I received an email yesterday from a lovely woman who began reading my blog last week (I’m grateful I am beginning to attract an audience)!
She explained to me, in detail, that she has had Epilepsy since childhood, and she is what doctors call, “Drug-Resistant”. In other words, her anti-seizure medications just don’t work. Some studies show that a third of us with Epilepsy are drug-resistant. Like so many of us, she has tried most…if not all of them. I felt her pain. So many of us can run through the list of the meds we’ve tried for our Epilepsy: Depakote, Dilantin, Keppra, Zonegran, Lamictal, Topamax, Phenobarbital…just to name a few.
Her neurologist/epileptologist has suggested that she may be a candidate for surgery, but she is holding off, because she is terrified.

“It’s everything from the shaved head to the scarring to the therapy that will follow…to the realization that there will be a piece of the brain that will be missing following surgery,” she wrote in her email.
I thought for a while about this, because I myself have tried…twice…for surgery. I was a candidate in 2007 at Johns Hopkins, and then again in February of this year at DMC/Harper Hospital in Detroit. Both times, doctors were unsuccessful.

But, this is not to say that surgery is not an incredible option for those of us with Epilepsy, and something that should be explored. I have met countless people who have had surgery and ended up…seizure-free, and with amazing results! There is a very good article in the Fall 2009 edition of the Johns Hopkins’ Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery’s NeuroNow…unfortunately that edition is not available to view online yet, but here is a link to the site:
Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Area
The article discusses how exploring the option of Epilepsy Surgery sooner, rather than later is best for many patients, and that the medical and technology advances in the surgical procedures are incredible. It’s a must-read!!
Some advice…explore the option with your neurologist. Research shows that up to 90 percent of those who have Epilepsy surgery no longer have disabling seizures. And that, can change your life! If you have the chance to be seizure-free…jump on it!!