hi I'm Heather first question new. I've had seizers for app. 21 years not until recently I figured out that I belive it is ralted to my monthly visitor I seem to only get them right before, after, or during that time I don't have a doctor because I can't afford one. I was going to the health dept. and they really don't now much. I ended up getting laid off of 2 jobs because of my seizers. I'm so tired of having seizures that I just don't care anymore I'm currently taking phenytoin(dilantin) sod ext 600mg a day. my question Has anyone with this type of seizer ever had a historrectomy to solve this type of seizure? I'm almost out of refill guess it's time to go back to er for more refill.

Hi Heather,
Welcome to the forum! I've had catamenial seizures (sz.) for many yrs. I take Diamox and Mysoline (primidone). I have absence (petit mal) complex partial (cp sz.) along with myoclonic sz. Take my word a historectomy will not help you at all. What's causing the seizures is the hormones changing in your body each month. The estrogen level goes up causing more excitment in the nervous system while the progesterone level goes down and it's progesterone that helps calm the nerves. My neuro. had me take Diamox 5 days before my period to help reduce the water build up and then I would stop taking the drug until the following month. This worked really good for me so I was put on Diamox each day. If you cut back on the carbs, starch foods, and stay away from anything with nutra sweet in it that will help you also. You can try using natural progesterone cream as long as you are not allergic to peanuts. This cream is made up of peanut oil and wild yams and you can put it on your skin and it might help you but if breast cancer runs in your family don't use this. Also try taking vitamin B12 this has helped me a lot I take 1000 mcg. a day of vitamin B12 and it has done wonders reducing my sz. If you like peanuts you can also try eating a few of them the progesterone in peanuts helped me a lot. I know it sounds wierd but take my word after having sz. for over 37 yrs. it did a great job. If you haven't started keeping a log of your sz. get a calendar and write down what time you have a sz. along with a discription of the sz. Also write down when you start and stop your period by doing this you may be able to see a pattern in your sz. I've gone through my change early since I have temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and my Epileptologist told me that my sz. could get worse or better and it was after I went through my change that the myoclonic sz. started I never had them before. Here's wishing you well and May God Bless You!

Sue