My girlfriend has been having small seizures {sorry I am new to all of this}..for maybe 8 or 9 months now.She doesn't have insurance and cannot work either and is forced to go to this free clinic that doesn't seem to be helping her. Tonight she had 3 seizures within 2 or 3 hours of each other lasting 2 minutes or so each. I am scared, on the last one she just lost the ability to speak,but every other bodily function seems ok for now.I love her but feel helpless, can anyone help me on what to do? No money here, but she needs to go to the hospital and see someone right away..:
Thanks for your help, anything would help. Oh yeah, she is pretty foggy headed but told me the Doc prescribed Depakote for her, but not sure if she remembers to take it, as I do not live with her, she is bound to her parents house and cannot get around too easily.I am not asking for handouts, but any help would be appreciated GREATLY.Thank You
Last edited by moderator2; 09-16-2007 at 06:22 AM.
GregC, Im really sorry to hear about your girlgfriend and her seizures. Obviously the meds she's currently taking are not helping her and she might need to have them changed to another depending on the type of seizures she has. I recommend you find her a Neuroscience center in one of CA best hospitals, if she's not working she can b given charity care and they would do all the necessary exams to determine what type of seizure she has and what AEMs she should b on. dealing with seizures it's not easy but getting better treatment is what matters. I didnt know I had Mesail sclerosis till after 20 yrs and had taken seven different AEMs that never helped me. Do you know what exams had been done on her so far? I hope this can help u, but dont give up on her ur doing the right thing
Last edited by 030free; 09-17-2007 at 09:19 AM.
Reason: add on
My girlfriend has been having small seizures {sorry I am new to all of this}..for maybe 8 or 9 months now.She doesn't have insurance and cannot work either and is forced to go to this free clinic that doesn't seem to be helping her. Tonight she had 3 seizures within 2 or 3 hours of each other lasting 2 minutes or so each. I am scared, on the last one she just lost the ability to speak,but every other bodily function seems ok for now.I love her but feel helpless, can anyone help me on what to do? No money here, but she needs to go to the hospital and see someone right away..:
Thanks for your help, anything would help. Oh yeah, she is pretty foggy headed but told me the Doc prescribed Depakote for her, but not sure if she remembers to take it, as I do not live with her, she is bound to her parents house and cannot get around too easily.I am not asking for handouts, but any help would be appreciated GREATLY.Thank You
hello greg c. my name is bevin and i would like to say that what you describe
your girlfriend going through with seizures is first and foremost serious. She needs to given an electroencephalgram which measures her brain waves and the patterns of her brainwaves to see if she has a more serious seizure problem than first thought and she may need to be given another stronger med but by not taking depakote regularly as directed by the neurologist it will not help her. That unintentional forgetfulness will make things worse. She needs a constant reminder to take her medicine like an alert or alarm clock system to tell her that it is time to take her medicine daily as the neurologist prescribed. Please do not think I am trying to hard or harsh or mean I too at times forget to take my depakote but i can not afford to do that at all or ever but i stilll have trouble remembering. sometimes that willl happen. sometimes then I become really ill if not taken for a long period of time as directed by my neurologist. your girlfriend needs encouragement and to know that she can remember on a regular basis to take medicine for such a serious problem. She needs to find an easy way to remind herself of when to take her medicine and do it so this bad scenario will become less and less of an occurance. the first set of advice from poster 030 free is correct as well. hope things get better for your girlfriend. just stick with your girlfriend and things will get better. just be there for as much as you can even though it is hard not to be there right with her in that moment in time. your love for her is what will keep her going.
Greg, hi, sounds like you're being very supportive and helpful and feeling helpless in the beginning is normal.
As far as medical help, the next time she begins to have a seizure call an ambulance to take her to the ER. I realize money is a problem. believe me I do, been there done that. But the ER cannot refuse her treatment and may be able to do an EEG there. As for payment, that can be worked out and since she is unable to work due to her condition may qualify for state assistance. if she can they usually go back 3 months and pay unpaid medical bills within that time. (at least they do in IL) If she can get a state medical card she can go to a neuro. not just a GP. And the more hospital documentation she can get to prove her condition the better.
As for taking her meds., the Depakote itself may be causing some of the memory lose or it may be due to the seiz. activity. Or both. Get her a pill box with the days of the week and boxes for 3 times a day. you should be able to get one for less than $5. help her set up her meds. for the week, then all she has to do is look in the appropiate box to see if she's taken her meds.
Good luck to you both and as Bevin said, love her, love her, love her. What she is going thru right now is scary for you and terrifying for her. She needs your love and support more than ever. even if all you can do is hold her or listen sometimes that helps a bunch. You can also do on-line research into seizure disorders/epilepsy. sometimes just eing informed helps make things easier.
A good way to remember is to get an alarm watch. As for my morning dose, I put my watch on the wrong wrist till I take my meds. It is set for my night time dose (9:30). If I don't take them at that moment (cuz I'm in the mid. of something) I take my watch off my left arm & put it on my right. As for the pills, they are in labled boxes (monday thru sunday) If I think I forgot my morn. dose I just look at the box.
Hey there Greg C. I was reading over everything you said about your girlfriend. There is help out there she can get SSI. SSI is an income for people who are incapable of working or getting around. I have pedimal seizures which keeps me from being able to get from point (a) to point (b) and I can qualify but I have no need. There are some reasons to why you wouldn't be able to. Check into it and God bless.
9-11 help..seizures 
