help i dont no what to do i need adivce

[dizzy17]

i have been free form my sezuires 2 years now, but from when i was 11 until 2007 i was havin up 2 60 sezuires a day, and now im 17 n wanting to learn how to drive, i know i am able to drive of being free without fitting for 2 years, but however i have had a new consoult and he said to me what do you want to do, because i am on epilim and they dnt give young wemon that because of a 98% chance of having a child that is mentaly and physcially disabled but that was the only drug that controled my sezuire. so now they asked me do i want to come of them but he said that there is less than 50-50 of me having a sezuire as soon as i come of them meaning putting me back 12-18 months beofre driving and knowing ill will be on them tablets for my rest of my life n not being able to have children of my own however if i dont have a sezuire i just have to wait 6 months and then i can learn how to drive or i stay on them and have a talk with my adult concousnat in the furture.

if anyone can help me with this have people had a simialr experience or just adivce me on if i come of them or not it will help me alot thankyou

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Dizzy, and welcome.

That's a very tough call about the meds. It sounds like you should either come off the meds or change to a different med, or both.

Doctors say that two years seizure-free is the minimum before coming off meds. Others recommend at least 5 years seizure-free before making the attempt. If you feel like you really want to try it now, then you also need to be prepared to accept the possibility of having a seizure and needing to go back on meds (while delaying driving). I know that's not something you want to hear, but the risk-versus-reward calculation is one we all make from time to time. One thing you could ask your doctor about is if they can do EEGs while you are tapering off the Epilim. Those can potentially show whether or not your brain is showing epileptic brain waves, and you can change your mind about coming off drugs altogether. I had the EEGs done when I tapered off Dilantin. (And despite the presence of epileptiform waves, I decided to try going off the meds anyway, with no luck.)

There are medications that are considered less harmful during pregnancy (Lamictal is one of them), so if you do need to go back on meds that doesn't rule out having children of your own.

Good luck with your decision. I hope all goes well for you either way.

best,
Nakamova

 

[dizzy17]

i have had an eeg in may and that came back as no sufficant abnormatilets sorry about my spelling my epilepsy has made me a bit pour at spelling

 

[Nakamova]

No need to apologize about spelling, everyone here can relate!

While you're controlled on the medication, your brain ideally won't show any abnormalities -- it's while you're coming off of the meds that the abnormalities may show up again, which is why having the EEGs while you're tapering off can be useful. If you taper down to half your normal dose, and have an EEG at that point, then that might show the abnormal brainwaves -- that could mean that you still need the medication. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees.

And even though I had a questionable EEG, I STILL decided to go off my meds -- I just wanted to know one way or another. Sometimes that's a good enough reason to try it.