Becky's Story
An Epilepsy Center offers advanced tests to help diagnose which form of medication or type of treatment that will work best for uncontrolled seizures. When medications fail, surgical options are considered including minimally invasive laser ablation and neurostimulation devices. Neurosurgery has the ability to eliminate uncontrolled seizures or significantly reduce them depending on which surgical treatment you are a candidate for.
I celebrate living seizure-free every day and you can too! In September 2012 I had neurosurgery where they removed the focus of my seizures. My focal seizures stopped immediately, my recovery was easy, and my memory improved! My medications slowly reduced until I went off them completely. After a period of time with having no seizures and no medication, my epileptologist stated I'm living proof of being cured! I am no longer living in fear and prevented SUDEP.
The focal point of my seizures was identified at an Epilepsy Center in their epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). They offer advanced diagnostic tools and tests to locate the origin of seizures. An Epilepsy Center provides a comprehensive team approach to diagnose and treat epilepsy. Learn about the options available at an Epilepsy Center to prevent seizures, an EMU, and how they have the ability to cure uncontrolled seizures in the video below.
The focal point of my seizures was identified at an Epilepsy Center in their epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). They offer advanced diagnostic tools and tests to locate the origin of seizures. An Epilepsy Center provides a comprehensive team approach to diagnose and treat epilepsy. Learn about the options available at an Epilepsy Center to prevent seizures, an EMU, and how they have the ability to cure uncontrolled seizures in the video below.
Utilizing a surgical treatment for uncontrolled seizures is a wonderful opportunity to support brain health. Since 2014, laser ablation has been used with increased frequency for epilepsy. It uses heat to destroy the precise area of the brain where the seizures originate rather than removing the tissue. Laser ablation is an alternative to open surgery with the goal of eliminating seizures. This minimally invasive procedure offers a quick recovery with barely any hair removal.
One-third of people with epilepsy cannot control seizures with medicine alone. If you are seeing a general neurologist and continue to have seizures despite treatment for more than a year or after the trial of two medications, request a referral from your doctor to an Epilepsy Center.
One-third of people with epilepsy cannot control seizures with medicine alone. If you are seeing a general neurologist and continue to have seizures despite treatment for more than a year or after the trial of two medications, request a referral from your doctor to an Epilepsy Center.
At the age of one, I became sick with encephalitis. My seizures were infrequent starring spells that were considered to be daydreaming back then. At the age of 23, I began to have an aura followed by a seizure. The same year, I drove into the back of a semi-truck without feeling the impact. After the accident, I had an EEG, epilepsy was diagnosed, and I went on medication.
Through the years my epilepsy progressed. During my seizures, I would feel lightheaded and quietly hyperventilated. They lasted about 45 seconds. I was averaging one bad day every other week with multiple seizures on that day. I experimented with nine different medicines, always cock-tailed, while adjusting doses and mixtures. My electrical storm kept firing. My focal seizures were never controlled. I had drug-resistant refractory epilepsy.
I started having difficulty locating my car in parking lots. I became disoriented driving to family homes and had to consciously think about how to get there. I became forgetful of names and made lots of notes. I would retrieve the newspaper daily to see what day of the week it was.
When I expressed my concerns, people would say; “It’s a sign of getting older”. I knew it was more than the normal aging process for I was only 46 years old. My memory was deteriorating, and uncontrolled seizures were the cause.
It was time to seek advanced care. I requested a referral from my neurologist to an Epilepsy Center. They have specialized physicians whose main focus is stopping seizures and they diagnose medical cases as a team. After my first appointment, I knew I was in the right place. My epileptologist was able to walk in my shoes. I set up a time to stay in the EMU and state-of-the art tests were run to pinpoint exactly where my seizures were stemming from. These tests removed the “how do you feel” guesswork. Before my tests, I was the only one who could try to explain what was going on inside my head.
Through the years my epilepsy progressed. During my seizures, I would feel lightheaded and quietly hyperventilated. They lasted about 45 seconds. I was averaging one bad day every other week with multiple seizures on that day. I experimented with nine different medicines, always cock-tailed, while adjusting doses and mixtures. My electrical storm kept firing. My focal seizures were never controlled. I had drug-resistant refractory epilepsy.
I started having difficulty locating my car in parking lots. I became disoriented driving to family homes and had to consciously think about how to get there. I became forgetful of names and made lots of notes. I would retrieve the newspaper daily to see what day of the week it was.
When I expressed my concerns, people would say; “It’s a sign of getting older”. I knew it was more than the normal aging process for I was only 46 years old. My memory was deteriorating, and uncontrolled seizures were the cause.
It was time to seek advanced care. I requested a referral from my neurologist to an Epilepsy Center. They have specialized physicians whose main focus is stopping seizures and they diagnose medical cases as a team. After my first appointment, I knew I was in the right place. My epileptologist was able to walk in my shoes. I set up a time to stay in the EMU and state-of-the art tests were run to pinpoint exactly where my seizures were stemming from. These tests removed the “how do you feel” guesswork. Before my tests, I was the only one who could try to explain what was going on inside my head.
During my stay at the Epilepsy Center, my medicine doses were reduced. When my threshold was low enough, the seizures began. All my detailed movements were recorded on an EEG monitor and video camera. Every seizure I had hit the bulls-eye on the same target, every time. The other tests conducted hit the bulls-eye, too. I was an excellent candidate for surgery!
My right hippocampus had deteriorated. It was supposed to be plump like a grape, but mine looked like a raisin. The neurosurgeon’s concrete decision was to have a right temporal lobectomy. The main goal was to stop the seizures from where they were stemming from, forever. Awesome!
My right hippocampus had deteriorated. It was supposed to be plump like a grape, but mine looked like a raisin. The neurosurgeon’s concrete decision was to have a right temporal lobectomy. The main goal was to stop the seizures from where they were stemming from, forever. Awesome!
Out in public post-surgery
I decided I wasn’t going to wait any longer…the seizures needed to stop! I wanted to make sure I remembered my kids' concerts, sports, and vacations. My decision to have surgery was clear.
The day of surgery came. My care was in the hands of a team of experts with groundbreaking research and state-of-the-art technology. Everything was explained, and I trusted them completely. We were all in this together.
After surgery, my brain breathed a sigh of relief and I recovered better than I ever expected. I authored Live Seizure Free to inform and be matter-of-fact about mine and another’s post-surgery results. Before my surgery, writing an email was difficult. After surgery, I self-published a book!
This testimony offers folks the confidence to say “yes” to up-to-date medical advancements available at an Epilepsy Center by sharing the ease of our recoveries with cognitive improvements. My self-help, easy-read book was written to assist people in dealing with struggles many have with uncontrolled seizures.
Check out the medical care guidelines under Epilepsy Centers when to seek advanced care. You have the ability to live seizure-free too!
My story can be your story... Live Seizure Free.
The day of surgery came. My care was in the hands of a team of experts with groundbreaking research and state-of-the-art technology. Everything was explained, and I trusted them completely. We were all in this together.
After surgery, my brain breathed a sigh of relief and I recovered better than I ever expected. I authored Live Seizure Free to inform and be matter-of-fact about mine and another’s post-surgery results. Before my surgery, writing an email was difficult. After surgery, I self-published a book!
This testimony offers folks the confidence to say “yes” to up-to-date medical advancements available at an Epilepsy Center by sharing the ease of our recoveries with cognitive improvements. My self-help, easy-read book was written to assist people in dealing with struggles many have with uncontrolled seizures.
Check out the medical care guidelines under Epilepsy Centers when to seek advanced care. You have the ability to live seizure-free too!
My story can be your story... Live Seizure Free.
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