One step forward and Two steps back....

[dora21]

I had what I thought was a really positive day on Monday, my new carer comes in now to help me 3 hours a day 3 days a week, which we plan on upping as I get used to having someone new around to help out.

Anyway after having a good 3 hours & getting some housework done & even managing to make a simple meal for dinner for myself, my 14 year old son & my 19 year old daughter.

My son & I sat down to eat, my daughter wasn't home.

After we had finished and put something on T.V. to watch, I started at first twitching in my fingers which then spread to the whole of my body, my vision then went very blurry & I couldn't speak properly, it was then that I tried very calmly to tell my son to go next door for some help.

By the time they returned I don't really have much memory except the biggest urge to close my eyes, I remember my neighbour kept telling me I had to stay awake & he called for an ambulance. I was taken to hospital & it must of been a good few hours or so before I began to feel normal again....

I was admitted for observation & had another seizure in the morning, this time after the twitching, I found I couldn't move from the bed & all that was happening were my eyes were constantly flickering for what seemed like ages. I remember before this one started I told a nurse that I could see a small black ball in my left eye, but she seemed to ignore this & even when I pressed my buzzer & told them that I had started twitching again they just ignored me & left me to get on with it, surely I thought they may want to monitor what was going on, considering that's why I had been kept in hospital...

Anyway I'm now back home & apparently the hospital have put the seizures down to pure exhaustion & my mental state.

That's just great, do I expect this to now be an ongoing thing? I have no idea, I thought by being on 500mg in the morning & 750mg in the eve of keppra for my pain that it would knock out any kind of seizures but obviously not.

Please could anyone help, it just seems I never get a break & if I do I end up paying for it later....

I thought I had escaped seizures as my head injury was last April

Any help or ideas on what I should do if it happens again would be much appreciated. Thank you all for taking the time to read.

[BaronC]

It was ten months after my accident that I developed epilepsy and I sympathise with how you are feeling right now. Generalised seizures are truly awful and I know for certain that there are more than a few people on this site who know the feeling all too well.

It is however important to remember that for a sizable proportion of people who suffer with the condition there is help out there. There are many, many medications used to try and counter epilepsy. I myself, use a combination of two separate drugs to contain the generalised seizures, it's been quite a few years now since I had one. It can take a while to find the right medication that suits you and then the right dose. And there is also a chance that there isn't one out there that matches your needs. It might be that Keppra is simply not right for you, well clearly it isn't. Ask your doctor to prescribe something else.

But there IS help and your doctor or specialist should be able to point you in the right direction. I am sending you my very best wishes, hoping you feel much better soon, and good luck

Andy

[Dorsetcharlie]

This must be so frightening and frustrating for you.

Ask your GP to refer you to the seizure clinic and keep a diary of seizure activity so you can give the consultant a clear picture of what is happening.

As Andy said, there is loads they can do but it will take some tweaking and a bit of time to find the right treatment for you and to stabilise. Jake used to have a full tonic clonic every couple of months but has now been seizure free for over a year

[Stardrop]

It's just a thought . The Headway nurses would bang on and on about pacing yourself, but on a good day I just wanted to get on with things. I wonder if you had overdone it and your brain decided to slow you up. I don't have epilepsy but become suddenly sleepy and stupid when I've gone too far. New people and situations I find really draining. Try to be kind to yourself.

I also agree about keeping a detailed diary including odd things. It gives the medics something concrete to play with.