Brief Answer:
Hard to treat seizures

Detailed Answer:
Dear Ma'am. My name is Dr. Saghafi and I'm a neurologist in the XXXXXXX OH area. I'm the Chief Neurologist for Parma Neurology and the Director of the Headache Clinic at the XXXXXXX Stokes VA Medical center in XXXXXXX OH.

I'm sorry that your grandson is suffering from epileptic seizures that are not under good control and that the condition is taking not only a physical but psychological toll on him and the family. I can tell that you are very hurt by this situation as well so let me suggest just a couple of things to you which may be of assistance to moving this situation a little bit closer to resolution.

I see that your grandson has had epileptic seizures as of age 8 and been on numerous medications. It says that he hasn't visited a doctor. Of course, that must refer to recently otherwise, he wouldn't have been tried on so many medications. It sounds like he has essentially just given up on following with anybody due to the ongoing problem.

Of course, there are many questions that I could potentially ask you as a neurologist but with respect to your specific point asking to see one of Dr. Phil's professionals...I'm sorry to say I have no connections in that direction but if that was a thought you had have you tried contacting the program directly regarding your grandson's case? Sometimes, shows such as Dr. XXXXXXX Dr. Oz, and The Doctors will take special cases of patients who have a particular story to tell which goes together with their illness and they can help such patients.

I was going to suggest St. Jude's which of course, is a no charge institution for those who are indigent with grave problems but he may be slightly older than what they'll accept. Nevertheless, on the off chance they might provide some direction maybe that's worth a shot?

Other than that have you ever been directed toward surgery for seizure control? There are very comprehensive epilepsy centers at virtually every major academic center (and Wisconsin has many) which include the latest in surgical techniques and laser surgery to eliminate seizure foci in patients who are refractory to medication treatment.

Having said that, one thing that is of utmost importance to this discussion is to be sure that your grandson has been and continues to be strictly and obsessively compliant with taking his medications. In other words, before we want to submit him to surgery or recommend that he get up and go from one of end of the country to any other in search of the latest treatments for this problem....we need to make sure he has been and continues to be totally compliant with taking his medications. Also, he should not be using illicit substances or alcohol as these things will clearly disrupt control of his seizures and themselves cause the seizure disorder to become worse.

Are you able to vouch for these items? Perhaps, you don't know the answers to all those questions but at some point somebody will be asking those sorts of questions.

Although I realize this isn't exactly what you're asking for in terms of doctors I know the Chairman of the Dept. of Neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin if that's anywhere near where you live and he knows me very well. I believe he's an excellent neurologist though he is not an epileptologist. Still, as the Chairman of the Dept. he could help make sure your grandson got looked at by their epileptologists and if need be by the neurosurgeons in order to resolve this problem.

If this may be of interest to you then, please put a call in to his office. His name is Dr. XXXXXXX Chelimsky. Follow this link to get more specifics about him and how to contact their dept. for an appointment or to explain the situation to see what can potentially be done. You are more than welcome to mention my name which is Dr. Dariush Saghafi. He will recognize my name immediately although he likely remembers my first name more as Dr. Dar Saghafi since that is what the entire dept called me while I was in training under him back in the 90's. Here's the link:

http://www.mcw.edu/PhysicianDirectory/Chelimsky-Thomas-C-MD.htm

Best of luck and if you do speak to him please tell him that I sent a hearty Hello to he and his wife who is a Pediatric Neurologist.

If you feel that this information has been informative may I request you take just a moment to rate my response with some written feedback and a STAR RATING? As well, I'd be most appreciative, if there were no further questions if you'd CLOSE THE QUERY on your end. This will indicate to the Network that I have satisfactorily addressed your concerns and the case can be filed for future reference.

Please let me know by some means if you do happen to make contact with Dr. Chelimsky and what the plans may be for your grandson in order to get him evaluated and treated.

This case required 45 minutes of physician specific time for review, research, and final draft documentation for envoy.

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