Sorry you're going through so much. I'm not surprised you're having a hard time with Disability since it's difficult to receive sometimes in cases of Epilepsy. What type of tests did the Dr put you through? Is it possible for you to see an Epileptologist? If you aren't already seeing one I recommend that you do. Some types of Epilepsy are hard to diagnose and can be misdiagnosed as non-epileptic sz's (pseudo-sz's).
Christine
Thanks to everyone that wrote back to me THANKS I NEEDED THAT
Hi bigmomma, Can you elaborate for me on the non-epileptic seizures?
My partner has been having convulsive fits, and we've been to the hospital and admitted to the epilepsy unit twice now, and have been told that her "episodes" are not epileptic seizures, but they sure look like everything I've heard a seizure described as to me. I feel we may be in similar boats here and would love to be able to compare notes with somebody with a very similar experience.
In any event, thanks for making me feel like we're not alone, and not crazy. I hope things are looking up in your world. Keep your chin up and try and look toward the positive.
- Kat
Kat the symptoms that i'm having are just like having an epileptic seizure. I can be sitting down watching tv and then i'm just gone. It seems to everyone that i'm just staring out into space and it's takes my husband or kids to pat my face or put a cold towel on me to bring me out of the seizure, that usually last from 2 minutes to 15, my husband timed it. On the others i have i just blank out , don't know i'm in the world, i shake, eyes roll back in my head and i foam at the mouth and on occasion i sometime mess my clothes up, those last longer and has really freaked me out. I have went to two doctors and the first one i went to was treating me like i was faking. I asked to be referred to another doctor and he said i was having non epileptic seizures and needed some major help with the problems that i was having. I went back to the first doctor and he had changed his tune a whole lot and treated me like a person that was sick. I now take Depakote , lexapro, and another funny sounding drug that has seemed to help. I can't count on my hands the many times i have went through the emergency room for this so keep fighting. I'm also in the process of trying to get on disability, so everyone please pray for me.
Bigmomma37,
Re: "staring into space" for just a few minutes, it sounds like a petit mal seizure. Probably if you wern't on any meds, this would be a full blown grand mal seizure.
Please remember, I'm not in the medical proffession so please ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR.
Re: Receiving Disability Ins. or some sort of Social Assistance: I'm assuming you're from the states.
I've read on several of the posts on different boards, about the difficulties people are having trying to get some kind of medi-care or social assistance. I'm reading about people having to wait two or more years or having to get a laywer and go up against a court judge to explain your case when it seems obvious that you need the assistance.
I'm from Canada and I find it mind boggling when I hear about all the trouble that you're having, especially when I consider that I have epilepsy and ulcerative colitis (both under control) and I had no problems at all and no questions asked and I WAS APPROVED both by Sun Life of Canada Disability and Canada Pension Disability. All I needed was a medical from ONE of my Docs. so I went with my Neurologist (he is also familiar with my ulcerative colitis).
My former employer of 30 years recommended to the head office that I go off on Disability.
We also have free health benefits FOR ALL PEOPLE for most drugs (if approved by the FDA) or if it's not covered, I pay for the drug and send in the receipt to my wife's employment health care plan for full reimbursement.
I realize that your Government is trying to cut down on fraud (ours is too, always people trying to defraud the system by trying to put in a false claim) but this is taking it too far.
In this country, Health Care is the number one priority (as I think it should be because of the baby-boom population getting older).
Sorry for the long post but I had to vent.
Randy
Diagnosed with epilepsy and ulcerative colitis in 1979,
Been on meds ever since.
275mg-dilantin/day
120mg-pheonobarb/day
3,000mg-Mesasol/day
20mg-Celexa/day
I was diagnosed with Non Epileptic Seizures in 2004. I have been going back and forth to my doctors and i applied for disability in December of 2004. I was turned down flat but i got a lawyer and they helped me get an appeal. I have been having a hard time with my neurologist which told me that nothing was wrong with me but i asked for a second opinion with another neurologist . I have been going to him for three months and he called the other neurologists hand when i failed all of the test that he put me through that day. I finally went to the disability review doctor (PHYSICHARIST) today and it was really strange. I felt like i was in the twilight zone , she was very 