Left temporal lobe epilepsy surgery Posted: 02-10-08 19:32pm
Hi Guys,
I suffer from epilepsy caused by
hippocampal sclerosis. After trying many
medications for many years my doctor has
suggested me to go for a surgery. All the
tests went well but the Wada which said
that most of my memory resides on the left
and where i have the scar. The doc says we
can still go for surgery but am quite
scared and would need answers to certain
questions before I go ahead with decision.
I have the questions below.
Type of epilepsy (If Temporal lobe please
mention left or right)
Brain side where most memory resides-
Age -
Date of Surgery (mm/yyyy) -
Success % (if specified by doctor) -
Frequency of seizures (before and after
surgery) -
Medications(before and after surgery) -
Profession (before and after surgery) -
Please describe the problems that you
faced or are facing after surgery (e.g.
Memory Problems , depression, migraine
etc) -
How long did you have to stay at the
hospital -
Did have to go to any therapist after the
surgery -
In how many days were you able to get to
work -
Other experiences -
Any advice for me -
I am not sure if everyone would be
comfortable answering those questions on
the forum. Responses are highly
appreciated.
|
mickmeister
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 3
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 07-17-08 18:50pm
Age - 35
Date of Surgery (mm/yyyy) - 11/01/1994 and
11/15/1994
Success % (if specified by doctor) - 70%
Frequency of seizures (before and after
surgery) - 1 - 2 per month at the time,
although varying times in my life, I had
multiple seizures every week.
Medications(before and after surgery) -
Tegretol XR at the time and afterwards.
Before Tegretol, I had tried Mysoline,
dilantin, valium, depakote, felbatol, and
phenobarbitol.
Profession (before and after surgery) - I
was a student before and right after the
surgery. I then went on to become a sales
assistant, a customer service rep, third
level technical support and then an IT
Director.
Please describe the problems that you
faced or are facing after surgery (e.g.
Memory Problems , depression, migraine
etc) - depression was a major problem. It
was very hard to adapt at first to a
normal life. It was very scary wondering
if I was going to have a seizure or not. I
waited for three years afterwards to get
my drivers license. Another problem I
faced afterwards was with my mom. She had
always taken care of me and then, all of a
sudden, I was normal. We grew apart
afterwards and never had the closeness we
did again. In fact, the sad thing is, she
went into severe depression and ended up
developing alzheimer's.
How long did you have to stay at the
hospital - 3 weeks
Did have to go to any therapist after the
surgery - No, but I probably should have.
It was really depressing when I realized
all that I had missed out on when I became
normal. I had lived a very sheltered life
growing up. My mom was a helicopter parent
that never let me play with other kids
because of the seizures. Plus, I never had
kids that would play with me because of
the seizures too. After several years
though, I can't complain because now that
I do so much stuff, such as skydiving,
crotch rockets, scuba diving, and such, I
look at these middle aged people with
boring lives and laugh.
In how many days were you able to get to
work - I didn't work at the time. I was
still in college. I went back to class
full time that fall.
Other experiences -
Any advice for me - I say to go in with
excitement. I did because I knew it was
going to change my life and it did.
