Seizures and Carbatrol

Hello, my doctor is not really giving me much info yet, but this is what is going on:
My boyfriend reported that I was having staring spells. I was also having some memory issues, such as mixing up words and not being able to retrieve words when speaking.  I have a master's degree, and I'm a teacher, so as you can imagine this was quite embarrasing to not be able to use common vocabulary words correctly.  I would also mix up the beginning sounds of words, for example substituting "store" for "sore" and so on.   I went to a neurologist and had MRI, EEG, bloodwork, and neuropsychological testing done.  Dr. says EEG had focal abnormalities in the temperal lobe, specifically that in the left temperal lobe there was "one sharp tracing".  My first question is, what exactly does that mean?

I had been on Tegretol for almost 2 years for bipolar disorder.  There is a dispute among several different doctors of mine about whether or not I am actually bipolar.  I personally don't think so for many reasons, but to make a long story short, once the staring spells became noticable, they increased the dosage of Tegretol to 3 times a day since it is also used as an anticonvulsant.  The day after the increase, I had what I would consider a drop seizure.  I slumped over on the couch.  My eyes started watering uncontrolably.  My boyfriend was saying my name and smacking me in the face.  I could see him and hear him, but could not speak and lost complete motor control.  I did not have convulsions, but rather just could not move.  He said my pupils were huge and eyes moving rapidly.  I was scared but could not voice it.  I came out of it after a few minutes and was extremely tired. Tried to go to work the next morning and my boss sent me home.  I tried calling the dr. and then I slept for 6 hours more.  Dr. called back and he didn't make a big deal out of it, which seemed strange to me.  I have been reading a lot online.  Does this sound like simple partial seizures?  What can anyone tell me about what is going on with me?  Also, should I be getting a 2nd opinion?

A few weeks later, I suddenly received frantic calls from the dr's office.  The girl from the office said dr. is ordering me not to drive under any circumstances and changed Tegretol to Carbatrol.  Now that I am on Carbatrol, I feel very tired.  I also started mentruating about 5 days earlier than I would have normally.  The side effects mentioned calf pain....my muscles in my thighs are sore, and slightly in my calf, but more so in the thigh.  Is this normal?

Anyway, I would appreciate any input or advice from doctors or anyone who has experience similar symptoms or experiences.
Thank you!