Epilepsy in a Soap!
 

Well it seems Victor, a major character in The Young and the Restless, has epilepsy. I usually don't watch soaps now but tuned into this one. I am interested in what you think. I hoped they would take this in the direction of public awareness of many of the details about epilepsy that the public and healthcare workers never consider. In a way they have done some of tha,t but since now he, Victor, has been committed to a psych ward because he pointed a gun at someone which has been said to be due to side effects of the drugs and the family is telling him to just let the doctor take care of you when he is saying I feel fine concerns me. Maybe I am concerned over nothing but it gives the impression that we are dangerous to others. How about adjusting/changing the meds or finding other options rather than the phych ward which we all know will not help. They did mention "other options" so who knows where this will lead. Just so he doesn't end up a research subject. Your thoughts on the show? I am thankful to CBS and TY&TR for including epilepsy and getting it out in the open. Tattoo

I heard about this, too. I haven't watched, and I actually despise soaps, but I read an article with an interview from Eric Braeden (?) about his character's temporal lobe epilepsy, and he was saying that they wanted to portray E in a sensitive and accurate light. Anyone who watches, please keep us informed. :)


LIZARD :)

Hi,
I've watched the soap over the summer and Victor has TLE, memory loss and he is having audio and visual hallucinations. He also has had a bad temper and been very moody. I think it's great that CBS got E out in the open where people can hopefully understand things better. Take care and May God Bless You!

Sue

Well, for an update, on Thursday last week, the doc suggested Gamma Knife. She explained it very well with the possible complications and what to expect too. It showed the concern some family members experience and also the callous side of others with a vulnerable family member too. I was impressed that one family member said he checked out the doc and that he has a "good track record". Sounds like they've been reading our posts. lol. It didn't take long because Victor decided on having the Gamma knife that same day. He said that even though there was a possibiity of permanent brain damage, he didn't see that as being worse than the fog of the AEDs. Surgery was scheduled for the next day, Friday. As with all soaps, he was left for the weekend somewhere between the pre-op and surgical suite. lol I still don't know where the VEEG was. They mentioned scans but donno what scans. The doc did say they "pin pointed" where the seizures are coming from so that's good provided they did all the right tests. They included one man trying to take advantage of the patient as can happen easily. After Victor was given the pre-op for the surgery and not thinking clearly, this man coerced Victor into signing over his company to him "in case anything happened". Now this is plot for days to come. The writers are doing a very good job so far. It is sensitive and includes things many of us may have experienced. I know I chose surgery over the AEDs and the outcome of the seizures. Tattoo2 reporting..... lol

I don't usually watch soaps but today I just remembered this post & turned on "Yand the R". I only saw the last 5 min or so. Some lady was telling what a sz dog is then when it got back from commercial it showed Victor now has one.

I haven't watched Y&R for years. I'm hoping that this storyline really gets Epilepsy in a more positive light especially TLE and what the seizures are. Even as recent as last Friday, I had somebody recoil when I told them I had TLE. I think she expected me to start writhing on the floor.

I like the seizure dog for Victor. I guess the Victor I remember, how could they tell his TLE has anger implications? He was always ****** if I recall.

I've watched the Y&R for years as well. The last few days they have stressed that Victor's reaction was due to the drugs he was taking. That it was "very unusual". So anyway, now he's home and at the last part of it, he was petting his pup "Zapato". Then, the pup was whining just before Victor started having a seizure. Nikki had been reading about seizure dogs at the hospital before they left. Zapato was just a pup Victor acquired a few months ago for the fun of owning one for himself and little girl.

Also, Jack is the son of John. John died a week or so ago and now Jack is determined to get Jabot back. So prior to Victor's surgery - he was still in the hospital - Jack had Victor sign the papers that gave Jack the money to buy it back. However, Catherine won't sell to Jack because of a potential lawsuit that goes back to a lady dying from a reaction to a product. Part of the agreement in the settlement was that Jack could have absolutely nothing to do with Jabot ever again. But, hey, Jack's up to his old tricks and we shall see if he has found a way to get Jabot; looks that way. Michael (lawyer) and Kevin (brother of Michael) are monitoring Jack's email, etc. So we shall see what happens as I'm sure they will find out what Jack is up to. Stay tuned:p

Kitt

There were several points that were really helpful in making the public aware. One is the fact that Victor had to go before the Judge to remove the committment precipitated by side effects of AEDs etc. One family member mentioned that she hoped this didn't cause a seizure. Another is that he had Gamma Knife Friday approximately and was discharged Monday. The introduction and education re seizure dogs was great, and the show ended with his little dog sitting in victor's lap after that hard stressful day. The dog was whimpering prominently. I guess the epilepsy will continue to be a part. He is on meds still and obviously still having seizures. Maybe a different type of seizure? Will be interesting. Tattoo

This show is doing a good job of showing how frustrating it can
be to have seizures. For all involved. I'm hoping that they
start to show that its not a picnic and you don't just have surgery
and get better too.

I've been watching this show for years. VIctor was the best
choice for this s/L.

Donna

Sounds like he was taking Topamax!