Hi All,
I'm a 60 year old with so far 6 total grand mal seizures. They just showed up in my life and it is a little disconcerting to say the least. I'm on Keppra now 1000mgs in the morning and 1500mgs at night. My tongue is all chewed up and I'm pretty depressed don't know how people cope with this in their life and any advise would be welcome
Victor
Hi and Welcome Victor! You came to the best place possible - doesn't take long to make friends here.
Grand mals (aka tonic clonics) do that more often than not - just show up. One day you're living your life and the next it's all changed. And if it happens more you're told you have epilepsy. You can trust greatly that many, many members on here know exactly what you're going through, to a tee. I do.
Tongue hurts like a bitch right, it's awful I know. It's so hard to process mentally what is happening to you when at the same time you can hardly talk or eat.
But... it heals. And though it doesn't seem like it right now, the fear and depression do somewhat too. I'll be honest, for some it takes years to come to terms with the diagnosis and life change, but regardless of the time for you, it will happen. Talking crying venting... anything you need to do to release your emotions is pretty important at this stage. Not sure if you have anyone at home or close to you, but if not (and even if you do!), come on here and do it as often as you like. Like Epileric, many have been dealing with E for decades, and can be a great source of information and support. There's nothing like experience.
Also, try researching. Learning as much as you can about what's happening to you is vital to accepting it. I was fairly in the dark for the first five years and then when I seized while driving and woke up in a ditch, well, it was time I get a clue and learn what having epilepsy really meant. I hit the internet and books and questions at doctors, and it became a whole new world to me. Albeit a hard one to swallow, but in the end it helped me realize what was going on at every turn. It can make all the difference in the world.
