Data
I work in a highly technical field. You know what that means: data.
Before medication, I experienced 30 seizures per month. Once medicated I averaged 11~ seizures per month. Over time, these progressed into clusters and eventually tonic–clonic seizures.
This chart was the deciding factor in my surgery. Not the tonic-clonics or the cluster seizures, just the data. It didn’t offer an opinion or persuasion.
Whenever I had a seizure, I added a calendar event. At the end of each week, I merged my seizure entries with my medication changes. Here’s what the data revealed, and I’ve found it truly fascinating:
- November 2022: My first neurologist prescribed a standard anti-epileptic drug, Keppra. The data showed an immediate drop in seizures, but before long the baseline returned.
- March 2023: Two full weeks of seizure-freedom while on no medication at all whilst in deep ketosis due to an allergic reaction that triggered pancreatitis and a hospital stay. This pushed me to demand a referral to an epileptologist. As Lacosamide began, seizure frequency fell sharply.
- August 2023: After sharing my charts, the epileptologist prescribed Clobazam (Onfi), a potent benzodiazepine. Seizures vanished entirely at first. He cautioned, “Don’t be surprised if they return.” He was right.
- March 2024: Partial seizures dropped, but tonic-clonic seizures took over. Wth months of recorded data we made the call to move toward surgery.
- May 2024: Absence seizures increased even though Clobazam dosage rose. Quite the experience.
- November 2024: Surgery day. To the surprise of many, not a single seizure has occurred since. (As of November 2025)
The chart combines three variables:
- Time in months (x-axis)
- Medication dosage (y-axis)
- Seizure count (a second line on the same y-axis)
Each point represents a snapshot; dosage, type, and seizure count for that month. Recording stopped once the seizures did. There’s no cure, only treatment.
People often ask, “So you stopped taking the medications then?”
The answer is simple: no. Like countless others living with epilepsy, I’ll likely need to keep taking them for the rest of my life.