Challenging Situation

[NaderH]

Currently, I take medication to prevent seizures during the night and have been taking it since 1994. Recently, I have had a number of tough situations related to epilepsy. Sometimes family members tell me or give me the impression that I just had a seizure. This happens when I am just doing normal things that I do. There are a number of situations that I am referring to listed below.

Examples:

1. I was looking tired at the airport on the way back from a trip.

2. While walking outside in the backyard, my next younger sister came out to stop me for some reason.

3. My desk chair was pushed back by me intentionally.

4. I was putting on my shoes to feed the fish while it was raining.

5. One day, I turned my head to look at the price of gas while passing by a gas station.

6. I was bending to unload dishes from the dishwasher at home.

7. While kneeling down to write a note in the kitchen, the sound of the cupboard closing or my knees touching the ground caused an alert.

8. Moving closer to the kitchen table during my youngest sister's birthday caused a concern.

These listed situations occur within my family during stressful times. Sometimes, they happen. On the other tough side, there is nothing I can do at this point to change their views about what they thought happened. It just leads to tension with no resolution. The trigger of these alerts are other family member's stress and tension. What is behind the given problem?

Nader

[Bernard]

Hi Nader, welcome to the forum.

It's pretty hard to tell from what you wrote exactly what you are experiencing. Can you describe better what this means:

I am given the impression that I had a seizure

[brain]

Hi Nader!



Glad to have you here, and I agree
with Bernard's posting if you would
be a little more 'specific'?

And also what medication are you
taking? Who prescribed the medication
that you are taking at night?

[NaderH]

It is like a situation where I am just doing something like turning a certain direction while walking or looking tired. Most of the time in my house, these things are not causing problems. However, sometimes, they cause someone to say, "Are you OK.". Also, I have to stop what I'm doing and sit down in these situations. Basically, certain normal actions of mine sometimes seem like seizures to family members. This is most likely a psychological thing. Last year, it faded out after a long time of this going on (12 months). Then, in May, it started again after I mentioned that I had to book an appointment with the doctor who is dealing with my epilepsy file. Dilantin is the medication I take in the morning and at night.

[Bernard]

Sounds like you are not conscious of the seizure at all. They sound like absence seizures. Stacy used to have them all the time (ie. multiple times a day). They stopped after she finished 5-6 months of EEG neurofeedback training. She hasn't had any of them in the last 10 years or so now.

[NaderH]

I am fully concious of what happens when these occurrances take place. This is more on the psychological side. When they happen now and then, I am fully alert. On the other hand, I have had muscle knots in the past due to weakness in strength. Maybe, that is what has created this problem I am facing. The good thing these days is the muscle knots are becoming less common ever since I have started to work out at the YMCA. For some reason, it just came to light that muscle knots started the whole thing today.

[Birdbomb]

Welcome NaderH

Another point of view, maybe your family/friends are just on "high alert". When my simple partical seizures were very active, my husband with blert out "Are you haveing a seizure?" if he thought he saw anything unsusal. I could just be deep in thought, or listening to some odd noise coming from outside, or reacting to something on the TV,talking on the phone, just normal activites.

[Belinda5000]

I tried to withdraw from Klonopin once without it didn't work and my seizure's went right through the roof.
I'm now weening off Zonegran slowly and I'm hoping it's not the reason my seizure's have started increasing so I'm also on Lyrica,Tegretol,Topamax,Klonopin.
This is is my combo and maybe it'll help me come off Zonegran?

Belinda

[brain]

Belinda

Hope your neurologist is working with
you in helping you find the right
meds! Glad to have you here.

[NaderH]

That is exactly what is happening. My left arm's stiffness is what caused this to happen in the first place. The thing with my epilepsy medications is they are now doing more than what is supposed by doctors to be happening. When I take more than original dosages, I feel weaker. It is caused by tension within others.

[Mike In Va]

That is exactly what is happening. My left arm's stiffness is what caused this to happen in the first place. The thing with my epilepsy medications is they are now doing more than what is supposed by doctors to be happening. When I take more than original dosages, I feel weaker. It is caused by tension within others.

Well that can happen when you first begin taking the medication.I've been on Dilantin since 1993 & the dosage had to be adjusted from 300 mgs per day to 400 mgs per day but when they tried that the 400mgs per day was really making me tired so they switched it to an alternating dosage of 300mgs one day,then 400 the next.

Now that I've begun taking Lexapro for depression I'm finding myself more tired again recently & just wanting to sleep for a good part of the day.I'm currently taking 10mgs per day,althoug hmy psychiatrist recently changed the dosage to 20 mgs per day.Could there be some sort of interaction with the Dilantin that's causing the onset of fatige or is it just the Lexapro itself?

[Bernard]

Lexapro/Escitalopram and Dilantin