Seizures, OCD...and lobectomy?

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elizzza811

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If I were to consider a temporal lobectomy for my complex partial seizures and/or OCD, would my remaining 'lobes' take over its functions? I know this sounds drastic, as I haven't yet been 'officially' diagnosed with seizures, and I don't 'officially' know they're coming from my temporal lobe(s)...but my OCD is definitely severe enough alone to consider having one if it would cure me!

Association of temporal lobe epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder in a patient successfully treated with right temporal lobectomy:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15907757

Epilepsy & OCD:
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/mood_obsessivecompulsivedisorder

How commonly is surgery used to correct complex partial seizures? Is it sort of a last resort after meds and VNS are tried? And from what I've been reading, complex partials, especially those arising from the temporal lobes, are hard to control with meds?
 
Personally I see surgery as a last resort. It does work sometimes, other times it doesn't.

As far as OCD goes, all its associations with epilepsy are speculative, even what your link says:
These data support the hypothesis that temporal lobe epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) share at least some pathophysiological components.
Click to expand...

that reads that:

A) it's still a hypothesis & not fully understood yet &

B) that it might share some of the same components but that doesn't mean that curing one will cure the other despite a connection between the two.
 
I know it's still speculative, but I'm still hopeful. Obviously not everyone with epilepsy develops OCD, so perhaps certain parts of the brain must be damaged by the seizures for OCD to result.

But I also read a book recently, 'Saving Sammy', and apparently his OCD was caused by strep...Augmentin cured him...he didn't suffer seizures though. And it is established that infections can cause epilepsy, so did I just get a double whammy (OCD and seizures) from an infection of some sort damaging my brain...?
 
I"m not saying that there is definitely no connection b/w OCD & epilepsy but I find it a bit of a leap to say that it's likely because epilepsy & strep can both be caused by infections, especially considering how many types of infection there are.

I would think that if there is a connection it would be in what part of the brain is effected rather than what caused the brain to be effected.
 
I agree any connection between OCD and epilepsy would probably have more to do with what 'areas' of the brain are infected, but I don't know? Sometimes I even think my OCD-ing so much may have caused my epilepsy. Imagine spending hours and hours a day concentrating like crazy on cleaning one particular corner of a room or even one single item. If OCD-ing involves a misfiring of neurons, could OCD-ing too often potentially lead to epilepsy?
 
I don't have OCD but I can't imagine it being caused by neurons misfiring.

Focusing on anything during a seizure (when neurons misfire) is quite a challenge whereas OCD is focusing (too much) on something.
 
There is some thought that OCD may be related to misfiring neurons in an overactive area of the brain, though perhaps a different kind of misfiring than that which occurs during seizures. This link talks about it a bit:

http://www.anxietycare.org.uk/docs/ocdcauses.asp
 
OCD is definitely caused by a misfiring or overfiring of specific neurons...that's been established and is accepted. That's why they try to correct neurotransmitters with SSRIs in those who suffer from OCD...or perhaps I should refer to them as neuro 'transmitters'?

And as far as the strep/OCD connection goes, more specifically it is thought to be caused by PANDAS, an abnormal auto-neuroimmune response to the natural antibodies produced against the strep bacteria, not the strep bacteria itself. And there are plenty of pediatric doctors out there who believe in this theory, established or not. Plus, most adults with OCD, in retrospect, can remember OCD-ing as a child, myself included.

So why wouldn't I want to look into the OCD/strep/PANDAS connection? SSRIs have never touched any of my OCD symptoms. And what are the odds that I happen to have already tested positive for several infections and have OCD? Lyme, bartonella, babesia...and even staph was found on blood culture when I insisted on having a blood culture drawn. Plus, my immunoglobulins were low when tested, which I imagine would open me up to a host of infections, including strep.
 
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elizzza811 said:
So why wouldn't I want to look into the OCD/strep/PANDAS connection?
Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense.

I just misread your post to think that you were saying there was a strep/epilepsy connection.

Sorry.
 
elizzza811 said:
How commonly is surgery used to correct complex partial seizures? Is it sort of a last resort after meds and VNS are tried? And from what I've been reading, complex partials, especially those arising from the temporal lobes, are hard to control with meds?
Click to expand...

I had a left temporal lobectomy back in 1990, to no avail. At the time, we had tried all meds that were available. It was in the 90's that more AED's became available as did the VNS. And as Eric has said, lobectomy is used as a last resort. For me, it made my seizure outcome worse than before surgery. Not to mention the depression, headaches, memory loss. I had the VNS in 1998 after having the brain surgery and trying numerous meds. It has helped, but it isn't a cure all.

Here is another interesting read about OCD and TLE:

http://home.gwu.edu/~philbeck/OCD and TLE (2004).pdf
 
Hmmm? Then maybe I won't consider a lobectomy, and I'll lean towards the VNS instead if it comes to that.

I wasn't able to open that file though. For some reason my computer won't open pdf files anymore?...I'm not sure why?
 
elizzza811 said:
I wasn't able to open that file though. For some reason my computer won't open pdf files anymore?...I'm not sure why?
Click to expand...

You might want to try Foxit reader. It works well for me.

If you still can't read PDF after installing that, try saving the PDF & then reading it.
 
Thanks, 'saving' the file still didn't work though. This computer is a mess because I used to be able to open them.
 
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