Howdy Bob!

That's a rather drastic simplification isn't it?

Exactly what do you mean by "the right medication"?

Some of us have gone for decades, even lifetimes, without having any
reduction in seizure activities no matter what drug or combinations of drugs
have been tried.

Sorry to say, but it's a hard fact of life (for some of us anyway) that
sometimes there is no "right medication."

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I agree w. Bob.  If you're aware of what's happening they're probably not
full C.P. seizures, more likely S.P. seizures or the Auras that go with
them?
 Wrt. the medications I don't recognize the 3rd one, the Second (*if it's
the Sublingual Diazepam) should have put you on Mars at 5mg (unless that was
a typo).   Mine are only 1mg and, when I used them, as sublingual type,
1x1mg would make me fall asleep within about an hour of taking it.
  At the very least you might consider asking your Pharmacist if those 2
last meds. should be mixed.  They might conflict with each other, so that
one might be a relaxant and the other an alert medication for example.  You
might just have to change the Timing of when those 2 are taken so they're
apart.

  Similarly with his medical opinion, while we have 4-6 people 'around
here' using Dilantin without a lot of problems, *I* found it really erratic
during the 12-15 months I tried it (1993-4), and had to discard it for a
stronger medication fairly soon after trying it.
 *But if you're only having Simple Partials, you might just need a minor
adjustment to either the AM or Night-time dose to fix things.   Some of the
meds., our bodies get used-to over time, and just need a partial bump-up to
get the control back.    G.R.

No Bob, they're definitely Complex Partials.

Firstly, the severity is something that is observed by others (usually my
wife). They sometimes last longer than usual and can involve extra
involuntary movement, in my case, hand fidgeting on top of my "normal" lip
smacking. Secondly, my state of bewilderment afterwards and the length of
this phase indicates the severity to me. I also know they've been
particularly bad when my head aches and I cannot eat because my taste buds
have gone on holidays.

I have tried almost all medications since the original diagnosis some 25
years ago. In my case Dilantin is the drug of choice as it has the least
side effects and provides the most effective control. When I have a
particularly bad string of seizures I sometimes take a Diazepam, probably
out of fear that they (the seizures) will develop into non-convulsive
status, a condition that I definitely don't want to experience again.

Cipramil was recently added to my drug regime after I was diagnosed as being
chronically depressed. Pending surgery to remove some or all of my right
temporal lobe may be the cause of this.

I guess this leads to another question for all;

Can anyone share their experience of brain surgery for epilepsy ?

Regards,
Rob

I have complex partials (started with simple partials) and it does not have to
involve loss of consiousness.  I have never, ever lost consciousness.  There is what
is called altered consciousness though with complex partials, which is kind of hard
to describe.  To me, alterted consciousness is more like being transfixed on a
really good tv show, and you just don't pay attention to anything else going on in
the room.  You know what is going on in the room, but all your attention is glued to
the tv screen.

Barb