Juvenile epilepsy

I'd say he is angry and likely experiencing depression as he's realized how much his life has changed, especially his social network. Most athletes have lots of friends and fun times because of their notoriety, and in professional sports, millions of $. Then within a few months, all is gone....even those who he might have thought were his friends. This happened to me 30 years ago, although not football related. It took me 15 years out of the 30 to get out of denial and realize it is what it is; no driving and all. I recommend that your family consider getting him to participate in Support groups, like we have here at MAYO, only for younger members. My best to your son and your family. Most of us have been there.

@kymill
I understand what your son is going though and like what @royanthony said"most of us have been there."
He may never have another seizure. If he does it sometimes takes awhile to get them under control. But the odds for control are about 70%. But he shouldn't be looking at it from the point of view that his life is over and get depressed.
Depression and negatively are harmful and can increase seizure activity and also affect his overall quality of life. Why give up playing football? There are numerous professional football players several in the NFL
You mention "he can't be left alone" why not? Often times parents are overyprotective of children with epilepsy. Think about how that makes us feel. We want to be just as independent as anyone else. Are you protecting your son or is it your fear of the seizure.
He needs to come to terms with this condition. That isn't easy but it is essential.
Yes, sometimes we get hurt falling because of a seizure but we can't stop living a life we want to be as normal as possible.
I used to frequently dislocate my shoulders during seizures, and ultimately had to have multiple surgeries. They have wanted to do bilateral artificial shoulder surgery on me for a long time, but I won't allow it. I've cracked my head open I can't tell you how many times. When I get to the ER for stitches or staples, they always greet me by name and say something like "not again." They often make light of it by joking around which I prefer. One of the the nurse once said "from now on you're going to have to bring your own staples."
It is seldom necessary for a seizure parient to go to a hospital because of a seizure. There are certain seizure conditions like Status Epilepticus which is a seizure or series of seizures that don't stop. This condition requires immediate medical intervention. Sometimes medication stops them, other times patients are put into an induced coma until the seizures stop.
I have this condition and have been in many induced comas but I have lived as normal life as possible for 59 years.
Take care,
Jake

Hi @kymill
Welcome to our group.
I was also very angry and then depressed during the first two years of epilepsy treatment, though I was not on Keppra at that time. The diagnosis and the epilepsy treatment have also turned my world upside down: I had to leave my job and adapt to a whole new life. Like @jakedduck1, it also took me some time to accept my epilepsy and life changes. My neuropsychologist helped me tremendously in the acceptance of my condition. I was also embraced by my husband, who always stood next to me during those first years of my epilepsy journey.
I can imagine what you must be going through as a mother and how your heart feels. Some time ago, @dannoyes started a very interesting discussion in our group related to acceptance.
How to stay positive? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-do-you-stay-positive/
There is another discussion Dan also started that might also be interesting for you to read.
What do you wish someone had told you at the start of your journey? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-is-one-thing-you-wish-you-had-known-about-your-health-journey/
I am on Keppra since last December and thankfully, I have not had Keppra rage side-effect so far. But it is important to pay attention to this aspect and report it to your son's doctor. Perhaps the support of a neuropsychologist or psychologist could be as helpful to him as it was to me?
Accepting is not liking it nor resigning either, but rather learning how to deal with a certain situation and trying your best.
All my best to you and your son.
Chris (@santosha)

My daughter's epilepsy started when she was 12. She's now 32 and is still on lamictal xr. She, too refused to transition to another med for the same reason. She has high anxiety and I don't know if it's because she's afraid of having a seizure or if it's chemical. All I can do is support her and hold her head if I'm there when she has one. My prayers go out to you and your daughter.

Hi @sg325, @kymill, @hassankusow
I just wanted to check in and see how you and your children are doing lately.

That is so kind of you @santosha
Since school has ended for the summer her moods have improved noticeably.
She had one night where she missed a dose of her medication and the next morning she had some myoclonic jerks and was not herself for a few hours. To me this was a good reminder of how well the medication is working.
I think that she may be adjusting with a better ability to regulate her moods in general, but as an almost 15 year old she has teenager moments. As the weeks have passed I think she is adjusting to life with epilepsy. As someone with MS myself I can empathize that living with a chronic illness is a process and every day can be different, the unknown is definitely the most challenging part.

Hello @sg325
I'm so glad to hear your daughter's moods have improved since school ended and that she's learning to adjust to life with epilepsy. This brings such a big smile to my face—thank you for sharing this update!
You're so right that living with a chronic illness is a process, and every day can be different. I try as much as possible to focus on the present moment rather than dwelling on past seizures, which only brings me fear. I also find it very important to celebrate every step of progress in this journey—it brings me motivation and courage.
So as not to forget to take my medication, I make use of alarms on my mobile phone. It has been effective. Earlier this year, @jakedduck1 started the following discussion: "How do you guys remember to take your medication?" — https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-do-you-guys-remember-to-take-your-medication/. Here, you can find suggestions from other members for avoiding missed doses.
What do you think has contributed most to this improvement in your daughter? Is it related to a change in medication dosage, lifestyle adjustments, support from a psychologist, or perhaps just having the summer break from school stress?

Just wondering how parents cope with their teens being diagnosed with this. My son had his first tonic clonic seizure at 15 and has had two more since then (9month span) they started him on lamtrogine after his first seizure, we thought it was a fluke because he was very sick the week before it happened so we weaned him off that 6 months later. He was off meds for 1 month and he had another seizure. So started on keppra. After 5 weeks of keppra he had another one, which we think was caused from not having enough of the dose in him.. any advice for this momma who overthinks, worries and has bad anxiety about all of this. I just worry for him!

Hi, @terin82 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I wanted to let you know I moved your post here to where others were discussing juvenile epilepsy so you can meet others such as @royanthony @jakedduck1 @sg325 and @santosha @kymill. Hoping they will have some insights for you on how parents cope with their teens being diagnosed with epilepsy.

What is your son's doctor recommending as a next step now that he had a seizure after 5 weeks of levetiracetam (Keppra)?

Hi Terin,

My son had his first seizure when he was 8. He had another shortly after that. He was put on Depakote. Everything was good so summer before 8th grade we decided to take him off of meds. First day of school had another. back on meds until he was 18. Decided once again to take him off thought maybe he had grown out of it at this point. Did an eeg after being off meds for 3 months and it showed seizure activity. Back on Depakote. Fast forward to today he is now 24 and doing well (knock on wood). I still worry about him every day, but a kind doctor once told me to just let him live his life. She never had any restrictions for him. He still sees his epileptologist once a year and gets blood work done to check liver and bone health because of the depakote. It was hard to face the reality that seizures were going to be a part of his life, but he has accepted it, takes his meds and lives his life to the fullest.