can an adult grow out of epilepsy ?

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vapour

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Hey all just a question.

I had febrile seizures as a child that went away, I had a head injury in my teens, and i believe I possibly could have starting seizures in my late teens.. but no point debating that... the point is .. I am having them now... at 26 years old and have definatly without question been affected by them for at least 2 years despite only being diagnosed this year.

Ive heard children can grow out of it. I am wondering if adults can too.

I see my Neurologist tomorrow, so I will ask her.. was wondering right now at this moment though lol

What are the chances ? I think Ive asked before.. not sure....at least Ive wondered it before..
 
My father had one grande mal and one tonic when he was in his late forties. He went on seizures meds and didn't have any more. After 2 years, they weaned him off his meds. My dad is now 76 and has never had another seizure.
 
You can outgrow seizures, even as an adult though I don't think it's very common.

A neurologist of mine told me that there are specific times when someones seizures are likely to change, go away or come back. I'm not sure I have them all but the times I remember are, puberty, approx. 30 (or was it 32) years old, approx 40 years old & I think he said approx 45 years old.
 
What I want you to consider is not that you or anyone can "grow" out of having a seizure, but more importantly that EVERYONE has a seizure threshold. Some just have a lower threshold than others, for many reasons. What you need to work on is raising your threshold if that is possible. It is my belief that it is, the sooner you get to working on it the better chances. Obviously there are some reasons that just are unfortunately going to keep the threshold lower. One of those is birth defect, or brain damage. Even with that in mind I think you should take a look at this video and ask yourself if it just might be possible to raise your threshold enough to remain stable.

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f22/brain-changes-itself-6968/

This must give you some HOPE. Remember "thoughts become things".
 
I've had absence seizures from age 6, then at 13 or so it started changing into complex partials or what I thought were longer absence seizures. But the dx was changed to complex partial seizure at age 13 or so, then again at age 23 and I am now 26. Because I stopped meds several times out of frustration on my own, then once again thinking I didnt need Tegretol XR anymore- I now have drop attacks or atonic seizures which are really scary.

I am hoping that mine will go away but my neurologist said for me, that because I've had them for so long, was born three months early with severe complications and death (one time), and was untreated for the majority of my life, that my seizures will probably be with me my whole life. I don't like to think about taking medications for my whole life- but it is a possiblity.

Take care,
Crystal
 
In some cases Neurofeedback is helpful in training the brain so that it doesn't need to seize as a release mechanism. It raises the threshold level and stops what is known as kindling.
 
The research that I read said " While epilepsy cannot currently be cured, for some people it does eventually go away. One study found that children with idiopathic epilepsy, or epilepsy with an unknown cause, had a 68 to 92 percent chance of becoming seizure-free by 20 years after their diagnosis.

The odds of becoming seizure-free are not as good for adults, or for children with severe epilepsy syndromes. But it is possible that seizures may decrease or even stop over time. This is more likely if the epilepsy has been well-controlled by medication or if the person has had epilepsy surgery."

References:
http://www.healingwell.com/library/epilepsy/info1.asp
http://www.healthcentral.com/ency/40...00044_2_2.html
http://www.geocities.com/geneinfo/co...epilepsyb.html
 
Robin is giving good advice about the seizure threshold, which means that anyone is capable of having a seizure. Some of us for whatever reason or cause have a lower seizure threshold.
My little brother had what they called back then, petite mal seizures as a child, was on meds. for 3 years. As an adult he has never had a seizure. He is now 46. I had my 1st one at age 11, same thing, except my E. made a return visit as an adult.
My son was four when he jumped off his top bunk, and hit his head. I found him moaning, and took him to ER. He did have a seizure, is now 27 and has never had another one. He even played contact sports in high school w/o having one. So there you have it.
I take one medication, have lowered my dose twice. I have made changes to my lifestyle also. All this hoping to raise my threshold with less medication. I am not recommending this, and my doctor did not lower my dose, nor did he tell me to raise it again!:pop:
 
It's more likely for a kid to "grow out of epilepsy". For adults, they say the odds are better if there's an identifiable cause, and if the person remains seizure-free for 3-5 years before trying to go off meds. I'm sure hoping adults can grow out of it too. I've tried twice to go off meds (with my neurologist's okay) with no luck. Of course the first time, my neurologist just had me quit my meds cold turkey(!) -- which I'm sure didn't help. The second time I went slowly, over 3 months or so, but still no luck. I think if I try again, I will go even slower, over the course of a year or even longer. I think the body is much more sensitive than a lot of neurologists admit, and that it's important to give it a long time to adjust after each drop in dose.
 
The odds of becoming seizure-free are not as good for adults, or for children with severe epilepsy syndromes. But it is possible that seizures may decrease or even stop over time. This is more likely if the epilepsy has been well-controlled by medication or if the person has had epilepsy surgery."

My seizures started as CP when I was 22 years old, progressed to TC that were not controlled by medication. The epilepsy brain surgery only made the seizures worse.
 
Cindy:

Did or do you have an identifiable cause for your seizures? What is your treatment now that the surgery made them more frequent? I am sorry, that must be hard to deal with.
 
No identifiable cause. Idiopathic epilepsy, they told me. I finally, as a last resort, had the VNS therapy. It has not completely stopped the seizures, but it has helped.
It has been very difficult to deal with. It was on the left side which is harder to control when the seizures come from the left side and the depression after the surgery.......unbearable. Almost didn't make it due to the depression!
Still taking anti-depressants to this day.
 
My seizures are better right now than they were just over a week ago which is great !! .. im still having a few muscle twitches... but not had any jerks in days so perhaps the strict 8 hour med schedule is doing some good, plus... we did start lamictal again...and hopefully i wont have to come off it... my Neuro thinks it was working.. and perhaps she was right.. though right now im on a very low dose.

I hope for full seizure control, and not having a low threshold as robin says, perhaps then in future after a few years i can try no meds (hopefully, prays)

Cint I am sorry your seizures progressed, its a fear of mine also. What does the VNS feel like ? someone I met at an epilepsy support group a while ago said it had made his voice change....

Nak....I came off lamictal 18 months ago .. it had been prescribed back then for Bipolar and i had been on it 2 years... I came off it cold turkey (again due to the expense) My psychiatrist .. who actually suspected I had seizures back then... was completly lame and said "you should be fine coming off it cold turkey dont worry lamictal has very rare side effects"

I think those were his exact words.. or something along those lines, I cant believe it now... as soon as i quit it like that.. all those complex partials hit me a thousand times worse.....back then it was only affecting me as I fell asleep or took naps though... now I get others.. hence another reason Im scared i will get tonic clonics

I am seeing my Neurologist today, so I will post an update on what she says and how it goes.. its been a nightmare lately with my psych admission and all this stuff that has gone on.. Im embarassed to walk in and see her...and Is cared she is goign to be mad.

Will let you know.
 
Your neurologist is not allowed to be mad at you! Her job is to listen, and respond with compassion and insight. In a perfect world...
 
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