It LOOKS ok....

So, I had my second neuro appointment today.

As I mentioned last week, my symptoms had come back strongly after being really mild for awhile. I had two strong episodes on Jan 10, and one each on Jan 12 and 13 (both of those two were during strenuous exercise, though that hasn't generally been the pattern so maybe just coincidence).

This week has been ok, though I was feeling a lot of anxiety today about the appointment. I was "hoping for the best" but wasn't really sure what that would be... none of my options seem great, except maybe the migraine option.

Anyway, all my tests came back normal.

That's both good news and bad news. It rules out major things like brain tumours, lesions, and mesial temporal sclerosis. It does not rule out seizures/epilepsy.

The long and short is that I still don't know what's wrong with me, but seizures are becoming more probable. Which is really what I've thought all along, even though I was really hoping it would be something else.

I asked about getting other tests done and he said at this point they aren't likely to show anything different. He seems to be leaning toward complex partial seizures. I still think simple partial, but he keeps saying complex (I don't have any motor responses, that I know of, and the psychic simple partial matches my deja vu experience).


So he said the next logical step is to start me on some seizure meds and see what happens. Sometimes they use the meds to diagnose. If these meds clear up my symptoms, we'll know that that's what it was. If the symptoms continue on the meds, we try something else. In any case, he's starting me on a med that is commonly used to treat partial seizures. It's called carbamazepine.

The meds can have side effects on blood/bone marrow so I have to go for blood tests in a few weeks to make sure everything is ok. They can make me tired/dizzy, but he said it shouldn't be bad because we're doing a very gradual start and gradual increase. They can also cause mood changes and/or suicidal thoughts.

I go back March 3 to see how things are going. In the meantime I just need to observe whether I think the meds are helping or not. It may take a few weeks because my symptoms go through mild phases where I might not notice anything for a bit. 

Oh, and I got to see my brain. He showed me the CT and MRI images, and explained what they're looking for on each one. My brain LOOKS healthy. Nothing obvious on the images. Again, both good news and bad. :/

I have to say I'm feeling rather upset after the appointment. I shouldn't be. I mean, it is what I expected. And if it is something I can manage with meds, it's not the end of the world. Really things could be a LOT worse. Even without meds, my symptoms are manageable. But I'm still feeling stressed/emotional about it all.

Will feel better once I've had some sleep and time to process.