Is Epilepsy ever really cured? or does it kind of go in remission?

30 Oct 2011

I am not in the medical field and can only tell you what my experience has been. My son had what the doctors called childhood epilepsy. Like you he had a really bad seizure when he was 3. The doctors also put him on Dilantin. He was only on the medication for about 3 years. He never had another grand mal (sp?) seizure but had several absence seizures. He would just stare into space, drool and sometimes babble incoherently. The doctors assured me that he would grow out of it and by the time he was in junior high school he was seizure free. He is 25 now and has not had a seizure in over 15 years. I can tell you that he suffers from severe insomnia. I don't know if this has anything to do with the seizures he had but there may be something to it since you suffer from sleep apnea. Anyway, I don't know if this helps you at all but did want to share what his experience was. Good luck to you!

31 Oct 2011

It is not uncommon for children to have seizures and then not have any after they pass through puperty. Doctors often say they outgrew it. However, these now adults often have a lower threshold for futher seizures and that is why it is important to retain good health and get good rest. There are many types of seizures besides generalized - brief starting or absence, partial seizures etc. Check out a web on types of seizures and you get a fair bit of information. Occasionaly someone who has not had seizures for years will have seizures later in life due to their low threshold and becuse of things lke oxygen deprevation - ie smoking causing lung damage etc. If you feel you are experiencing something that may be a seiure make detailed notes of what you were doing, how you were feeling and what happened that caused you to feel strange. This will be very useful information for your doctor should further problems arise which I certainly hope does not happen. Best wishes.

11 Nov 2011

Dear totallyforgiven,
To answer your question; epilepsy can be a lifelong condition, one can "grow " out of it (as in petit-mal seizures) but in many cases(as in mine), it will have to be controlled by medication .Epilepsy can be caused by many factors ie:birth trauma,head injuries or exposure to toxins. Besides convulsions, there are absence , petit-mal , and febrile. I hope that this answers your questions; if you have any more, feel free to ask and good luck!