Originally Posted by shezbut

What medication are you taking for the Bipolar disorder? Many AEDs (anti-epileptic medicines) are used to treat other mental illnesses. The difference is in dosage.

Dilantin is one of the very first medicines most doctors start us off on. It is not the greatest treatment of localized seizures. It's better used for generalized seizures. The hope is to get onto a medicine that adequately controls local seizures so seizures don't secondarily-generalize and become tonic-clonics.

Most medications can get to dangerous levels, and induce seizures. A seizure disorder is when a person has a tendency to have seizures (usually a certain kind, or kinds). Just in case you didn't know that. Dilantin is well-known to cause slowing of brain activity. This will make you more sleepy, more forgetful, and clumsy.

Seizure disorders can also affect any area/s in the brain. The most common area affected is temporal lobe, next common is the frontal lobe. From there, parietal lobe, and lastly the occipital lobe. Doctors are most willing to do surgery on the temporal lobe, if the person's speech won't be greatly affected. The frontal lobe will also be worked on in surgery, carefully, as the speech and decision-making (and other executive functions) could be seriously damaged.

Traumatic brain injuries, illnesses, cancer, and unknowns can all cause epilepsy to occur. High fevers, encephalitis, head injuries, strokes, and cancer commonly do cause epilepsy. The brain is an amazing part of our body, in charge of every single thing (other than the heart beating). That fact taken into account, you can imagine how many people will have epilepsy some day in their lives. It's certainly worth learning all about. (A big passion of mine, in case you hadn't noticed

Have you called that university (Rush, I think it is)? Any word yet on when you can get in to see an epileptologist?

Shez