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From:
Subject: Re: [GEN-NYS] "Medical Family Trees" (Epilepsy)
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:07:26 EDT

I had top people at the Neurological Institute in New York evaluate me. I
do genealogy so I have a great deal of history of my family. In checking
through the family, I have one uncle, my mother's brother, who fainted when
he saw his own blood and that is the only relative who had any connection
to epilepsy. Neurologists told me that fainting was the mildest form of
epilepsy. I take tegratol in a very small amount - I have cut it back through
the years and have had two mild seizures in the last fifty years. I had
been on heavy dosages when I first had it. I was somewhat groggy from it.
I would fall asleep while playing scrabble or cards, wake up and go on with
the game. I am 82 and doing quite well. I work very hard in my garden and
in the yard. I take mile walks, sometimes longer. Life is good.





In a message dated 6/23/2009 11:41:34 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:

I had grand mal sizures and my third child started having them at about
12. I have read that it often shows up in females when their menstrual
period begins. My daughter's began about age 12 with petit mal which she
outgrew. Its difficult to assign causes or genes.


In a message dated 6/23/2009 3:05:35 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:

Hi again,

I was just rereading Walter's message and noticed that he mentioned
Epilepsy
as being a possible inherited disease. I have never read about that
possibility.

I have a cousin who some say was born with Epilepsy ~1950, but he fell as
an
infant and an injury probably caused the Epilepsy. And, my (now)
husband
had his father's cousin having Epilepsy for most of his life, and he died
as
a result of it - probably from a seizure. And I had a next-door
neighbor
for a long time (1980's), who was fine before he fought in the Vietnam
War.
He came home with a serious head injury and Epilepsy resulted. He also
died before his time from a seizure.

Knowing this, and reading Walter's message now makes me wonder whether
these
3 men all had the "gene" for Epilepsy in their body -- and an injury made
it
develop.

(I would guess that all 3 had "Grand Mal Seizures.") *

Also, I read about "Medical Family Trees" ~5 years ago, but I don't
remember whether there are "charts" for writing these up.

And, just a reminder that people / children who suffered from "seizures"
-
especially Grand Mal ones - were probably "hidden away" or "sent away" in
past centuries.

Betty (near Lowell, MA)




*
(My cousin suffered Grand Mal Seizures from infancy until he was ~30.
So,
he was not well educated, and lost out on a lot of "life." But, his
parents changed to a whole new doctor, had all his "old" prescriptions
taken
away and was given new ones. He has been mostly free of seizures since
then - and "got a life." He was one of the lucky ones. I don't know
if any of his ancestors had "seizures." It might not have been talked
about.)


FYI:

http://njaes.rutgers.edu/healthfinance/pdfs/family-medical-tree.pdf

http://genealogy.about.com/library/authors/ucbishop7a.htm

http://mayoclinic.com/health/medical-history/HQ01707



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