HELLO .MY NAME IS C CHILD . IAM 27 YYEARS OLD  AND I HAD SREZUIER'S ALL MY LIFE .I GOT THE VNS IN ME RIGHT NOW .I HAVE LESS SERZUIER 'S NOW BECAUSE OF THE VNS .IT WORKS DON'T BE SCARED TO GET. IT'S 45 MIN SURGERY .AND YOUR THROAT WILL HURT BUT THAT'S IT  MY ADVICE IS GET THE VNS AND HAVE HOPE .I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT THE MEDS IT CAN MAKE YOU UPSET AND MAKE YOU THINK THEY DON'T WORK .I FELT LIKE STILL I GOT THE VNS . NOW IAM TAKING MEDS AND THE VNS IS WORKING GOOD EVERYTIME I FEEL A SERZUIER COME ON I GET A MAGET'AND SWAP IT OVER THE VNS AND IT STOPS THE SERZUIER ,AND NOW I SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT ,SO GOOD LUCK  

                                                                                                       GOD BLESS  GOOD LUCK ,C CHILD 

Tori,

My first doc recommended the VNS and I met with the surgeon.  But then I thought about it and decided he just wasn't prepared or confident enough to recommend surgery to remove the focus because it was Frontal lobe and not Temporal lobe.  So I went to another doc who recommended surgery and then found the best hospital my insurance would cover (Cleveland Clinic) and had the focus removed.  It's almost 1 year and Im still seizure free.  I was so sick of being sedated with the meds, etc. that I figured if I was going to have surgery I'd want to hope for a cure, not a 33% chance of reduction or even the chance they'd increase.  I was told 33% reduction, 33% same, 33% worsening of sz's.  I didn't think for one second that VNS would cure me.  Every situation is different and many different factors are involved.  Sorry I can't comment directly on the VNS procedure itself.  Best of luck to you and your decision and outcome.  It's so tiring when nothing is working! 

Best Regards, Wendy

Everybody has had a different experience.  It sounds like you have been thru the ringer!  I have had the VNS or the Vagal Nerve Stimulator for 8 years.  It has helped me that my seizures are shorten.  They have not gone away.  I have them daily.  I have had 2 brain surgeries.  My focus is in my speech center.  Each patient is different.  Their are a lot of things out there.  The new medication of the long acting Keppra is helpful.  I would really think about it.  At times I wish I didn't have it and other times I could say it has helped.  I have had speech therapy because I have trouble w/ my speech. I have trouble turning my neck to the left and get periodic physical therapy,  it is do to my sensitivity.   I wear a magnet in order to sing, then I have seizures.  My machine is set for every 3 minutes.  I have had the battery replaced.  It is at a high level.  Each patient has a different effect. 

1/3 has complete control, 1/3 decrease in seizures, and 1/3 no difference in seizure control