New here - introduction

[MamaDuck4]

My name is Amanda (prefer Mandy). Im currently living in TN and I have 4 wonderful children and a pretty great fiancée. I'm a nursing student on my way to becoming a midwife (CNM) or was at least. I had seizure activity suspected in 2005 but normal eeg. I never followed up.

On mother's day of this year I experienced my first grand mal seizure. My fiancée was driving me to the ER when I had another one. He stopped at an ambulance station and had them take me. I had so much trouble talking and just wanted to sleep. The ER visit was. 6 hour blur. I was given IV keppra and ativan and sent home. The following Wednesday I was scheduled to have surgery. Dr went ahead with it and I had a seizure coming out of anesthesia. Dr admitted me overnight for observation and had a neurologist cone see me.

Released from hospital Thursday and suffered 3 back to back seizures and was taken by ambulance to er once again IV Keppra and ativan. I slept the whole 6 hours. The only tests ran were blood and urinalysis.

Following day I go to see neurologist who orders an MRI and EEG.


Meanwhile I'm battling PPD pretty bad and needed to be hospitalized for severe anxiety.

Fast forward to June 6th... I was shown my eeg results and all the weird blips and spikes. I asked what it meant. My Dr informed me I have epilepsy and a pretty severe case but is hoping keppra will keep it under control. So far.... not so much.

I can't drive (nightmare with 4 kids!) I cannot be alone with my 2 younger children yet. (He wants it managed first) I was already fighting depression with all I had and this has turned my whole world upside down. I'm ready to have normal again but not sure if and when that will happen. I'm trying to adjust to my new normal and not handling it so well.

I have 3-4 grand mal a week, many many many absence seizures, and the odd sensation ones. Not sure what they're called. I'm sporting some wicked fraction burns and bruises from my grand mals. I sleep constantly. I use a bus to go to my several Dr/therapy appointments a week.

Oh And the myoclonic jerks are the most annoying part of my day. They're happening every 2 minutes. Sometimes they scare me.

So that sums my epilepsy up.... I know very very little about epilepsy and am trying to learn more so I can cope easier.... if that's possible.


Any questions feel free to ask. I'll answer what I can.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Mandy, welcome to CWE!

You've got an awful lot on your plate, I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. I hope you get better seizure control soon. There are other meds to try, so maybe a different med or med combo will help. Keppra is known for causing moodiness, depression, and anger, so it might be causing or exacerbating the PPD -- definitely something to discuss with your docs.

Are you taking anything other than the Keppra? Sometimes there are medications that can be making things worse. There are also supplements (such as B6) that can help with the side effects of the meds.

You mentioned a possible seizure back in 2005 -- was that a grand mal type, or a different kind? Any sense of what might have triggered it? Any history in the family? I ask because sometimes there are secondary triggers that can play a role in the seizures, so identifying them can help. The #1 trigger is fatigue, but it can also be things like fluctuating hormones (estrogen, thyroid), food sensitivities (caffeine, aspartame, MSG, gluten), metabolic issues (nutritional deficiencies, low blood sugar), environmental stressors (flashing or fluorescent lights), and general health issues (illness, infection, injury). It can help to keep a seizure diary, although it sounds like you have so many different kinds going on right now, it might be tough to isolate one particular trigger. (The "odd sensation" seizures sound like Simple Partials -- more about those here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_partial_seizure).

I hope you feel free to ask lots of questions here -- CWE members can offer a lot of information and support.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[MamaDuck4]

The birth of my second child triggered it. We can only assume it was grand mal. I was alone about to get in the shower next thing I know I'm talking weird. Dr called it word salad.

I had just had a baby boy (same this time) and was being treated for ppd with prozac and depakote.

So far meds I've been on are
Lithium, depakote, prozac, zoloft, trileptal, lamictal, celexa, remeron, Paxil, ambien, keppra, abilify, and a few more I'm forgetting. I hate the med game. All the tweaking and side effects. Makes my anxiety go nuts. Im in intensive therapy now and been in the psych ward twice since mothers day. All these meds. *sigh* something will eventually work.

 

[Nakamova]

Given that the first seizure was right after childbirth, estrogen might be playing a role -- high estrogen levels and/or low progesterone levels can trigger seizures. If you haven't already, you might want to ask about getting your hormones checked.

Many of the anti-depressants can trigger seizures or make them worse, so if you are on one now, trple-check with the doc to make sure it's not problematic.

 

[jyearta]

Hi Mamaduck4,

Welcome to CWE.

I glad that you found this site.

I just want you to know your not alone.
This is alot for you, but you are doing the right thing, seeking inform. on E.

The people in this forum are great at sharing their exper. with E. or medic.

You will be OK.

 

[Cint]

Hi Mandy,

Sorry you're going thru all this. I went thru something very similar, but only had 2 kids. I had a bad case of E and depression/anxiety. I had CP seizures 4-5 times a day plus a few TC's every month. Plus my (ex)-husband is a Fed-Ex pilot and we used to live in Memphis. So he was gone quite a lot. The depression itself is hard to deal with, but to add E on top of it makes life almost unbearable. I was seeing a neuropsychiatrist at the time and an epileptologist at UT Memphis, but unfortunately, that has dissolved.

Beware of the Abilify and drugs in that family. Those meds can cause or make diabetes worse. The dr. here in Denver put me on Zyprexa for my depression and I ended up with Type 1 Diabetes.

BTW, what part of TN are you in?

 

[MamaDuck4]

I truly appreciate the welcome. I am.convinced all the meds are evil but there *has* to be a right combo for all mu issues.

I just got a call that my liver enzymes are very high and now I have to see a specialist again.

Abilify also messes w/ cholesterol and mine is highalready. <headtowall>