Rumor Has It

Rumor has it is that Epilepsy is more common in people with Bipolar Disorder. I know this to be true, no rumor here. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 in the summer of 2007, after suffering from many years of depression that had never responded to any antidepressant I had taken. Bipolar Type 2 is actually a type of depression, it is not what you picture as the “out of control manic-depressive”. We do have periods of hypomania, which may include symptoms such as irritability, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, or insomnia among a few. I have severe insomnia and the depression, although in the past I have had some of the others. I am currently taking a mood stabilizer and it has helped a lot, but not totally alleviated all my symptoms. This type of Bipolar is severly underdiagnosed and most of the time misdiagnosed as Major Depression, which leads to many years of a miserable existence. It is thought that as many as 1 in 30 people have this type of depression and have gone undiagnosed for years. I encourage you to see a Bipolar specialist if you have depression that has not responded to the traditional or SSRI antidepressant therapies. 

Approximately three weeks ago I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. I am no spring chicken and it has taken a long time to get this diagnosis, so many ex-friends and family members doubted me, my doctors, the tests, the research, and all else when it came to my diagnosis. The diagnosis is true..I had to have my EEG twice because the first one was mis-filed, found at a later time, but not until I had already had another one.  Both were positive for Right and Left Frontal Lobe Epilepsy and a small area of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Studies have shown that the brains electrical system is intertwined with it’s messaging system, so when uncontrolled surges of electricity are communicated through these systems a seizure takes place. This happens much more frequently in people with Bipolar Disorder and also in those with Epilepsy. With this finding, scientist and doctors believe this abnormal electrical activity may either cause the mood swings of Bipolar Disorder or that Bipolar Diosrder is causing the electrical surges that cause our Epileptic seizures. The same medications that works for Bipolar Disorder control Epileptic seizures, this in itself shows a high correlation between the two diseases. What is even worse, lack of sleep causes increased seizure activity, so my insomnia is truly fighting against me here. I am newly diagnosed, my seizures or Bipolar symptoms are not under control at this time. Since diagnosis I have struggled, I still suffer from depression and insomnia. I suffer from seizures all the time. I will do a follow up post as to how we found the epilepsy and why we did not know I had it for so long. I have researched all of this a great deal and have a lot of fascinating information to share. For those of you that are afflicted with these terrible diseases, I think you will enjoy reading these posts. For those of you that are a care taker, or have a loved one or froedn, I hope you will too.

Hopefully we will find the right combination of medications to control my seizures and give me relief from the terrible depression and insomnia that are a part of my everyday life. I hear it can take a while, so as with any illness and it’s recovery, keeping a positive mindset is essential….a little difficult with depression, but I am tough, so I am determined to be the victor.

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