Glad to meet my peers. I'm 53 now. Diagnosed with Epilepsy when I was 21. Some Neuro docs say it was from a head injury when I was 4...some docs just dont have opinion. I've had uncontrolled complex partials since day one. Meds help but not 100%. I went on disability 4 years ago after going through the process to determine if I was a good candidate for temporal lobe resection surgery. MRI. EEG, Video EEG, Functional MRI, PET Scan, Neuro Psych test. WADA procedure...I had them all just to find out there was too much risk. The crazy thing is my IQ is 143 but my short term memory is at "extreme deficit". They say my brain "re-organized" when I was still young to the point I have cross hemisphere thought process. 100% ambidextrous too. However, every seizure I have continues to damage my abilities.
I live in Montana where docs are hard to come by and there is no such thing as an unscheduled office visit unless you wait 2 months and drive a hundred miles. After being on AEDs for 30+ years I'm realizing the long term sideaffects. AEDs have a long term risk of screwing up lots of bodily functions we take for granted such as digesting food properly. Oh, and your vision. Each person seems to react differently so one person's experience with a specific med is different than others. After being on maybe a dozen different AED meds, my neuro doc has done his best and we settled on Trileptal and Zonisamide.
I fear that my blood levels are way off currently because my stomache isnt emptying and I'm experiencing back and forth constipation/diarrhea. In addition, the stomachs is causing loads of acid reflux which has burnt a hole in my esophagus. Even with trips to hospital and endoscope, no med professional has checked my levels in a year.
I moved to Montana 15 years ago. I get to drive in montana which is soooooo cool! However, I keep running into the fact that montana might as well be a third world country when it comes to medical.
I live in Montana where docs are hard to come by and there is no such thing as an unscheduled office visit unless you wait 2 months and drive a hundred miles. After being on AEDs for 30+ years I'm realizing the long term sideaffects. AEDs have a long term risk of screwing up lots of bodily functions we take for granted such as digesting food properly. Oh, and your vision. Each person seems to react differently so one person's experience with a specific med is different than others. After being on maybe a dozen different AED meds, my neuro doc has done his best and we settled on Trileptal and Zonisamide.
I fear that my blood levels are way off currently because my stomache isnt emptying and I'm experiencing back and forth constipation/diarrhea. In addition, the stomachs is causing loads of acid reflux which has burnt a hole in my esophagus. Even with trips to hospital and endoscope, no med professional has checked my levels in a year.
I moved to Montana 15 years ago. I get to drive in montana which is soooooo cool! However, I keep running into the fact that montana might as well be a third world country when it comes to medical.