Hi - new here and scared to death

[difenbaker]

So hi... my name is Lisa. Im new to this whole thing as far as going through it myself. I'm still rather confused, lost, and trying to cope with this whole thing. Needless to say this whole thing was a whammy right below the belt and out of the blue. I was recently told that I'm having complex partial seizures and I'm currently "serving" my mandatory 6 month license suspension that this lovely state imposes on all new diagnosis of epilepsy. In my case its understandable, my first complex partial was while driving from my externship site to school for a seminar. Yes I drove through it. I had two EEGs from the date of my accident until I got to see my neuro again for a follow up about my migraines which also took a major shift in about may. I didn't realize when I had called his office freaking out because I blacked out and wrecked my car that this was the path that I was leading up to. I was also recently diagnosed with SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) for those of you who don't know all that is is an abnormally fast (150+ beats per minute) regular heart rate. There is apparently no tie between the "short circuit" in my heart and in my head. Not for a lack of trying on my part. I grilled my poor PCP since I saw him shortly after seeing my neuro that morning.

From the little my neuro was willing to get into (since I looked like someone killed my dog - his words not mine) was that most likely I've been having seizures for a while and we haven't noticed them. From talking to my mom and my best friend (who at this point in my eyes is the bestest best friend ever) we can trace them back to about march/april. My neuro did say that we can't rule out that there isn't a connection to my migraines which changed locations, intensity, frequency and my aura changed. My cat scan in june was clean. He said that because of how intense my sleep deprived EEG was I have to go for an MRI with epilepsy protocol. Yes he said intense. He said everything kept coming from the same spot over and over again. Of course being dumbfounded by everything I didn't ask where.

Of course to me part of the kicker with this was I was on topamax when this all happened. So I failed my first aed without even knowing. So im on keppra now. Which seems to be working. I haven't blacked out again since Monday. I did have a second seizure after the car accident, that time was in the shower. But as for now so far so good with the keppra (no migraines either... had two days of intense headaches during the switch but not my migraine).

I guess to sum it up. Im scared sh*tless. I have an almost 2 year old little boy and I got divorced in december (merry christmas to me). Im graduating with an associates degree this week and I can't even drive to find a job. Im not really sure what to do or how im going to live like this. I have a lot swimming through my head and I haven't been able to sort it out. Im here hoping I find someone(s) I can talk to and maybe a little ray of sunshine through these dark clouds as of late.

 

[Blue Cat]

This is the place - everyone here is wonderful about sharing, caring and being here when you need to hear from people who feel the fear, who've gotten through so much, and some cases still going through it all. I road my motorcycle off a highway in the desert in Nevada at 70 mph, that's when they decided I had epilepsy. All I had was a bruise on my butt so survival is a sign we've made it this far, we can get through anything now. I hope the meds work, and you get the best job you can hope for. Hopefully you have some sort of public transportation in the meantime - got me through my 6 months of no driving. And look for the rays of sunshine, they're out there!

 

[momof3boys]

I wanted to say welcome to CWE! There are alot of great people here!
I too, take Keppra. I take Keppra XR, because I was having alot of headaches with the Keppra, and since taking the Keppra XR, Its taken away all my bad migraines and headaches I was having for years before that.

I hope in time, you get the answers you need. If you need anything, please dont hesitate to ask!

 

[Nakamova]

Hi difenbaker, welcome to CWE!

Have you been put on medication for the SVT? Just curious, because magnesium supplements can often help with both migraine/seizures and SVT. There may be no link between the two, but if you were somewhat deficient in magnesium it might play a contributing role. In general, magnesium is neuroprotective, and we have at least one CWE member whose lifelong migraines ceased once she began taking magnesium. You might ask your doc about the possibility of taking a supplement.

CWE members are pretty great at providing "little rays of sunshine," I'm glad you found us!

Best,
Nakamova

 

[music man]

Hi music man here
For what its worth my early days with out of the blue grand mal seizures floored me literaly. ( smile) Lost my relationship, and home in the country almost my job and oh yes ministry of transport took my drivers license for a year . The big head played with my meds until shazam two years later no seizures!! and my licence back . I'm lucky so far and am very grateful and humble . Every time i get in the car i smile and sing Closer my God to thee! because its an inexact science and i must learn to live with the chances the meds, the side effects. The early days were the worst for me, the uncertainty and fear and frustration, but slowly we adapt and some sunshine comes in . Some days are diamonds and some are dust . But hope springs eternal .
Be well, always open to chat
Music man