Good morning everyone! First and foremost, Happy Mother's Day! I am beyond blessed to have the most wonderful mom in the world who has been my biggest support system while battling epilepsy. She has supported me all of my endeavors to spread epilepsy awareness & has helped me reach so many goals that would have otherwise been unattainable. Love you mom!
Updating all of you from my last post with my 24-hour EEG, I am still waiting for results. I also had an MRI a couple days ago along with a meeting with my neurologist. The purpose of the testing is to try and pin point the exact type of epilepsy I have. Epilepsy is a pretty complex condition with many different types and triggers.
For example, there is Idiopathic (genetic causes) generalized epilepsy. There is often, but not always, a family history of epilepsy. Idiopathic generalized epilepsy tends to appear during childhood or adolescence, although it may not be diagnosed until adulthood. In this type of epilepsy, no nervous system (brain or spinal cord) abnormalities other than the seizures have been identified as of yet. The brain is structurally normal on an MRI scan.
People with idiopathic generalized epilepsy have normal intelligence and the results of the neurological exam and MRI are usually normal. The results of the electroencephalogram (EEG -- a test which measures electrical impulses in the brain) may show epileptic discharges affecting the entire brain.
The types of seizures affecting patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy can include
-Myoclonic seizures (sudden and very short duration jerking of the extremities)
-Absence seizures (staring spells)
-Generalized tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal seizures)
Idiopathic generalized epilepsy is usually treated with medications. Some forms of this condition that may be outgrown, as is the case with childhood absence epilepsy and a large number of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
Originally, my childhood neurologist thought I have juvenile myoclonic epilepsy due to my one grand mal seizure and my common myoclonic seizures. After my sleepy EEG last August, they found different activity causing them to think otherwise and increase my medication due to them being unable to diagnose what exactly was wrong with me.
I have also been on the medication Keppra the past couple of years with no side affects until the recent increase in my dose. (I went from 1,000 MG twice a day to 15,000.) Once I had the increase, I began to experience the symptoms. This includes dizziness, extreme fatigue, nervousness, moodiness, forgetfulness, weakness, anxiety, and depression. After realizing how bad my side affects got, I decided I needed to switch medication in order to be myself again.
A few days ago I began switching from Keppra to Lamictal, another epilepsy medication also used to treat bi-polar disorder. One of the most dangerous side affects of this medication is the development of a deadly rash. Once a rash appears, you must stop taking the medication immediately, seek help if it spreads, and contact your doctor. I developed a rash yesterday and quickly stopped taking the medication last night.
I will be switching medication again within the next couple of days and will keep you updated on what is happening along with my test results!
Remember, it takes one Facebook post of my blog to spread the awareness of epilepsy. Help me continue to Shine a Light on Epilepsy!
Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weather & has a great Mother's Day!
-Tamara Sacharczyk
Miss Greater Holyoke 2012!
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