02-03-2009, 12:12 AM
As epilepsy is a disease that is very hard to live with and something that very few people understand, what I would do is to make sure to get the best explanation possible as to what exactly it is, what type of seizures you have such as complex partial, absence, or generalized seizures. I would also ask where your focal points are and the effects that this may have on your life. An example of this is that I have complex partial seizures with focal points in my hippo campus and also in my left temporal lobe. They will be able to tell you what parts of the brain these are. With the places that my seizures originate, it causes memory problems, depression and some problems with speaking sometimes.
I would also ask about the medications that they will put you on, any interactions with OTC melds and other prescriptions, and side effects.
By having an understanding of as much as you can, it makes it much easier to deal with your epilepsy. I have epilepsy myself and for the first 10 years or so knew very little as I was a teenager and the doctor did not explain much to me nor did my parents, later on I was still ignorant of it and felt sorry for myself. Later on I started to ask questions of the doctors, chatted with other epileptics on line, and researched all info I could about seizures.
By doing this I learned to deal with it, realizing that nobody is perfect and everybody has some form of imperfection.
Some great sites that will give you info are:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/
http://www.epilepsy.com/
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/
All of these sites are great sources of information and a great way to make contacts with people on the forums that are epileptics, doctors and family members of epileptics
If you would like any more info feel free to email me and we can discuss it, I am always happy to help out those in need in any way, best of luck
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