Imagine living every day in fear, wondering when your next epileptic seizure will strike. More than 3-million Americans live with this fear and for some, medications just don't work.
Denver 7’s Kristen Skovira spoke to a Colorado man who just tried new implant technology.
“I get some really high pitched ringing sounds in my ears. And then kinda tunnel vision. This world kinda fades away,” said Jeff Loyd.
For 39-year old Loyd, seizures are now a part of life.
“Just out of the blue. One day had a seizure,” he said.
Loyd says he used to drive and used to make furniture. And then, at age 35, he was diagnosed with epilepsy.
“Your life stops. I can't work. Can't do nothing,” he said.
He tried different medications. They didn't work. And removing the part of his brain, where the seizures irrupt, wasn't an option either.
“So at that point he became eligible for a relatively new treatment for epilepsy called neuromodulation,” said Dr. Aviva Abosch, a Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado Hospital.
Dr. Abosch implanted the device in Loyd’s brain, along with two electrodes, placed in problem areas.
“I have a computer at home and so scan my head every night. And then once a week I can download everything from [my head] to another computer,” Loyd said.
Over time, it can even recognize when a seizure is about to happen.
“The device then triggers a stimulation and aborts the seizure,” She said.