I am 39 years old and I have been having seizures since I was 13 years old. I have been havng a lot of trouble the last couple of years. I have slowly been getting worse and I do not know why. My seizures have been getting worse. I have been having headaches that can last up to a week and the dizziness has gotten so bad that I have had to put a chair in the shower or have someone to help me. I can't even stand up sometimes. I have two boys, 8 and 6 and it is not good to be this way. I have gone through losing weight so much that I look like a crack addict and the depression is so bad that I just want to be left alone. Is it just me or do others go through this? I have started the process for disability because I can not keep a job. I have also started the process of getting me one of the seizure response dogs because I have hurt myself a lot recently. Can anyone help me with some info?

Hi Tracy,
Welcome to the forum! I started having seizures when I was 10 yrs. old and I'm 45 now. My sz. increased in my later 30's and I found out it was all do to hormones changing in my body and this could be the reason why you're having more sz. In regards to headaches that is related to having epilepsy just like depression is. I've found I have more headaches when the weather gets bad and there's a low pressure. The depression can also be part of the epilepsy and the area of the brain that's causing a persons sz. also the sz. meds (AED's) a person takes can cause depression for some people.
You might want to consider having a drug level blood test done along with a CBC (complete blood count) if your drug level is to high this could be causing your dizziness and headaches.
Here's wishing you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue

Hi Tracy!

You may be undergoing a change of life; even I,
myself, have been going up and down like a roller
coaster since 36 years of age - in and out of
menopause, peri-menopause, and back to normal
cycle, where it's totally insane!

I almost want to "Resign as a Woman!" My seizures
too, have increased to a point where it's just absolutely
asinine! I understand 100% about looking like a
"Crack Head"! I've dwindled down way below 100 lbs!
Right now I have NO CLUE what size I wear, I used to
wear 9-10's, but size 6 is too big for me!

I can understand you 100%.

You are in a phase where things are escalating; you
need to talk with BOTH you Primary Doctor and your
Neurologist or Epileptologist (they need to be in tune
with each other).

Your body is changing now, just like mine is. There
really is no "SET TIME" when a man or woman's body
undergoes a 'life change' - some starts early, some
starts later. So you need to follow through; they will
need to perform lab work-up(s) and monitor you a
little more closely, and NOW is the time to do it.

Hope this helps and lots of hugs.

what kind of info do you need I started at 8 and I am 39 but I have just gotten out of the hospital no seizures yet its been a week of of no waking up 2 seizures oI also found out I was having seizures when I was just watching tv or eat they showed up on my eeg leads when they did brain mapping

Hi Tracy,
Sharon is correct you may be going through your change and when this happens it can either make a persons sz. increase or decrease. I know my sz. started to increase but I have a cousin and her sz. stopped completely.
All of it has to do with the amount of estrogen and progesterone in your body. If the estrogen level is to high it causes excitment which can lead to sz. if the progesterone level is to low it can also cause sz. because progesterone helps calm the nerves. I tried taking natural progesterone made from peanut oil and wild yams but it didn't really help me that much. What I did find that helped reduce my sz. was eating roasted almonds or peanuts (lightly salted). You might want to give that a try and see if it helps you. Here' wishing you well and May God Bless You!

Sue

PS: In addendum to Sue's post - just make sure you're
not allergic to Peanuts or nuts!

As far as weight loss.... topomax causes weight lose because you simply don't eat much. What do you take?