phyloguy
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Hey everyone,
I've also been reading these forums for the last couple months, but finally decided to join. I suffer from right temporal lobe epilepsy, diagnosed by EEG and indicated by the types of auras and simple partial seizures I experience.
I've had two tonic clonic seizures that I know of. The first occurred in 2001, when I was 24 and led to my initial diagnosis. The second occurred when I made the rash decision to discontinue my AED (phenytoin) on my own in 2002. Since returning to phenytoin I've had no generalized seizures, but as of 2009 have been experiencing simple partials that I'm working with an epileptologist to treat with further drugs. These occur as often as twice a month, but sometimes with intervals of several (up to 9) months between them.
The reason I joined this forum : in the last year I've suffered from obsessive thoughts of being alone during a tonic clonic seizure, of being in an auto accident, of accidentally harming my family, or even of my own mortality. I typically only suffer from very brief bouts of situational anxiety, so the sudden onset of chronic anxiety problems has almost been as much of a shock as my original diagnosis of epilepsy. I'm taking anti-depressants, and trying to work through these issues with a psychologist. Life is almost back to normal, but the process has led me to realize that there are few places I can go for support. There are very few that I'm comfortable talking about my epilepsy with, and those that I can, while always supportive can't directly relate.
More not so relevant details about me:
I'm an ex-pat Canadian that has spent far too long in school, and is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher in the biological sciences (not in epilepsy research!) at a large university. I've lived and worked overseas (in the UK) for half a decade and am currently settled into a mid-sized US city with a small, but expanding family. My main passions are science, history and Xbox (in no particular order).
I've also been reading these forums for the last couple months, but finally decided to join. I suffer from right temporal lobe epilepsy, diagnosed by EEG and indicated by the types of auras and simple partial seizures I experience.
I've had two tonic clonic seizures that I know of. The first occurred in 2001, when I was 24 and led to my initial diagnosis. The second occurred when I made the rash decision to discontinue my AED (phenytoin) on my own in 2002. Since returning to phenytoin I've had no generalized seizures, but as of 2009 have been experiencing simple partials that I'm working with an epileptologist to treat with further drugs. These occur as often as twice a month, but sometimes with intervals of several (up to 9) months between them.
The reason I joined this forum : in the last year I've suffered from obsessive thoughts of being alone during a tonic clonic seizure, of being in an auto accident, of accidentally harming my family, or even of my own mortality. I typically only suffer from very brief bouts of situational anxiety, so the sudden onset of chronic anxiety problems has almost been as much of a shock as my original diagnosis of epilepsy. I'm taking anti-depressants, and trying to work through these issues with a psychologist. Life is almost back to normal, but the process has led me to realize that there are few places I can go for support. There are very few that I'm comfortable talking about my epilepsy with, and those that I can, while always supportive can't directly relate.
More not so relevant details about me:
I'm an ex-pat Canadian that has spent far too long in school, and is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher in the biological sciences (not in epilepsy research!) at a large university. I've lived and worked overseas (in the UK) for half a decade and am currently settled into a mid-sized US city with a small, but expanding family. My main passions are science, history and Xbox (in no particular order).