Something weird happened between the time I started composing this blog entry and the time I'm getting around to posting it. I'll start with what I meant to finish writing a few days ago but, for lack of a better excuse, didn't, probably because I was too busy eating Tim Horton's chicken noodle soup and … Continue reading That Christmas Feeling
Well, this is it: my fourth, and final, weekend in the epilepsy monitoring unit. One of the best parts about being here has been having a medication holiday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm really not a fan of Topamax, one of the anticonvulsants that I take. Since … Continue reading Oh Hey There, Old Friend
Just a quick note to inform you that on Saturday night, after over two weeks of waiting/lounging around the hospital eating bad food and attempting to work, I had a tonic-clonic seizure. Since I’m in the EMU for, you know, epilepsy monitoring, and since my epileptologist needs to capture a certain number of seizures in … Continue reading The Most Welcome Tonic-Clonic Seizure in the World
One of the EMU techs came into my room a few afternoons ago and told me about a new policy: for ten minutes of every hour, I'm supposed to sit quietly, eyes closed, and "chill out." "I'm asking all my patients to do this," she said. "It's so that we get some clean EEG readings." … Continue reading Forced Meditation
Well, it finally happened: I had a seizure last night! Just a complex partial, but I'll take it. I've ever been this happy following an experience that should be semi-traumatic, except for maybe after a seizure the last time I was in the EMU. I had my electrodes changed yesterday, too, so it's basically like … Continue reading At Long Last, a Seizure!
Being in an epilepsy monitoring unit is, it seems, the best anticonvulsant I've tried yet. At home, I have at least a few seizures a month, and that’s while on my medications. Here, I just finished tapering off Vimpat and still haven’t had a single “event.” Gotta get the seizure train rollin’ if I want … Continue reading Best Anticonvulsant Ever
There was a new epileptologist doctor on duty today, and she suggested that I try sleep deprivation to get the seizure train rolling. This means staying up until four in the morning, sleeping until nine, then making it through the day without naps—which, to be honest, is an only slightly shifted and shortened version of … Continue reading Sleep Deprivation for a Cause
How quickly things change. One minute I'm blogging about a pesky tooth infection; the next, I'm lounging in a hospital bed in my moose PJs hoping for as many seizures in as short a time as possible so that I can rejoin the outside world and become a productive member of society again (it's all … Continue reading Sudden Turn of Events: Epilepsy Monitoring Unit/Worst Staycay Ever (Days 1 and 2 Complete!)
Some of the young adults that I've been collaborating with since the epilepsy summit that I attended in DC in July 2014 met in Toronto this past weekend to discuss our progress, plan upcoming projects, and work on our current one. It was an engaging, intense, fulfilling few days, and for the first time in … Continue reading Epilepsy and the Importance of Community
This morning my husband and I woke up early (well, early for a Sunday) and went downtown to the starting point for the inaugural Purple Walk for Epilepsy, which took place in conjunction with BuskerFest in support of Epilepsy Toronto. Before continuing, I'll say that Tristan Thompson, a famous NBA player, was there, and I was … Continue reading Purple Tears (of Gratitude)
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 