Mark & Mrs. D - thank you for your input.

Danielle takes Focalin 5 mg XR to help focus when she studies. She says it is hard to keep her focus. It isn't like it was before her accident when she could decide to focus and stay with the subject at hand. She says her mind jumps around and it never use to. We tried to increase it to 10 m.g. but she said that made her jumpy.

She takes Clorazepate 3.75 mg. an anti-seizure medication or also it used as an anti-anxiety. She has no anxiety maybe her brain does but she does not exhibit any visible fear or worry or voice any fears or concerns. She is always happy and having a good day when these events occur. She takes it less than 1 x per week. Only when she gets a headache that she feels is going into the seizure-like symptoms she will ask to take it. It usually will turn the situation around in 20 to 40 minutes and she will get up and seem fine. But recently Sept. 27th she woke with a throbbing headache at 9 a.m. which was unusual and only happened when she was trying to stay in school. At 1 p.m. she still had the headache and so she took the med and it she didn't recover and took it again at 5 p.m and still didn't feel better and then had the seizure-like symptoms (not speaking and then shaking) at 9 p.m.

She also has taken it so she can participate in events that are going to be very noisy. It has worked several times and she can stay and enjoy herself instead of leaving in 30 minutes with a bad headache. But she will suffer for 3 to 5 days afterwards with headaches, blurred vision, dizziness... and not be able to do her school work. We have carefully chosen the events to use it for.

They have not officially put her on a the more typical seizure meds because her 1 hour and 24 hour EEG were normal and they need some analytical data. Even though I carefully documented the 8 events she had in the last 20 months. I documented what she did the entire day before it started and listed the symptoms she exhibited carefully. Both before and after. She does not remember the events and she is very tired afterwards as well as the 3 to 5 days of headaches, blurred vision, dizziness.... Recently, she was sent to Cornell Medical Center in NY and they would like to do a 48 hour in hospital EEG but she would be in bed and it is not likely she would have an event. I could stress her the few days prior and then while she is in bed have her read and watch video games that flash or travel documentaries where they pan the camera all of which would cause her headaches. And they would try to keep her up as much as possible. All this would definitely give her 5 to 10 days of persistent headaches and bad days afterwards but I can't be sure we would create a seizure. I just don't feel great about doing this to her to maybe catch the activity on the EEG. So she can go on medication that will have additional side effects. It is a very difficult decision either way.

Also the event she had on August 7th 2009 was the worst and then she had one on Sept 27th. She has been much more symptomatic since the August one. I really think it hurt her brain. So how can I purposely try to get her to exhibit this when all I do every day is try to avoid headaches so she can do her school work consistently. I do have a prescription from the NY doctor to get a blood test within one hour of the seizure to check her Prolactin level. That will be interesting all of these events occurred between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and we'd have to go to the emergency room. If you don't arrive in an ambulance the usual wait is about 3 hours. Even if you come in an ambulance you get a bed and looked at but to get a bloodwork tech immediately ?? well I'm going to the ER in the morning to see if they think they can respond to that request. It could be weeks or months before we get that opportunity. So that is where we are as far as the seizures. Her neurologist who sent her to NY said he thinks they might be Partial Complex Seizures but no formal diagnosis.

I would like to find a qualified nutritionist that could prescribe the BRAIN food whether vitamin or minerals or foods that could help her brain heal or function better. Any ideas on that one? I will look into the fish oil I always heard it was good.

Linda