Eli, 19, Lebanon
My name is Eli Isso, I am from Lebanon (Middle East), and I am soon to be 20 years old.
The first time it happened, I was working two jobs on New Years Eve 2013-2014. The day was pretty normal as I was used to hard work, but as I finished the day and was about to head home, I fall and have my first seizure. I went to the hospital and the only thing to worry about was that my heart was beating very fast. That's it. No epilepsy mentioned, the seizure was blamed on the hard work and the fact that I smoke cigarettes. Several months later, I was training for a new job, I called it a night and went home. The first thing I did when I got home was to tell my father about my day, and as I was about to start talking, I fell again and had my second seizure. I refused to go to the doctor that day, and I refused to even have a check up and see what was happening with me because somehow I found a rational explanation for why I am having the seizures. (Hard work, stress, anxiety.) A couple of months later, I was working late that night and it was raining. What I remember was that I grabbed my jacket and went to the parking lot where my colleague was waiting for me in the car. I reach the car and as I am about to open the door I fall again, my face had hit the curb and that's how I broke my nose and had my third seizure. My parents went mad that I am refusing to take the matter seriously. So I did all the tests that I was asked to do. The results showed that my brain waves were functioning very normally and no sign of epilepsy in there.
My doctor started a treatment to be on the safe side. For three years I was expected to take pills (Levipram 500 mg) for the purpose of being on the safe side. Fortunately, I had no seizures whatsoever after I started my treatment, and for that, my doctor looked at it as a great sign. And instead of doing three years, my doctor reduced it to two years. This is my last month of taking pills. On Monday September 11th I will check with the doctor and see how things will go from now on, but I have already been given an insight on how the rest of my life will be. The doctor has made it clear that in my case, I am not even epileptic. The treatment was just precaution. But since everything worked great, and the medicine helped stopping the seizures, I will have to take at least one pill a day for the rest of my life in order to guarantee safety and living without seizures anymore. Now I personally know that 80% of epileptic people are curable. And for that, I give myself a higher percentage since throughout my experience, there was no sign of epilepsy in the tests, and the treatment was simply for safety only.
Update after September 11th 2017: On September 11th I visited my doctor, and he asked if I had any seizures and the answer is still no. He gave me good news about not being epileptic. But he still didn't diagnose it. I I honestly don't know the cause yet. I am going to continue with the reduced treatment which is 1 pill of Levipram 500 mg a day. He had to continue the treatment since I have a different case, I am jobless and I am a high school dropout. So basically I am not occupied at the moment. His final decision concerning either ending the treatment or making it a lifetime treatment will be made after I become occupied. I am supposed to be productive while taking the treatment then decisions are made.
Contact details:
Email address: elie_isso999@hotmail.com
