This is what makes me just nuts right now ........ long, boring story.

Way back in 2004 - at least then - I started noticing changes in my seizures, problems speaking - word finding - and problems with memory...BIG problems with memory. I was forgetting how to wood carve. Wood carving is the most important thing in my life. I complained over and over to my neuro and he told me I was whining to get attention. I wrote emails to him over and over whining for that attention.
I whined to my husband about those problems and he told me to stop whining.

July '05 my neuro said he was ordering the MRI just to prove nothing was wrong and to make me shut up and stop whining .... that's what showed the tumor. Believe it or not -- that neuro had saved all my emails whining of problems with seizure changes, word finding and memory trouble. He sent all of those with my other records to the university hospital that was getting the MRIs.

BUT -- the hospital gave me those hideous neuropsych tests that showed my short term memory, word finding, things like that were BETTER THAN AVERAGE. Huh? The surgeon did say that he had the test results but he knew that I knew more about me than he or the test did.

The neuropsych testing 6 months after surgery said the same thing....better than average. Oh, good grief.

I've not been diagnosed with seizures, but mobile EEG showed definite abnormal brain waves in the frontal lobes of my brain. I've been losing memory for a couple of years without taking meds...other than a daily a Centrum Silver. Short term incidents are not getting into long term memory.

Started on Mirtazapine for stress/depression and could notice no effect at all. Took myself off of it two months ago. One week on Dilantin and will get a blood test today. Hoping that it shows too much in me as I'm suffering from vertigo, dizzyness and jittery...even as I type. Plus, I seem to plod along instead of a normal walk. Can't do this for the rest of my life.

Can anyone offer help...like being able to get by on less meds? Less strong meds? Thanks, John