Channel Button

There are 23 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #14 by Helium's members.

Creative Writing   >

Memoirs

Testimonies: Living with epilepsy

I have been living with Epilepsy for 15 years now. I've pretty much had a good hold on controlling my seizures. Up until recently anyways. I got bronchits real bad about two months ago and since then I have been experiencing partial seizures on a daily basis. I am married and have 4 girls to take care of. Unfortunately I am not able to drive because of my disability. I have to depend on others to help me out in that area. My epileptologist does not know the exact cause of my Epilepsy. I just woke up one day when I was 13 years old and had my first seizure on the kitchen floor. I do not work at the moment due to changing Anti Seizure medications. I am dealing with the side effects from the medications. Otherwise, I live a pretty normal life. Just like any other person would. There are surgeries out there that do exist for people that have certain types of Epilepsy. I am not a candidate for those surgeries though. I have what they call Generalized Seizures. That means that they start all over the brain. People with Focal seizures have more luck in surgical procedures. I am however a candidate for the VNS. That is the Vegus Nerve Stimulator. The neurosurgeon will implant a small device in the chest wall and run the wires up the back of my neck under my skin to the Vegus Nerve. They will then wrap the wires around the nerve and once it is activated, it will deliver small electrical currents to the vegus nerve and that will travel to the brain. I am hoping that it will help control my partial seizures. I am taking 3 different medications to try and control my seizures and so far it is not seeming to help much. My doctor has tried increasing my doses and that is not working either. I am currently checking into the VNS, it seems like it is my only option to better control. The benefits of this outweigh the risks by far.

Learn more about this author, Kelly Canada.
Contact this writer Click here to send this author comments or questions.


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Testimonies: Living with epilepsy

  • 1 of 23

    by Kelley Quinn

    I'm going to begin by asking you to stretch out your arm at full length and tighten the muscles as hard as you possib... read more

  • 2 of 23

    by Sebastien Elliot

    At first having epilepsy seemed like a relatively minor thing to deal with. I had one seizure when I was 23. It scare... read more

  • 3 of 23

    by MarySunshine

    I have lived with epilepsy for 25 years - basically all of my adult life. I could go into great detail of how it bega... read more

  • 4 of 23

    by written silence

    Living with a seizure disorder Disabled, but not unable "Good morning mom", I say as I head for the kitchen begin... read more

  • 5 of 23

    by Liane Laskoske

    Epilepsy rules your life. Even if it's controlled by medications, it never goes away. I personally don't have it, but... read more

View All Articles on:
Testimonies: Living with epilepsy

Add your voice

Know something about Testimonies: Living with epilepsy?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

What is Helium? | User Guide | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA