and I noticed her medic alert bracelet. She told me she had E and then I find that she is on Keppra and taking the same dosage as I am. She tells me she loves it and hasn't had any side effects at all. She is early 20's and a tiny little thing. I am mid 40's and well over twice her size and had lots of goofy side effects. Go figure.................

[Nancy]

Hello ~ Welcome to CWE
I've had surgery twice - left temporal lobe - 2006 & 2007, but it sounds easier and more common than what your husband had.
I took Keppra for a long time and had no serious side effects - I now take Topamax and Trileptal. I have takes some anti-epileptic drugs that changed my taste buds and some that made me stop wanting certain foods. It seems like all of them affect each of us so very differently ... all of them suck.
Here's wishing the best for you and your husband...........

[celticgoddess1955]

wow, I am a bit overwhelmed.
You see I myself sjogren's syndrome, psoriatic and osteoarthritis, neuropathy,
raynaud's, interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia, ptsd and panic disorder from having an physically and emotionally abusive father.
I thought that having my husband who was very supportive and very strong was my saving grace. Then he got sick. So now I have 9 medications of my own to deal with and his as well. When he first got out of the hospital he had about 9 meds as well. My mother died in April and I have my father living with us now. He is disabled and very needy. Sometimes I wonder if it was the stress of it that made my husband have a seizure. So I am trying to keep everything together and then here we go again.
It is good to have other input to try and solve this problem. I myself am in a position of not being able to walk on my own and in so much pain that I can't stand up. But I have to drive my husband around and my father and I think I am afraid that I myself cannot hold up. Someone has to hold it all together.
I always thought that nothing would ever bring be down. I was strong and able to do all the yard work and now I can't hold a job and SS is fighting with me and telling me I can work.
I will try to watch my husband and see if I can see any out of the ordinary symptoms that mean it is a seizure coming on. Perhaps something is a trigger for his seizures and we can find it and if it is stress we can keep it down to a minimum. You see, he thinks he does not have any problems and that it was just a fluck. It is almost like an alcoholic that cannot admit that he has a problem. There must be something that brought this on and I cannot rely on doctors to give me the solution. In fact, if I believed the doctors he would be a vegetable in a nursing home. That is the prospect they gave me when he was in the hospital.

Thank you so much for your insights. I will try to keep up with the forum and see if I myself have anything to help. I am not very insightfull about seizures but I do know how to research. I myself take 3600 miligrams of neurontin a day to keep some of my "electrical" symptoms at bay but it is failing me and I think I may face surgery again for my back.

celticgoddess

[Meetz1064]

and I don't know why I didn't mention it earlier.....

Have him start a journal.....or if he's a pain about it, start it for him. Include EVERYTHING in it. Meds....when taken, and the doses. What he eats, and when, as well as how much. Computer, TV &video game time...........I think you're getting the idea. WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Eventually something will pop out as a possible trigger.

ALSO: CONSIDER DIET as a possible trigger. But, since he's only had 2, that's a bit out there, but if they continue to show up, that IS something to think about. CAFFEINE can trigger seizures......lots of things.

Please feel free to go check out The Kitchen and The Library. They both have TONS of good information in them. But don't stress yourself out looking. We can all help you with the information.

I, too, have fibro, arthritis and neuropathy, so I have a clue where you're coming from....Just ask if you need some help, OK??

Meetz

[Bernard]

Hi CG, welcome to the forum.

[skillefer]

Hi Celticgoddess! Welcome to CWE. I agree with Meetz. Have your hubby start keeping a journal of everything he eats, drinks, how much sleep he gets, stress that he's under, and anything odd that he notices...(odd tastes, etc.) as well as when he has seizures. Then, after a period of time, go back and look through the journal and see if you notice any patterns. Some of us have seizures that are triggered by specific things like stress, lack of sleep, too much caffiene, flickering patterns or images, lights flickering, or even specific things we eat. Trying to figure out what the triggers are is a slow process, but if you can figure it out, it definitely helps. I noticed you said your hubby's last seizure was in at the computer desk....Was he actually logged on? Maybe something on the screen triggered it. Check out the epilepsy 101 thread. There's lots of good info there. Also, feel free to ask questions, chime in, or just vent. We're here for you.