I have an appointment soon with my neurologist. At my last one, he told me I
had epilepsy. But, I'm not so sure and am looking for what I should be
asking him about the basis of his diagnosis.

A brief history: Last August I ended up in the hospital with a cerebral
hemmorhage due to a AVM rupture (the same thing that happened to that
Senator from South Dakota). At the time, as a precautionary measure, I was
put on Dilantin. Over the next five months I had a number of procedures
done, culminating in the actual removal of the AVM in January. A few days
after my second procedure in early December  (an Embolization, which
involved sending a little wire up through the arteries to the arteries
feeding the AVM and squirting a little glue in them, in an attempt to lessen
the flow of blood to the AVM) I had a couple of seizures, a few hours apart.
I sort of remember the first one coming on (which lead to a fall) and I was
taken to the hospital. I have a few vague memories of the various treatments
and tests, but I don't remember the second seizure (apparently a full
tonic-clonic one) that happened at the hospital. I was put on Keppra, in
addition to the dilantin, and, at this point, am only taking Keppra.

I haven't had a seizure since. But I've been reading up on epilepsy. I see
that one diagnosis is more than one seizure. So I wonder if that was the
basis of my diagnosis. If so, isn't it possible that, because my only two
seizures occurred a few hours apart, they were just an anomolous occurrence,
a reaction to the Embolization procedure? Now, of course, during my
adventures, I have had a whole host of tests like Cat Scans, MRI's and the
like. Could there have been something definitive in them that confirmed the
diagnosis?

Of course, I could just try stopping the meds. But, unless there is a reason
to think I may not really have a seizure disorder, I am afraid to do so. I
don't want another seizure (I don't think my wife could take it and besides,
I only have another month and a half before I can drive again).

Eric Jacobs