New and confused??

[brittany4400]

Ok, so this is my first time to talk about what's been happening with anyone! I haven't said anything to anyone for a number of reasons(fear,rejection,I simply don't want to deal with this)!I found this forum and figured this would be a good place to start! I have struggled with anxiety since a teenager or probably earlier but I don't take any meds anymore! I just try to eat right etc etc etc and I cope fairly well! I'm now 26 and a mother of one, the only depression I've ever suffered was post partum for almost a year! I took celexa to get me back on track and I've been good since! Ok on to my deja va/anxiety spells! A little less than a month ago I was out of town at a wedding and I was about to get out of the shower when a flood of thoughts came to me, the sense of deja vu, something I had dreamed before , I'm trying to figure it out, its clearly a memory of a dream cause I knew it was unrealistic like a video game??? Then bam it was over and the only detail I could remember was something about a video game?? A memory of a dream! I did have anxiety afterwards because I didn't understand how something came in my mind so intrusively and then left and I couldn't remember even though I was concentrating on it. So I wrote it off as anxiety, then a week or so later in another bathroom after swimming and i didn't realize it was the same thing until after it was over! Now it has happened several time 3-4 over the last several weeks all in the shower(why does it only happen then???) This sunday I recogized it was happening and I said ok just remember as much as u can and sure enough even though I'm repeating every detail in my head it was over at seconds and all I can remember is something about a game once again! Well the last one was this morning in shower again and this time I tried to stop it and started reading back of shampoo bottle and for some reason I think it worked but I still couldn't rememver anything but something about a game! I don't black out, I don't smell anything or have a strange taste on my mouth and I don't get nausea! Just the deja vu and anxiety afterwards! I'm really scared and don't know where to start! I have anxiety that I will have a full out seizure here alone with my son but I don't even know where to begin? Do simple partial seizures sometimes evolve to grand mal?

[avandever]

Seizure triggers can be different for everyone even showering. I'm a day surgery nurse. I had an autistic 6 yr old patient that often seized while urinating. Sometimes unmedicated/untreated seizures can evolve into worse situations. It definitely sounds worth checking out thru your doctor especially since you used to have active seizure activity. The least that could happen is a decrease in anxiety, but isn't that worth it for you and your baby??? I remember being a new mother. I had a ton of anxiety/depression over that too. Now I'm a mother dealing with a child having seizures. I couldn't do any of this without support (family, friends, church, etc). Get as much as you can from any avenue possible. Find a sitter and have a night to yourself every couple of weeks. You need to take care of you too. Quick fix until consulting with a professional: try taking a bath--BUT LEAVE THE TUB DRAIN OPEN.

[avandever]

I'm praying for you too

[thornton8000]

hello brittany
and welcome to CWE,
triggers can happen anywhere, I'm not a doc, I have seizures, and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures as well, my 1st suggestion would be is see a neurologist, and explain to him/her exactly what you told us, and how it is affecting you so they can try and help you get it under control, I went 7 years without know what was going on, 17 yrs untreated from a brain injury as well, so I ahve a lot of conpounding issues, that are finally getting taken care of and like avandever said you need to take care of you and your little one, many of us here have kids to so we understand the fear of taking care of not just us but the little ones as well (I have 6) and they wake up and scary as it is watch me have a seizure in the morning.
The people on here are great! Ask as many questions as you need to the poeple here know alot (alot more than I do lol) and the greater thing is they care.
sending good thoughts your way,

Mike

[brittany4400]

So does my description sound like simple partial?? Like I said I don't get any of the other symptoms but the deja vu for seconds and then I'm fine besides the anxiety over it! Also is that usually how seizures work is that they are triggered by something, mine is obviously water or warm water which is scary. Thanks all, I will work up the courage soon to talk to my husband but I just wanna be clear on what I think is going on!

[Cint]

Hi Brittany,

IMO, your description does sound like a simple partial seizure. They are actually deju vu type "auras" as you described. I've had them as well as complex partial and tonic clonic seizures, too. I was having complex partial's for several months before I had my first tonic clonic one morning while on my way out of the shower. When I had the seizure, I fell, hitting the hot water spicket and lie under the hot water long enough to suffer 2nd and 3rd degree burns on my arm, back, breast. I was in the hospital 2 months. So please keep the water at a comfortable temperature. And bathing can be just as dangerous....talk to your husband. And the dr. soon.

[thornton8000]

they can be triggered by things smells, lights, colors, the list goes on,a neurologist can break it down for you better and others here could define simple partial seizures for you more than I, i have simple partial seizures, but i dont the proper terms as people here do, but someone here will chime in and answer it properly they always do give it time!
brittany, the people here are awesome, there is no better time than the present to talk to the husband (i am one) I talked to my wife she's been to every appointment and still doesnt understand my seizures and is scared everytime she goes to work I'm going to have a seizure but everytime I do I snap out of it afte it over takes a little bit but I do and life goes on, I know its scary and overwhelming to you it was for me and others her to takl to the other person about it as well but the more the other half knows the better it is when you see the doc so they can help when you maybe forget something they can help.
Best advice?
Journal everything signs, symptoms, auras, smells, things that triggers deja vu, jamis vu (look it up I'm blanking it's also here in the forum), diet, food, meds script, otc's, anything you can think of that could help the doc help you start from the day this startred and keep going and dont stop and keep us updated.

Mike

[thornton8000]

Thanks Cint, I wasnt sure the type of simple partial seizures, and the def of simple partial seizures, i just know my type lol.

[CQ:)]

Hi Brittany,

Welcome to CWE. with Cint, as the dream you have had in the shower does sound like an aura to me.

My main seizures were auras (simple partial seizures) which were usually followed by a complex partial seizure. My aura was a strange dream & it was always the same type of dream. I have trouble describing what the strange dream was about because the only time I would remember the dream would be when I had the aura. All I ever remembered was that it had something to do with going somewhere.

I also think you should let your husband know & see if you can get in to see your Dr or a neurologist.
Also it is good to keep a journal & write down when you have these dreams or when you feel different as any information you can provide can help the drs.

[Nakamova]

Hi Brittany, welcome to CWE!

I agree with the others, your deja vu episodes sound like simple partial seizures. Simple Partials can show up in other ways too. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_partial_seizure for more information.

As CQ says above, keep a journal of your symptoms, including any unusual sensations. Make of note of what time of day they happen, how frequently they occur, how long they last, what happens, and whether the frequency is increasing. Look for triggers, like being in the shower, or certain foods, or hormonal changes, etc.

I hope are otherwise feeling okay, and can see a doctor soon.

Best,
Nakamova

[avandever]

Brittany, I hope you're having a better morning. You sounded very upset last night, and I didn't want to add to that. Also, I hope part of what you took away was that you need to see your doctor to confirm; talk to people close to you for help with you chIld and emotional support. The whole point of my comment about bath instead of shower is (assuming you are wanting to keep up with personal hygiene) it would be safer (in cas you do go down) sitting in a tub and not standing in a shower. Regarding water temperature: I also assumed you have set the thermostat on the water heater at an appropriate level for small children (under 110-I think). This will hopefully eliminate the risk of your child or you getting 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

[brittany4400]

I have been writing them down, I also notice my first one was at the start of my cycle and its a month later so I am about to start again! So that's new imformation, its heightened around hormonal changes?? I will talk to someone, I am just figuring this out and i would never have guessed seizures! I don't have a family history of this nor have I had any before in my life so it took me a min to accept this is what it could be. I feel ok during the day but my sleep has been interrupted by anxiety over it big time. Thanks all for the support and helping me understand this better.

[Silat]

Increased seizure activity around your cycle is called Catamenial Epilepsy. It's actually not unusual for women to have increases in seizures from their hormones around their cycle. You're certainly not alone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catamenial_epilepsy

[Cint]

The whole point of my comment about bath instead of shower is (assuming you are wanting to keep up with personal hygiene) it would be safer (in cas you do go down) sitting in a tub and not standing in a shower. Regarding water temperature: I also assumed you have set the thermostat on the water heater at an appropriate level for small children (under 110-I think). This will hopefully eliminate the risk of your child or you getting 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

Baths can be dangerous, also. People drown in just a couple of inches of water, so it isn't necessarily safer for people with seizures.

Like I said, when I had my first tonic clonic, I was already on my way out of the tub and sometime during my fall, I hit just the HOT water and lay under the the faucet long enough to suffer 2nd and 3rd degree burns (this was 30+ years ago in my parent's home, which was built way back in the 1950's).

My point is, get these seizures checked out ASAP, before they progress into something more.

And when I did have my first tonic clonic, I was on my menstrual cycle while in the hospital. Back then they didn't know much about catamenial seizures like they do today.

Here is another great website:
http://www.epilepsy.com/101/101_EPILEPSY
http://professionals.epilepsy.com/pa...atamenial.html

[Eli]

Welcome, glad you found us!

I have alot of auras, so many that I no longer write down each one. If its a busy aura day I make this note in my journal - "spells."

But as everyone has said write each one down.

And yes they feel like these lil mini dreams that you can't quite grasp, or deja vu.

I have catamenial E and the auras and partials are worse for me 2 weeks of the month. I had a t/c in the shower and usually have auras in the shower. Since I'm alone so much of the time I always call, text or im my mom, husband or best friend and say hey im taking a shower i'll let you know when I'm clean!

Please talk to your husband and a neurologist, there's no reason to feel akward.

I usually know that several auras mean partials are coming and a day of partials means a nocturnal t/c.

[cazbar]

Hey Brittany,

What you describes sounds almost identical to my experiences. I have been lucky enough to have only simple partial seizures so far, but they are exactly like you describe. Do you find that, like you did with reading the shampoo bottle, that you can sometimes stop the event from happening as it starts by not "following" the intrusive thoughts? I have found I can do that by specifically distracting myself. Do you ever get a rising sort of feeling when the thoughts come, or a feeling of dread?

As for triggers, I've found that mine can be quite weird. I first noticed that I would often have the events after sneezing, which I understand is not unusual, but I have also noticed that I often get triggered by OTHER PEOPLE sneezing while near me..?! The brain is such a weird and wonderful thing, innit?