Steph, what birthday is taxidermied frogs?

That would be 36. The creepy birthday. (I also got him a t-shirt with Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraft on the front, so it really IS the creepy birthday. Not on purpose. But it's as good a theme as any, especially for him.

Wow, seriously? That's awful. I had no idea.

Yeah, apparently it's incorrect to say that Wellbutrin caused my epilepsy. Wellbutrin lowered my seizure threshold, and in individuals (such as myself) who are vulnerable to having their seizure thresholds lowered in such a way, it can cause seizures, which then opens up pathways in my brain which makes me more likely to have seizures all the time. OR SOMETHING.

Maybe I would have had a seizure at some point in my life without the Wellbutrin, but no one can say for sure. Nothing on my EEGs, C-T scans, or MRIs point to any reason why my brain was particularly vulnerable in the first place. All we know is that now, if I miss a dose of my meds, or get too little sleep, or drink way too much, or some combo of those, I might (in the case of missing my meds, almost definitely will) have a seizure. YAY.

Luckily for myself and everyone, I am freakishly anal about taking my meds every twelve hours, and I don't drink to excess, and I treat sleeping like it's my second job. Because seizures are no fun. For me, or anybody in my vicinity.

I am freakishly anal about taking my meds every twelve hours, and I don't drink to excess, and I treat sleeping like it's my second job.

I'm sorry it has to be that way, but I'm glad the seizures have lessened. That's why you're driving again, right?

Wow, amyth -- that is a bitch.

Yes! After years of burning through a bunch of neurologists in NC (and meds), I found a neurologist I love in NYC (whom I picked because he was in a cover story on Newsweek and was on Talk of the Nation: Science Friday--whatever, it worked!), and got on a medication protocol that works GREAT (effective, and no noticeable side effects, which is like the holy grail when you're playing around with brain drugs).

So the standard for driving is six months seizure-free, and I've been, as of yesterday, seizure-free for two years.(Mairead's second birthday--I had a seizure the night she was born, which was my own fault because I missed two doses of my meds that night, and that's the only seizure I've had since I switched to these meds). I've been doctor-approved to drive for a while, it was mostly superstition that was holding me back.

Things like: going two and a half years without having a seizure, and going up to see Kate P. in MA and saying, "I think I'm ready to buy a car again," and then having a seizure at her place that night. (That was WAY before the new meds/new doc.) But I finally decided in January to stop being afraid and get some control over my life again, and it has been FG.

amyth, good grief, that's awful. I'm sorry that happened. Weight gain is a small problem in comparison.

Wellbutrin was making my hands shake, to the point my sister noticed it. I was jittery and anxious, but I wasn't able to tell if it was the Wellbutrin or my circumstances. If not for the shaking hands, I might not have realized the drug was contributing to my anxiety and irritability.

I gained weight after going on SSRIs. But I also got older, and stopped exercising as much as I did in my 20s. So it's hard to say if I can attribute 5 pounds to SSRIs, or 50.

I just can't believe I gained over 100 pounds in my late 20s/early 30s just because I stopped going to the gym. 20 pounds, sure. 110? No.

Non-related question, how do you cook hot dogs? Boil them, fry them, drop them in hot cheese?

I am currently frying them, and I recalled that my mom boiled them.

Grill.

To all of America's crazy people: Can we stop random shootings for awhile?

[link]

Both are acceptable ways to cook a hot dog. I always preffered fried to boiled (though grilled, if an option, is my favorite).

Boiled, with steamed buns.