New to Epilepsy Forum-are any of you like me?

Hello All,

I am new to this board and this is my first post.  Back in 1978 I endured my first grand mal seizure while driving. I was rushed to the hospital and my blood was taken and it was discovered that my blood suger was abnormally low.  At the time I was on a diet of grapefruits and minimal other foods.  
I was made an eeg appt and a couple of local Dr. appointments with neuros. but their medicine, phenobarbethol did not work!  
Finally I got in to McMaster U, a learning/teaching hospital and got to see Dr. A. Upton!  A godsent! He did another eeg and found that I was having grand mal and petit mal seizures so he immediately perscribed the right meds!  I have been lucky to have had only approx. 5-7 seizures since seeing Dr.Upton in 1980 which I might add only seemed to have happened when I had forgotten to take my meds!  
The only unfortunate part of my story is that I take 350mg of dilantin daily and 2000mg of depakene or volproic acid daily.  Over time Dr.U said this could damage my liver and what I am noticing is I can't lose weight no matter how hard I try.  

Question-
1.  Is there anyone out there taking the approx. dosage of meds as I?
2.  There is no question that the meds, espec the depakene contributed to my weight gain however I was   wondering if the forum knew of anything that replaces the depakene?  
3.  I was also wondering if anyone else feels depression from being on their current meds?
4.  How do you know if you have right or left temporal lobe epilepsy/seizures and must it be one or the other?
Thank you for your time,
Anita

[Emma999]

I only know from experience that prior to having my seizures I had weird little "explosions" in the right front that felt like intense but short headaches concentrated in an area of about the size of a golf ball.  I would tell people about it and said I thought I had a tumor (I guess almost jokingly, not so funny now) and people would laugh at me.  I later had the hallucinations (hearing and taste) and had been having something like morning sickness for 10 years (13-23 no less).  Turns out they think it is the right temporal lobe that is causing the seizures and I am not really sure why.  I assume it is because this is where I feel something because my MRI's and EEG's are normal.  When I would threw up I felt the pain, also this seemed to be the center of activity when I had an issue.  This may help, if not sorry for being long winded.

[Sisteranita3]

What a concept, another Anita with Epilepsy!!!

In any case, I take 5000mg of Depakote and 194.4mg of Phenobarbital per day.  I began having seizures as an infant in 1956.  They went away and did not come again until the 80's (when I began working for the Postal Service).  I have since retired on disability.

I haven't had very much luck losing weight, but I never thought it was the medication but rather my bad diet.  I take so very many meds for other ailments also that I could not possibly determine which one causes any one of the many troubles!  My neurologist did have me on dilantin at one time but I continued to have seizures until we settled on the current meds.

I have no idea whether mine are temporal lobe or not.  I have only been told by my neuro man that my seizures do not have a "specific cause", that he could not see anything in the brain which caused them.  He said I was lucky in that respect.  Thankfully I have never suffered a seizure while driving.  Mine initially occured only while sleeping (in the 80's).  Afterward, when I began having them while awake, at work, etc. my doc stopped me from driving altogether (since the 90's).

Additionally, I do suffer depression.  I have been told by folks I know and also seen ads which say that both the med and the illness could be the cause.  I personally have no idea but simply take the meds for that & see my couselor.

Have no idea if this is the info you desire.  Am sure that others have more information than I.  Prayerfully, you will find what you seek.

Anita