Neurological Conditions

When antiepileptic drugs fail to control seizures and convulsions, an epilepsy surgery may be recommended. Dr. Rajan Shah, Neurologist, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital assures that with advances in technology and dedicated centres, epilepsy surgeries have become safer and can be considered a treatment option.  What are the common causes of epilepsy? Common causes of epilepsy in children and adults are different. They are briefly enumerated as – Head trauma – SDH, EDH, contusions.…

Sonika Aggarwal,39 has been battling migraine and sinusitis for over a decade. Even a surgery did not help matters much. She shares how she finally found some relief when she changed her diet and lifestyle. Read on. Please tell us a bit about your condition I have had chronic migraines and sinus infections over the past 10 years. When were you diagnosed? There is no clear line on how one is diganosed with migraine. It can start off with say 4 migraines a month in the initial years which can go…

Mausumi Ghosh from Mumbai talks about the travails of taking care of her mother, 77 who suffers from dementia in addition to other conditions like osteosporosis. My mother is an osteoporosis patient from 2003 when she underwent hip replacement operation in Mumbai. She recovered from the same very well and was mobile and independent till she met with a ‘fall’ at home in 2010 and broke her ‘femur bone’ (left leg). She got herself operated twice in Kolkata in AMRI hospital and both the times the ‘…

When R had suicidal thoughts and a feeling of hopelessness, she finally sought help and was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder. Read on to find out how she coped with her illness and how it relates to chronic pain due to migraines and sinus. I am 39 years old and academically trained as an engineer. I lost my mom at a very young age. My childhood consists of first few years in USA and then later on in India.  I was diagnosed with severe depression along with anxiety…

Marianne de Nazareth recounts how traumatic it has been to see both her parents suffer from Parkinson’s and how the progressive disease strips the dignity of the individual. Parkinson’s is an old disease in our house. Both my Dad and Mom were afflicted with it, unfortunately.  My Dad was ravaged by it first, and now it is after my Mom. It has been tormenting our family for nearly three decades now. My father, Anthony Michael Furtado, got Parkinson’s in his mid-50s. We started noticing a…

Chair Yoga, a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting on a chair or standing using a chair for support, is particularly good for those unable to participate in a traditional yoga class due to the effects of aging or disabilities or for office goers to relax or release tension at the workplace. Mekhala, a Singapore based yoga teacher, guides us through. Whenever I tell someone that I teach Chair Yoga, besides the regular Mat Yoga, the common reaction is: "Is there such a thing as chair…

Pavithra Sakthivel, who had severe headaches and a seizure, was diagnosed with Grade 3 malignant brain tumor. But she recovered quickly in six months. Find out about the treatment and surgical options that worked for her.    I am a 36 year old teacher and an Education Specialist. I was leading a happy, healthy life with my husband and cute 6 year old son till January 2017. Trouble began when I started getting headaches. Initially, they were appeared routine, but grew in frequency and…

Jyotsna Kumar, was living with Sensiro Neural Deafness. But the birth of her child with congenital heart defect and cerebral palsy changed her priorities in life. Jyotsna, tell us about your condition.  I was diagnosed with Sensiro Neural Deafness in 1997, I was 30 years old then. What were the early symptoms? During my childhood I never took annual audiograms and remained unaware of what impact anything could have had on my nerves considering the fact that my mother and most of my…

Sudha Meiyappan, founder of Parivarthan, shares Mr. Sagarmal Dugar's conscious approach to Parkinson's and to his life.  Parivarthan is a community support group in Chennai that provides a safe platform to those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disorder.  There are few people who are so inspiring that each interaction with them leaves one with a feeling of lightness and hope.  Mr. Sagarmal Dugar (holding the mike in the picture above) approached us in early 2016 wanting to be…

And she still counts her blessings! Bhairavi (not her real name) fainted and lost her vision, speech all at once. Read more to find out how she came to understood the cause and how she resumed painting.  The beginning It all started in summer of 2004, when my husband had just lost his mother and we went to Calcutta for her last rites. The evening of the shraadh or memorial gathering, I was looking for a mouth freshener since I hadn’t eaten all day. My relative offered me some supari (…