Just got diagnosed with it after dealing with the seizures since i was about 14. Told the doc about my experiences, didnt know until after reading about it that deja vu is involved, fucked. anyway, they put me on Carbamazepine, also treats bipolar, schiz and what not. They say i cant drink or do drugs, cant get my license which is the real pisser. Dont think i want to be on the med. Anyone else have it, or any kind of epilepsy, i want to know more about it from firsthands.
I have grand mal seizures, petit mal, and have had two complex partials <which are real pieces of shit eh?> I'm on zonegran and depakote, I'm going to tell you right now, there is not a good anticonvulsant out there, there are just tolerable ones, for gods sake, they still use phynlbarbitol in some cases if you start getting unnacceptable side affects, tell your neuro, you are your own best advocate, look into other drugs, look into what else works for your epilepsy, become educated about it, find out everything you can about the seizures you can, and get a neurologist who is willing to listen to you, wash your hair very thouroughly before and after EEG's, sleep less the night before an MRI, it makes it easier to deal with it, also, bring foam earplugs, MRI's are fucking loud BE MED COMPLIANT! seriously DO NOT FUCK AROUND WITH YOUR DRUGS, and if you are on generics and they work, stay on generics, if you aren't, try not to switch, the pharmokinetics vary between generic and name brand versions of drugs because they change the inactive ingredients to avoid patent infringement, they get into your system at different speeds, and in effect, the other version can cause you to have seizures where the other prevents them when they say no drugs, no alcohol? they mean it, if you are willing to take on the risk of brain damage that comes with it <because every time you have a seizure you ARE doing brain damage> then you can figure out what your exact tolerances are, but, lets be honest about that, it is fucking stupid to do, and not at all reccomended, and you already knew you could check your tolerances LEARN TO RECOGNIZE YOUR PRE ICTAL ACTIVITY IF ANY have post ictal action plans, for yourself, for the people you spend time around off the top, I think that's everything, good luck, different states, provinces, municipalities have different driving laws, if I lived in california I wouldn't be able to get a drivers liscense at all, I live in nevada, so I lose my liscense for three months after a grand mal, I haven't asked my neuro about complex partials and I don't plan to because I have a 30 minute aura, so I feel adequatly safe that I can get out of bad situations with that.
What kind of epilepsy is it? Do you lose your conscience? How is your epilepsy expressed? Have there been any tests yet, and if so, what were the results? Post the results of the EEG and the MRI (whether they find anything, and if yes, what exactly). Certain kinds of epilepsy, such as what I had, can be cured, but not via carbamazepin or any other drugs. In fact, certain kinds of epilepsy cannot be cured while you're on carbamazepin. Anyway, post the details of the tests before I can say anything else...
If I were you...I'd do what they say. Maybe get a second opinion, but don't fuck around. My neighbor is severely SEVERELY handicapped. It was because of epilepsy. She stopped taking her meds and went against what the doctors said and it ruined her for life. My cousin is 22 and was just diagnosed with epilepsy and she's unable to drive but the doctor said it's only until they can find a med that agrees with her and gets fully into her system. Hope all goes well!
My epilepsy is triggered by deja vu, or series of. Then, that day, or sometime that week, when im at the transition of wakefulness to sleep, i enter a dream like state, what ever you want to call it. Sometime in that state a seizure may occur, feels like being struck by lightning from the inside, but it wont stop, and everything is weird, almost from a parallel universe. Anyway, i usually felt like i was going to die if i didnt get out, then a couple times ago i bit my toung and i had to get it checked out. Dont think ill become handicapped for not doing the meds, i find the whole med thing a violation of human nature. I think its a rare case, and if the MRI shows nothing severe, i dont know what ill do, i paid 500$ for drivers training, and i want to drive.
What's your seizures like? Do you fall to the floor? If not, it's no epilespy. Are there any unvoluntary body movements? If yes, and there is no loss of conscience, it's no epilepsy. And from your description, it sounds like you have an undeveloped ability, such as seeing visions or communicating with an alternate world. I wouldn't be concerned about it if I were you. And I would certainly not show it to a doctor, since doctors don't know anything about these things anyway. And if they do, they are too jealous to actually help you in the real sense of the word. What I would do is try to find a spiritual guru who could try to help you develop whatever abilities you may have. What you describe, "feels like being struck by lightning from the inside, but it wont stop, and everything is weird, almost from a parallel universe.", I have these too, sometimes, mostly at night. But I wouldn't call these a "seizure", and I am not concerned about these; instead, I'm enthusiastic about exploring these, since sometimes they provide interesting clues and/or insights, or are just fun to watch. Rarely, these happen during the day, but I just see them as opportunities for heightening my awareness. As for carbamazepine/tegretol, it has some serious side effects, I know because I've been on it for a few years, for my own "epilepsy". You don't notice these side effects until you stop taking carbamazepine and watch the side effects disappear. That's because tegretol severely slows down bodily functions and partially numbs your senses. You will not be able to feel emotions, but you won't be aware of the fact unless, after taking carbamazepine, you, for some reason, decide to stop, and see your senses come back, slowly but surely. So don't take it until absolutely necessary. When you apply for your driver's license, just don't mention anything about the issue, and you'll be fine.
I think the experiences are fun to a certain extent, sometimes it lasts too long and i feel i wont be able to hold my breath. Also, at the end of one i realized i had nearly bitten my toung off without knowing, which is fucking scary. I hear doctors have to report any cases to the driving beurough (misspelt) I think ill stay on the Carbamaz for 1 month, then get off and all should be good.
Only if something happens while you are driving, and only if you have reported anything to doctors in the first place.
