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I've had epilepsy for thirty years, had five brain surgeries, and still take medication. I'm no different than anyone else I just want to inform people that it could be worse. MY FUN TIMES WITH EPILEPSY Tap into Your Strength After Trauma. There isn't anything special about me. I'm one of three million Americans that have epilepsy. I was diagnosed in college and that wasn't fun. I went to the wrong type of doctor, a neurologist and not an epileptologist, who put me on two different medications. I finally found the right doctors. I learned a lot about the brain and the Central Nervous System. I was a Bio major, so I had an interest in how the body worked; however, I never imagined that I would be "the patient". But I am and always will be, despite being told by my first neurologist that I would grow out of it! I thought he was the one with a neurological disorder after he said that to me. I was skeptical of his prognosis and was correct. I didn't want to be, but I just knew. I've spoken with dozens of people with epilepsy or their family members. What I hear the most is, "the doctor said he/she/they will grow out of it." After graduation I eventually worked as an IT systems engineer in NYC. It was a stressful job, but I never used to get stressed out. It was the little things that affected me- loud, crowded areas give me migraines, not remembering names of people, wearing my sunglasses to the movies and TV shows I had previously seen but forgot I had watched. When I don't remember I tell myself "Everything is new and exciting." My new hobby is writing about my epilepsy journey. There wasn't anything on-line about epilepsy and I feel like it's my destiny to give back to the people like me who thought they were alone living with epilepsy. Then I had brain surgery. Most patients have a two-stage craniotomy, and they have a reduction in seizures or never have another seizure. I joke that I am 'Murphy's Law' because I needed a three-stage craniotomy. A year after that I needed a cranioplasty. My skull never fused back the way it was supposed to, so I needed a partial skull replacement. After four years of migraines my neurosurgeon took skull x-rays. He noticed that I had a screw loose, but when he opened up my head it wasn't a screw that was my problem. The methyl methacrylate, a polymer that is often used to hold the titanium skull in place, had rippled. They "sanded" my plastic, titanium skull to smooth out the ridges and I went home the same day. There are things that will trigger my seizures, and I avoid them. It's not the worst thing in the world to have epilepsy. Despite missing part of the right side of my temporal lobe, hippocampus and amygdala I live a life that I can be happy and proud of not because I'm a hero. It's because I choose to be happy. We all have to make that choice every day. THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT!

Why seizures happen, how it happens and what happens to your brain & body Understanding Seizures: Why and How. Mag-log In

epilepsy brain op pics and story. I've had five epilepsy surgeries and still need meds. Craniotomy 1-3 and Cranioplasty 1-2 My family was there every day for a month. My mom slept in the hospital almost every night until she was kicked out by my daddy. My sisters would visit me after work & say, "Move over, Ker. I'm so tired." My Daddy taped my glasses to the pressure bandage My sisters and me My pressure bandage with EEG cables coming out a hole in the back. The 1st surgery, eight hours long, was the implantation of the leads on & inside the brain. They removed part of the skull & kept it frozen until the last surgery. They replaced it and used titanium screws to keep it in place Finally at home but still have my sutures and staples. I think this was after the fourth surgery. You meet great friends, too! EEG leads connected to my brain My staples in all their glory.