[fiesta]

I was first diagnosed with epilepsy in 1949. I have a poem that discusses both my diabetes and epilepsy.

When I was first diagnosed with Diabetes, it was a surprise to the doctors. I had never had any of the symptoms. They were trying to find out what was causing my severe seizures. They tested me to rule it out. My A1c, triglycerides and cholesterol were so high and they put me on Actos. My doctor told me that I could only have 15 carbohydrates a day for 2 weeks. They then tested me again. It was down to normal and I was able to raise my carbohydrates.

My neurologist told me that the two do not get along in the brain. One can mess up the other. When my seizures act up, I have to rest. That is the opposite of what I need for my diabetes. I need to be active. To make a long story short, here is my poem:

I AM STILL HERE!!

Six years old, 1949,
epilepsy diagnosed
Dilantin is deadly,
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
I am still here!!

Twenty years old, 1963
First tonic clonics (grand mals)
Three in a row
I am still here!!

Thirty-six years old, 1979
First STATUS EPILEPTICUS
I went into a coma
I am still here!!

Fifty-five years old, 1996
Second STATUS EPILEPTICUS
Diabetes the cause, the seizures stopped.
I am still here!!

Sixty-four years old, 2007
Lots of different kinds of seizures
Pneumonia was the cause
I am still here!!

Ruth

 

[Shanny]

(((Ruth)))

We're glad you're still here!

 

[fiesta]

Hi Shanny,

Epilepsy is my complication for my Diabetes. Do you have any idea how I can balance the two?

Ruth

 

[Shanny]

I have no experience whatsoever with epilepsy, but I thought you had said earlier that when you kept your diabetes well controlled - maintaining low blood sugars - that it helped control the epilepsy also. Did I misunderstand?

 

[fiesta]

Hi Shanny, I did not explain it fully. Sometimes if I keep my diabetes under control it keeps my epilepsy under control, other times it does not. Since my poem did not explain it, I will explain what has happened in my life. Sometime at which I got diabetes. I really do not know when since I never had any symptoms.

60 years ago, when I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was put on the med Dilantin. I was allergic to it. I started losing my skin. My mother rushed me to Children's Hospital in San Francisco. I had Steven-Johnsons Syndrome. My parents were told I was going to die. Somehow, I did not die.

When I was 36 years old, I had my first status epilepsy. That is where the seizures do not stop. If the doctor's cannot stop the seizures with medicine, it leads to death. My husband was told I was going to die. I went into a coma.

When I was 55 years old in 1996, I had my second status epilepsy attack. That was caused by my diabetes. Again my husband was told I was going to die. They did a lot of tests to find out what caused it. They tested me for diabetes to rule it out. They did not believe I had diabetes. I did!! My neurologist told me that epilepsy and diabetes do not get along in the brain. If I have a problem with one, I will have a problem with another.

For instance, when I was 64 years old, I had a lot of different kinds of seizures. I was kept in the hospital for 2 weeks. I had pneumonia. The pneumonia messed up both my diabetes and epilepsy.

It is true that usually if I keep my diabetes under control, my epilepsy is fine, sometimes.. A lot of times my epilepsy acts up and I have to rest. I am not able to do my exercises and my blood glucose drops to low. I have glucose tablets that I take. I have a bad memory, though, because of my seizures. I have a serious form of epilepsy.

It is a balancing act in my brain. Sometimes, it works, sometimes it does not. My neurologists have told me that epilepsy is a complication for my diabetes.

Ruth