OMG, There is finally an epilepsy specialist in Toms River, NJ!!! And he's amazing!

[31brownie]

Hi,

I've been struggling with weird spells that were passed off for the past 5 years as being due to anxiety. I would get these sudden bouts of panic and fear - I've never been a fearful person and never had panic attacks. These events would only happen at night, I'd wake up from sleep (usually within 2 hours of falling asleep) with a horrible sense of doom and my throat would feel like its tightening and I'd get a "whoosh" from my stomach up like I was in a crazy roller coaster.

Everyone said it was stress, but I didn't have any changes in my life. I was on antidepressants and it was still going on.

I saw this new neurologist and epilepsy specialist in Toms River, NJ - Dr. Mehta. He just started working there to build an epilepsy monitoring unit at Community Medical Center.

He asked all sorts of questions no one asked and I then was admitted to his unit for 5 days. During that time, I had one of my spells. Turns out, he was right and I've been having seizures from my temporal lobe all along. I got started on lamictal - started slowly but now for the past 2 months, I feel better than ever - NO MORE SPELLS and panic attacks - no more seizures!

This guy is really good - takes a lot of time to get me comfortable. I'm so happy that he's close by because the other neurologists I saw around here didn't know what to look for, Dr. Mehta really did.

Just want to give a shout out to kids and adults around me in Ocean and Monmouth county that if you need to see a guy who thinks outside the box and is a trained epilepsy specialist (he came from NYU epilepsy center), you definitely should see Dr. Amor Mehta. You won't regret it! No I just hope he stays here and doesn't leave Toms River.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi 31brownie, welcome!

I'm sorry to here that it took so long to get the right diagnosis, but Hooray! that you've found a good neuro and have seizure control. Maybe there's an online physician rating site near you where you can give Dr. Mehta a thumbs-up.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[masterjen]

Congratulations on finding a great specialist! I know it is a huge relief to find someone who knows what to ask and look for, and then know how to put everything together. And also congrats for success with lamictal.

 

[31brownie]

He says I have mesial temporal sclerosis that is on my MRI

I'm surprised that the radiologist didn't see it but he did. Anyway, do any of you know how you can get mesial temporal sclerosis. I read online that if you had febrile seizures, it could happen but my Mom said I was perfectly fine - no seizures as a baby.

Dr. Mehta said that for 50% of cases or more, there is no identifiable cause.

I'm glad I'm better but I'm still worried that this mesial temporal sclerosis is going to get worse. I'm pissed because the radiologist and 2 neurologists who looked at my scan before said it was normal (on the report) but when Dr. Mehta showed me what I'm looking at - it really is noticable - the difference between the problem side of my brain and the other normal side.

How could these docs miss it for so long?

 

[Janus]

Congrats! I bus for 2 hours each way to see my epileptologist. To Seattle.

 

[MAB]

Hi,

I've been struggling with weird spells that were passed off for the past 5 years as being due to anxiety. I would get these sudden bouts of panic and fear - I've never been a fearful person and never had panic attacks. These events would only happen at night, I'd wake up from sleep (usually within 2 hours of falling asleep) with a horrible sense of doom and my throat would feel like its tightening and I'd get a "whoosh" from my stomach up like I was in a crazy roller coaster.

Everyone said it was stress, but I didn't have any changes in my life. I was on antidepressants and it was still going on.

I saw this new neurologist and epilepsy specialist in Toms River, NJ - Dr. Mehta. He just started working there to build an epilepsy monitoring unit at Community Medical Center.

He asked all sorts of questions no one asked and I then was admitted to his unit for 5 days. During that time, I had one of my spells. Turns out, he was right and I've been having seizures from my temporal lobe all along. I got started on lamictal - started slowly but now for the past 2 months, I feel better than ever - NO MORE SPELLS and panic attacks - no more seizures!

This guy is really good - takes a lot of time to get me comfortable. I'm so happy that he's close by because the other neurologists I saw around here didn't know what to look for, Dr. Mehta really did.

Just want to give a shout out to kids and adults around me in Ocean and Monmouth county that if you need to see a guy who thinks outside the box and is a trained epilepsy specialist (he came from NYU epilepsy center), you definitely should see Dr. Amor Mehta. You won't regret it! No I just hope he stays here and doesn't leave Toms River.

I'm glad you finally found someone that could figure out what was wrong. It took me 3 1/2 years to find my doctor. I no longer feel crazy. I feel hopeful (but scared) that I am finally on the right path. I just started on lamotrigine,after a shaky start with Keppra (only 4 days) and increased my dose this morning to 50 mg. I see the neuro again November 5 and I can't wait.

How much lamictal do you take?

 

[31brownie]

I'm on Lamictal 50mg twice a day - working up to 100 mg twice a day

Dr. Mehta said its not necessarily the dose that matters, but its the level in the blood that matters.

For some people a dose that might seem high might correspond to a lower blood level. For another person, that same dose might be really high.

Everyone processes the medicines differently, so he said that there is no standard dose - he doses based on blood levels.

I really started feeling like my spells were going away when I started on this dose so I don't know if I should go higher though. He said that it may take the edge off my mood too - cause I have real highs and lows - I think I'm like bipolar or something.

He didn't tell me to see a psychiatrist tho - so I'm thankful cause' the docs before him all said to see another psychiatrist and all the psychiatrist wants to do is put me on anti-depressants.

 

[MAB]

Dr. Mehta said its not necessarily the dose that matters, but its the level in the blood that matters.

For some people a dose that might seem high might correspond to a lower blood level. For another person, that same dose might be really high.

Everyone processes the medicines differently, so he said that there is no standard dose - he doses based on blood levels.

I really started feeling like my spells were going away when I started on this dose so I don't know if I should go higher though. He said that it may take the edge off my mood too - cause I have real highs and lows - I think I'm like bipolar or something.

He didn't tell me to see a psychiatrist tho - so I'm thankful cause' the docs before him all said to see another psychiatrist and all the psychiatrist wants to do is put me on anti-depressants.

I know all about the depression question. I went to the doctor complaining about horrible back pain. She barely looked at me and asked if I was depressed. I fired her and found a new doctor. He ordered x-rays and a MRI. He referred me to one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. I needed 2 major back surgeries 5 days apart, was in ICU for 8 days and that first idiot doctor had the nerve to ask if I was depressed. Hell yeah I was depressed, I was in chronic pain.