Hi Harry,

Like Sue, I've had surgery as well. Mine was a left temporal lobectomy. They did do WADA test prior to surgery & discovered that my dominant language area is in the LTL as suspected (since I'm right-handed). It is a little tricky to operate on the area with the dominant language side. You being left handed, chances are that your language area is in the right temporal lobe.

The temporal lobe is greatly involved in our emotional world. Of course, all 4 lobes (on both sides of our brain) are interconnected, so vision and hearing can often be affected during a complex partial seizure. During a complex partial, we lose awareness of where we are, what is happening around us, etc. We may look awake and have an odd expression (commonly: intense fear, questioning) upon our faces ~ but we are unaware & vulnerable. Instinct does survive throughout the complex partial, thankfully, which is why some people are known to hit or swipe at people ~ when they feel threatened by others' behavior during the c.p.

Anyway...after my WADA test, doctors still decided to go forward with interictal surgery. Surgery in which grid and depth electrodes were placed inside of my brain. Waited a night, and seizures kicked in. Surgeons were able to see precisely where my seizure were originating and from there, determine whether or not the area could be removed. It was safe, in their opinion, and I had surgery. A big effect of my surgery was that I became more emotional. Emotions were intense ~ both up and down. Doctors theorized the cause due to my amgydala (the part that encourages us to eat, have sex, play, fight, run..) had the ability to be much more active than before (since my hippocampus wasn't stealing all of the LTL activity).

Oh, before I forget, epi's always consult with neuropsychologists for testing. Both before and after surgery. This is done to see if you can handle the surgery emotionally, intellectually (your IQ has to be at least "normal" or beyond normal- "gifted"), and then the testing after surgery determines what areas have been affected & to what extent.

I have suffered from depression most of my life, which was recognized during my tests. They (and I) hoped that control over my seizures would improve that area. My memory always sucked too. Big time! My memory is worse now, but it isn't continuing to steadily decline (like it would have had I simply continued with meds that weren't working). My emotional world has fallen apart, leading to both good and bad things. Bad: my 15-year marriage is over; my depression worsened to severe; BPD became more obvious. Good: I've started to accept myself ~ good and bad. I'm not there all of the way, but I have finally started to see what I've held back for 35 years!! Oh, and I finally got migraine medicine to help me through the intense migraines I've had for many years.

And you thought that your post was long! LOL Sorry! As you can see, it's all very complex. It is common for people with TLE to suffer emotional illnesses. It sucks, yes, but that's just the way it is. The positive side is that many people have TLE & lots of people have depression (as well as other mental illnesses). You aren't alone. Believe me ~ I seriously thought that I was completely alone for many years. No one in my "real world" could relate to what I was going through. It was hard! But, on the positive side, it helped me let go of who I really wasn't. I now live at an apartment building devoted to disabled people. All kinds of disabilities. I don't have to feel like I don't fit in, it's a perfectly comfortable fit for me. That's a huge positive for me!

Very best wishes to you ~ I hope that my post made sense to you & helps in some way. Take care!
Shez