my first post : my first seizure

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My name's Kristol and im 21, nearly 22 [[Dec 9]].
I have been living with epilepsy since December 7, 2007.
Its been 1380 days.


The Very First Seizure I Had :

I was a Senior in high school.
AP Government. It was my last class. It was about 2:20 on a Friday afternoon. Only 15 mins left of the school day. Since it was the last few mins in the day, we were talking about random stuff.. Throwing different topics around. I was in the middle of asking mr. white a question when the next thing i remember, i'm waking up on the floor.

I was freaking out and was wondering why i was laying on the floor. I tried getting up. The next thing i know, the athletic trainer -the nurse had already left for the day- was sitting next to me and kinda holding me down. I knew I recognized who he was, but at that time I didnt know what was going on and I just wanted to get up and go home. I had no idea what was going on. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.

So I finally gave up fighting with the trainer, I just laid there as he advised me. I looked around noticing no one was in the class with me, besides the trainer and mr. white... I immediately looked at the clock. I have no idea why i did.. It was 2:33.

I looked around again, and noticed mr. white was on the phone. His face was red like he had been crying. He was on the phone trying to get ahold of my mom at work. I could hear her voice on the phone -
"What? What?? Wait, MY daughter Kristol?!?? Kristol?? No, she doesnt have seizures. Are you sure it Kristol??"

She then started crying and made mr. white cry a little bit more..
She allowed the ambulance to take me to the hospital and said she's gonna meet me there as soon as she could. She had to call my dad so he could pick her up from work.

By the time they ended the phone call, i was being helped up onto the stretcher by the paramedics. Mr. white was grabbing my sweater and backpack for me..

After she talked to my dad, my mom called my brother, who was also at work and told him what happened. My brother is the one who works the furthest from the hospital but he was there first - before i even was..

I remember being wheeled out of the classroom. The bell rang a few minutes before, so everyone was out of class and was getting situated to go home.
I remember seeing my entire class standing out there waiting to see if i was okaay. That made me smile.. Something i needed.



I remember a little bit of the ride to the hospital. But once they admitted me and i saw my brother there, i passed out. I woke up a little bit here and there. I was in ICU that Friday night and for most of Saturday.
When i woke up Saturday afternoon/evening, the doctors talked with me.. They said i could've had a seizure because of something as little as stress or could be more serious.. They said i should go to my doctor for a follow up.
[[The hospital for Native Americans here in Phoenix isn't like a regular doctor visit.. We don't have primary care docotrs.. We sign in and are be seen by whichever doctor's on duty that day.]]

So we werent sure what to do. I was hours away from being 18, a legal adult, so i ended up applying thru DES for insurance. It'd still be maybe a month before i find out if i'm approved or not..
So i waited for the response.


That next friday, December 14th, i had another seizure. The ER ordered meds for me, nearly $300. My mom paid for it.
I'm so grateful for her. She does everything she can for her family. I love my mom.

After this seizure, the doctors asked if i could take some stress away in any way..
I was a Senior in all AP classes - earning college credit.
I was in 5 clubs - President of one // Vice President of another
I was involved with sports - Co Captain
It was Finals Week before Winter Break

Well.. I ended up dropping all my AP classes. I didn't play anymore sports. I let all my clubs go but one.. It was one of the hardest choices because my entire high school career was based around sports, advanced classes and clubs.
I did graduate on time, with all my friends. And was accepted to over 13 Universities cross country.

I have yet to attend one college class. And since my high school years were dedicated to schoolwork year round, i've never had a job.

About a year after graduation, I got a recommendation to Barrow Neurology. I've been with my same neurologist ever since. I've had EEG's, MRI's, and even a week stay in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit where they watched me have a seizure, and a few weeks ago i had the Wada Test.
A stepping stone to the brain surgery.
I'm praying that this brain surgery is my cure.



I know its alot to read, I'm very grateful to those who read all of this post...
Its me just sharing thoughts i havent shared with most.. And the people i do share this with, aren't epileptic.. They can only understand to a certain extent..
Well.. any questions or any advice or thoughts, i welcome them..
-kristol
 
First off, I would like to say Welcome to CWE! :)

Im a 30 year old female who has had Epilepsy my whole life. Ive been through it all... MRI's, EEG's, VEEG, etc. I grew up having complex partial seizures and grand mal seizures. After having my first VEEG this year, I got to come off one seizure medication (carbatrol) and am now only on one, Keppra XR. I have left temporal lobe epilepsy and have simple partial seizures.

My dr is wanting to talk about possibly getting me off the Keppra XR next August. But, thats still a way's off, so in the mean time Im trying to take it easy as much as I can.

There is alot of great people on this board! I just wanted to welcome you! :)
 
Hi Kristol, welcome to CWE!

I hope surgery is the answer for you, and that you can put the frustrations of epilepsy aside.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Hi Kristol!

I hope they do find an answer for you, but I do recommend visiting other neurologists as well.

I had a seizure in FL in 2009 and since then have had about 9-10 seizures. The main reason why I say see another neurologist as well is because my first neurologist (in MI) told me eventually "I am not sure what to do anymore" after I complained I was on Dilantin and STILL having seizures (which he said I shouldn't be having that many). So I do hope someone can help you out. If you ever need anyone to talk to, please feel free to message me.
 
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