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Jamie Trecker called his VNS therapy a "lifesaver."
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01/27/10 - On a good day, Jamie Trecker was up for about four hours. Bedridden and basically incapacitated from his severe epilepsy, Trecker had so many seizures he couldn’t walk unaided. He was plagued with numerous side effects and complications from the staggering amount of antiseizure medicine he needed.
In late 2006 at NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Evanston Hospital, Trecker underwent Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS), a unique treatment for intractable epilepsy, under the direction of neurophysiologist Lawrence P. Bernstein, M.D., and neurosurgeon Jeffrey W. Cozzens, M.D. Similar to a pacemaker, a VNS is a small device implanted under the skin near the collarbone connected with a thin, flexible wire to the vagus nerve in the neck. The device is programmed to send weak electrical signals from the vagus nerve to the brain at regular intervals to help prevent seizures.
“This device has been a lifesaver in no uncertain terms,” Trecker said. The Senior Soccer Writer for Fox Sports, 40-year-old Trecker has now been free from seizures for almost a year. He has regained his life—embracing everything from being able to exercise to walking to the store and carrying home a bag of groceries—“things that would have been inconceivable 18 months ago,” he said.
A leader in providing VNS therapy, Dr. Bernstein, on faculty at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, has attracted patients nationwide. He programs and monitors the VNS in patients after surgery.
Dr. Bernstein and Nurse Coordinator Mardee Weber, RN, are passionate advocates for the treatment. VNS leads to a substantial decrease in seizures for at least 60 to 70 percent of patients whose epilepsy is resistant to treatment with medication, according to Dr. Bernstein. He has seen firsthand the dramatic results VNS makes in epilepsy treatment. Now as the Principal Investigator in a clinical trial using VNS to treat severe clinical depression, he has seen equally life-altering results.
Restoring Hope
Diane Schuler battled debilitating depression much of her adult life as doctors prescribed a variety of antidepressants—none of which provided significant relief. Twice Schuler was suicidal and said only thoughts of the pain it would cause her mother kept her from taking her own life.
Clearly running out of options, Schuler heard about VNS from a friend and immediately began researching the procedure.
“For me, depression is a potentially fatal disease,” Schuler said. “I was tired of driving home from work crying every day wondering if life was worth living.”
Finding the clinical trial at NorthShore was nothing short of a miracle, according to Schuler. Since the VNS surgery in May 2008, she has found more hope, energy and peace within herself.
“It’s a blessing. I can actually look forward to the future, whereas before I wasn’t even open to the possibility of a future,” Schuler said. She credits Dr. Bernstein, Weber and the VNS team with “incredible compassion.”
Schuler also hopes the results of this trial will lead to VNS availability for others.
“I was used to living without hope; I want others to have this hope,” she said. For more information on Vagus Nerve Stimulation at NorthShore, call 847.492.5700 (Ext. 1279).