Posted on 07/31/2007 10:45:07 PM PDT by neverdem
Despite his quick recovery from the seizure he suffered on Monday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. faces a complex diagnosis and a difficult decision.
Because the seizure was his second — he had a similar one in 1993 — he meets the criteria for epilepsy, and he and his doctors will have to decide whether he should take medication to prevent further seizures, said neurologists not involved in his care. (Neither the chief justice nor his doctors would comment yesterday.)
The decision will involve weighing the risk of more seizures against the risk of side effects from the drugs. Major seizures can be a frightening and traumatic experience for patients and family members. Patients are advised to avoid heights and not to swim alone, and many states bar them from driving until they can provide evidence that the disease is under control.
But the drugs can have troubling side effects, including drowsiness or insomnia, weight loss or weight gain, rashes, irritability, mental slowing and forgetfulness. Many patients can be treated with minimal side effects, doctors say, but it may take trial and error to find the right drug.
The chief justice was released yesterday from Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Me., one day after being rushed there from his summer home because of the seizure. A statement from the Supreme Court on Monday said that tests at the hospital had found “no cause for concern” and that the cause of the seizure was unknown.
Even though his two seizures occurred 14 years apart, they meet the criteria for epilepsy because they were “unprovoked,” meaning that they were not caused by a head injury, a drug reaction or another known factor.
About 2.7 million people in the United States have epilepsy, and in 70 percent of the cases...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The left is already looking for ways to depose Justice Roberts!! Shame on them. From all accounts, he’s fine.
It will be interesting to observe the comments made from the left, regarding Chief Justice Roberts and his condition, to that of their comments as pertains to Senator Johnson.
Can John Roberts perform his job as least as well as Tim Johnson is able to perform his?
Here it comes,,,The libs will jam him for takin’ meds...
Then,,,?,,,Not fit to serve...
Given that seizures can come on pretty suddenly, and that people who only have them rarely are less likely to correctly interpret the brief early warning signs, it definitely warrants serious consideration. Having a seizure while swimming or walking up/down a flight of stairs could result in critical injury or death. Having a seizure while driving can kill the person having the seizure and other people as well. I’ve only had one good friend who had epilepsy (with much more frequent seizures when not medicated), and she was on medication that didn’t seem to be causing any negative side effects.
Yep, in this case it probably does.
Justice Roberts is way to smart to be put on those awful drugs. The side effects are bad news. Hope he looks outside of the conventional medical field.
So these "unnamed" neurologists which have no further info... have an opinion. sheesh.
Does a medical condition which only manifests every 14 years really require medication?
IMHO... I would think they'd just watch him closely and give him a list of do's and don't's. Didn't I read he'd been given tests and everything turned up negative?
They better walk softly...the only women left on the court...is NOT healthy and is on drugs. If we’re goin’ to look at him...let’s look at her first.
we had a secretary who for years would have these episodes of just staring in the distance, and it took me a couple of years to figure out that she wasn't just ignoring me.....LOL
He turned 50 this past week and hasn't been on any medication in over ten years. About the only thing he can't do is get a pilot's license. Other than that, he leads a normal life.
Seems to depend on which neurologist you ask. They might try watchful waiting, starting meds if he gets a third seizure any time soon.
hopefully the MSM will do a piece on how people with illnesses can function at a high level. /sarcasm off
My first thought. When Tim Johnson had his stroke, there was not a peep about whether he should step down.
Excuse me, I seem to have some liberal-progressive on my shoe that I need to scrape off.
My mom has epilepsy worse than John Roberts. One to two attacks every year for the last fifteen, takes no medication and is fine. She is a retired registered nurse of 36 years and feels great.
I for one hope he takes his meds like he should,,,
A good friend of mine has been taking meds for the same thing for years,,,Still the same guy I’ve known for nearly
40 years...;0)
Maybe you want absence seizure.
I have had 2 grand mal seizures in my life. Once at age 22 and another at age 37.
Dr’s could not figure out why. Clean CAT scan, stress scan, and every other test they could run on me. Also I have never had a head injury.
I think this kind of thing is somewhat common.
Unless I have another seizure, my neurologist feels I shouldn’t be on any medication. I agree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.