Agreed that
your wife needs to look into other reasons, and possibilities. OK, the med maybe losing its effectiveness, it may be need to be upped. But that doesn't solve the long term problem.
Have her keep an E journal. It will help determine the pattern to her seizures, especially since they're becoming more frequent. If they ARE tied to her cycle, that's called CATAMENIAL epilepsy....and it can be tied to the actual cycle, or the ovulation, or the week before, or after....you see what I mean. CATAMENIAL is directly related to the woman's hormones.....
Here is a list of things that I tell people to put into an E journal. OK, it's a detailed list, and it's extensive, BUT, it will help you, her and the doctor to find a pattern. And, if it's tied to food, (that happens quite often to E patients) you can look at one the diets listed here to help with the seizure control....
GARD, Ketogenic, LGIT & Modified Atkins Diet (aka MAD)
So, here's the list.......don't get too overwhelmed......
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1. Sleep. List how much & when.
2. Eating. List how much, when & what. It's possible to have seizures caused by allergies to food.
3. TV/computer/video games. Yup, they can affect you if you're photosensitive, so list when, what, and HOW LONG.
4. Menses (for women). Start tracking your cycles. CATAMENIAL epilepsy does exist, sometimes it's tied to ovulation, sometimes its right at the TOM. Also, LADIES, DO get a thorough check of ALL your hormones done—female, thyroid, and any others. Believe it or not, they do factor in on seizures.
5. Stress List when it occurred, and what happened.
6. Exercise List what you did, when, and any reactions.
7. Seizures/auras. If you have either, DOCUMENT THEM. Auras--note what they're like--do you smell or taste something that others don't? Hear something? Seizures--how long, when, where, what happened. If you don't KNOW what happened, get eyewitness accounts when possible and DOCUMENT THEM. ****side note**** Auras ARE partial seizures!!!
8. Smoking and alcohol. Ditch them--both are neurotoxins for our brains.
9. Meds (of ANY kind). List the dosages, and when taken.
Responses To The Above List 
1. You MUST get 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep as a MINIMUM, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
2. Eating--one of the other mods, Skillefer, (we call her Skilly), promotes eating 6 small meals a day, using a dessert plate, filling it with a carb and a protein. Good idea, I think. However, some people, like me are allergic to certain foods. You might want to look into various diets. Ketogenic, Modified Atkins, Low Glycemix Index, Gluten Free Casein Free (see
www.dogtorj.com).
3. Look into a glare screen for your computer or blue tinted polarized GLASSES (available by prescription from eye doctor). These can help cut down on seizures that are caused by photosensitive epilepsy.
4. GUYS--you may not have a cycle, but you DO have hormones. DO get your doc to do a full hormone screen, check thyroid, etc, just to make sure.
5. Use things like yoga, music, walking, whatever it is that you do to bust out your stress. Keep a separate journal to write in so that you can write out your feelings in--and keep it for your eyes only. Write it out by hand, two or three pages at a time. It helps A LOT. DO IT EVERY DAY.
6. REFLEX E can be caused by exercise, so DO track what you do. Keep in mind that you SHOULD NOT swim, bike, hike or bungee jump by yourself. Same goes for mountain climbing.
7, 8 & 9. 'Nuff said.
OK, the journal IS a pain in the arse. No doubt about that one. BUT it DOES help the doctors track things down.
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I will be back later tonight if you have any questions..
Take care, and welcome to CWE.
Meetz
:rock:
