Hi, I'm new.

[Jimboslice]

I've been reading quite a bit on this forum. Tons of helpful information! Quick background. My name is Jim. I had my first seizure in November of 2007. Doctors think it's from a bunch of concussions and head injuries I suffered while training in MMA over the course of 3-4 years. I quit the training. I was seizure free up until last month. I had another Gran Mal. I'm pretty nervous over the whole thing. Going through the testing phases now. I have very low Vitamin D and Phosphorous level were low during both seizures. Im hoping and praying that maybe thats my problem. Not the scarring from head trauma. I also drank heavily the night before with out of town friends before both seizures. Docs are ruling out the alcohol because I'm not a drinker. I obviously won't drink at all now and I'm trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I'm a work o haulic, and used to train constantly. Never really slept much. All of this has caught up with me. I'll be spending my 33rd birthday this month at a hospital doing a sleep test.
I've learned so much from this site already. Do you guys think it might be just a D/phosphorous level? Sleep deprevation? I really hope I don't need meds....

[Nakamova]

Hi Jimboslice, welcome!

If you have a low seizure threshold (say, from head injuries or concussions), then you can be more sensitive to secondary triggers (like alcohol, dehydration, or nutritional imbalances). So it's hard to say for sure if changing your behavior or taking supplements can help, but being proactive about your health certainly can't hurt.

There's a lot of good info here to get you started:
Proactive Prescription for Epilepsy

I haven't heard of a connection between low phosphorus and seizures (which doesn't mean there isn't one!), but here's one some possible links between low vitamin D and seizures: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21333455

Best,
Nakamova

[neil129]

Hi Jimboslice
Welcome im sure you will find a lot of answers here,i know i have

Neil

[Endless]

Hi, Jim,

Welcome!

Vitamin D deficiencies are common among people with epilepsy. Take a look at this thread:

News Article Seizures and Vitamin D Deficiency

Don't know what your calcium levels are, but a low level often comes with a low level of D. If your calcium was low, take a look at this:

Patients with severe vitamin D deficiency and hypocalcemia present with classic findings of neuromuscular irritability, including numbness, paresthesias, muscle cramps, laryngospasm, Chvostek’s sign, Trousseau’s phenomenon, tetany, and seizures.1 By contrast, patients with mild vitamin D deficiency present with more subtle complaints such as muscle weakness or pain. Finding only a modest reduction in a patient’s calcium or phosphate level should not reassure the physician that all is well.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/0115/p299.html

Hypocalcemia = low calcium

Acute hypocalcemia primarily causes neurologic symptoms because of increased neuromuscular excitability. Symptoms include:

numbness and tingling of the fingers, toes, and circumoral region
muscle cramping, stiffness
carpopedal spasm, tetany (flexor spasms in the arms and extensor spasms in the legs)
laryngeal stridor
tremor and chorea (may be misdiagnosed as seizures)
seizures

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&h...724c316305bdf2

In the Case Record of a patient with hypocalcemic seizures due to vitamin D deficiency...

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc090378

On phosphorus,

Hypophosphatemia is defined as a phosphate level of less than 2.5 mg/dL (0.8 mmol/L). Phosphate is critical for an incredible array of cellular processes... Severe acute hypophosphatemia can have a variety of signs, including disorientation, seizures, focal neurologic findings, evidence of heart failure, and muscle pain.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/242280-overview

[Jimboslice]

Since my first post I've had an EEG, MRI, and a sleep study to see if I'm having nocturnal seizures. I'm a bit nervous, my neurologist called today and left a voicemail saying they need to see me. I was originaly scheduled for a follow up on April 5th. I won't know any of the results until then...

[Endless]

Jim,

It can be scary when the doc calls you in. Don't worry before you have to. It could be something, or nothing. Mine called me in to give me my test results so I wouldn't worry.

Hang in there.

[valeriedl]

I know that it's scary when the doc calls you in before your scheduled appt, but look at it this way - if there's something wrong it can be fixed faster.

I know that if I'm having problems and the neurologist wants to see me sooner then he wants to try to fix what's wrong and actually SEE me so we can talk in person about what's happening to me instead of trying to do it over the phone.

[Jimboslice]

They scheduled a sleep deprived EEG for this Thursday at 730 am.

[Jimboslice]

I took my sleep deprived EEG. From what the nurse was telling me, and how I was feeling I thought I was in the clear. My neurologist called at 8pm last night and sent me off to the pharmascist right away to get my prescription of Keppra. He said I had seizure activity during the breathing excersizes and also during the light show. Both for a couple seconds each and from both sides of my brain. He says any longer and i'd go into a gram al. I'm on keppra for the next 2 years.

[Endless]

Jimbo,

I'm sorry about the brainwaves, but glad they found the problem in time. The quicker they get it stopped, the better the chance you have of being seizure-free someday.

How are you getting along on the Keppra?

[Jimboslice]

I cannot comment on the keppra much as of yet. I'm on my second pill. Next week I start 2 pills a night before bed. Right now there are no Ill side effects. I just feel like I'm finally getting a good nights sleep.

[Nakamova]

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. I know when I had my first EEG, the neurologist said "oh yeah, you definitely had seizure patterns, especially when you fell asleep," and I was stunned because I though I had been awake through the entire EEG.

Yay for the good night's sleep! That's a positive sign.