Sorry for bringing up this thread again when it’s been quiet for so long. I came to it from the Birthday thread and it just seemed like something I wanted to reply to, even tho I misssed it the first time around.
Okay. The CT scan is back, the EEG is back. My doctor got back from his 16 day golf outing.
All the tests are negitive. Can’t find a thing wrong with me, not a bit. Yet, my doc wants me on several meds for the next year. “Trial basis”, he says.
WTF? I scream mentally. I took all the stupid tests to teach you what I already believed and you still want me on drugs? What would have happened if I failed them? Why take the tests at all if they don’t matter?
If they want to know whether or not I have a seizure disorder and give me the suppressants regardless, how will we know that the drugs are working? Or are the meds supposed to force me to have seizures?
What is going on? Can anyone explain? Is it just me or does the entire medical ‘profession’ make no sence?
Medea, it might help to keep in mind that the entire medical profession is made up of regular people and that sometimes there just aren’t any answers.
I’ll tell you my experience–last December, my dad suffered a Grand Mal seizure while at work. He did injure himself during it and was sent to the hospital. The staff assumed he was epileptic because, apparently, you just don’t see the kind of seizure he had in regular people. When he told them he was not epileptic, well, that threw a big fat wrench in the works. They did every test known to man and still could not figure out what the heck happened. Finally, they decided to intensely question my dad about his whole life, any injuries he EVER had, medications he was EVER on, etc.
It turns out that in 1967 he was on some medication (for what, I don’t know) and suffered a similar seizure. His doctor at the time decided that the medication caused the seizure and switched it to something else. For the next 33 years my dad was seizure free. Then he had the one in December and when the doctors found out that he had a seizure 33 years ago, they immediately deemed him epileptic. His driving privleges were revoked for 6 months and he is supposed to be on anti-seizure medication for the rest of his life due to his “epilepsy”.
If you ask me, 1 unexplained and 1 explained seizure in 33 years does not make my dad an epileptic. He was fine for 33 years, why does he have to take medication now? He doesn’t have any other symptoms. He’s fine! But what do I know? I’m not a doctor and the doctors that served my dad worked their hardest to figure out what was wrong. They were great, but I can’t help feeling like they couldn’t explain what happened (which I was fine with, not everything has an explanation) and then they found out about this thing 33 years ago and jumped on the band wagon.
Made NO sense to me, whatsoever. But, like I said before, they’re just regular people, doing the best job they can.
I don’t know if that makes you feel any better or not, but at least you know that it doesn’t always make sense.
Kathryn,
No it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t blame you for being confused and frustrated.
Now, possibly I’m being naive, but isn’t this good news? They dont know what’s wrong with you. They don’t know IF anything is wrong with you! Maybe you won’t have any more seizures. I don’t have any answers for you, either.
I do have some advice for you: remember what you told me in one of your first e-mails to me (I trust you won’t mind if I repeat this publicly):
**
And so you are. And so you’ve won over this cynic quickly and completely. It’s fun flirting with you, exchanging e-mails with you, but more than that, I absolutely adore being your friend. I admire your brightness and your spirit so!
And all I can suggest now is that you live up to your self description. They can’t find anything wrong with you. Yes, I imagine you’ll be concerned. But the Kathryn I know isn’t going to let worries distract her from her hopes and dreams. She’s going to deal with situations as they arise.
Her zen for life makes any other course unacceptable.
I don’t know what to tell you with regards to your doctors; what to do about the drugs. You’ll have to decide whether to have faith in them or not. But I do know you’ll have faith in YOURSELF, these momentary self doubts notwithstanding.
If you need a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to talk to, you know how to reach me. You can also rely on the kind hearts here on this board.
You’d said you wanted to rebel. Don’t. Empower yourself instead. I at least believe in you.
Your loving friend,
Dan