what does it take?

Hi, You will need to undergo a lot of testing to see if you are suitable candidate for surgery . You will need to have video eeg done usually in hospital about a week,and likely to be removed from all medication. You will need to take other tests such as pet scans, spect scans also a wada test may be suggested ,where they tempoararily put one half of your brain to sleep to test what may be affected,then they do the opposite side,this is a very invasive test and unpleasant from what Ive heard. I was very fortunate to be able to have a new test called fmri which gives the same results without the invasivness of the wada.The fmri scan was the test that gave the doctors conclusive evidence that I would be suitable for surgery. I had surgery 7 months ago and all is going well. You would also have a psycology test which would test your current abilities to be compared with your abilities about 9 months after surgery. The doctors did not shave my head only a portion where they would do the cut,but this grows back after about 10-12 weeks and eventually covers the scar. I had left temporal lobe lobecotmy. My cut started just above left ear and goes to top of head and forward to the right side of my forehead. It is now completly covered and you would not know it was there unless I told you. I always ask my hairdresser to be careful in the vicinity of the cut though. Even if you do all the testing, you are not compelled to go ahead with the surgery. I did all the testing, and I was not prepared to make up mind one way or the other until I had heard how the surgeon believed how successful it would be. If you are given the chance for surgery ,I would reccommend you grab the oportunity ,for it will change your life. Not having to worry when you may have a seizure is fantastic. Dont expect to much from yourself in the first couple of months after surgery, take it slowly. I was off work for 7 weeks. In the end, you will have no say really as to whether you can have surgery or not, the chance of surgery will depend on the tests . Good Luck - Go for it. Aussie2006

I had a left temporal lobe lobectomy surgery about 6 years ago and it has helped me out a lot since then. I had a choice to whether I wanted to have seizures the rest of my life and live life unpredictably, or to have the surgery. I went through all of the test, for the surgery, and after no time I was back in my regular lifestyle. Just make sure that you always keep a positive thought, about anything in your life, and you will know which choice you want. Good luck! Debbie1202