Thanks Rachel. I guess for some people the seizures can be embarrassing.

Lars is allergic to so many of the seizure meds - dilantin, tegretol,
lamictal. He was on Depakote and Neurontin for years and was not doing well
with them at all. He could easily have three grand mals in one day!

We haven't seen any adverse effects from the three that he's on now. We
have noticed that he can have a hard time getting his thoughts across and
doesn't always make sense. Probably due to the mega doses of everything
he's on!

We know a lot of people in the Developmentally Delayed (DD) community who
have seizures, but not to the extent that my step-son does! Most of them
are pretty well controlled with the meds they're on. So no one really
understands what it's like to have so many of them in one day with no
warning. Lars could get what we call a "cluster" going - maybe 15-20
partials in an hour or three falls in 15 minutes, etc. We do have Ativan
that we have him take when he has more than three seizures in a short period
of time. Most of the time it helps, but it takes about 20-30 min to kick in
and he can have a bunch more before that happens. Sometimes he can
understand what we're trying to give him but other times he's so confused
and disoriented he has no idea what to do with the pill!

How long has your husband had seizures?

Sherry

-----Original Message-----
From: Cent_Wa_Epilepsy_Support@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Cent_Wa_Epilepsy_Support@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rachel
Murillo
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:21 AM
To: Cent_Wa_Epilepsy_Support@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Cent_Wa_Epilepsy_Support] Re: New to the group

Sherry:

Your son's epilepsy sounds very much like my husband's. My husband is
on Dilantin, Depakote, and Lyrica. Lyrica is the newest for him -
replacing Keppra because of the negative effect on his personality.
He got angry and lashed out a lot. The doctor said that is not
uncommon for Keppra.

He has recently increased the Dilantin and has not had a seizure in a
while. The downside is that he's dizzy a lot and has double vision.
He's done a lot of falling down - especially on his head - with no
warning signs. The fact that there are no warning signs is, by far,
the most difficult part for him because it creates a level of fear and
uncertainty.

My husband doesn't like to talk about his issues very much and has
avoided any kind of support group - so I go to find out as much as I
can.
Rachel