Old Epileptic, New Member

[hunting_girl]

Hi everyone,

I finally decided to join an epilepsy forum. I'm 20 years old, and it's been several years since my seizures disappeared. I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a toddler, and had petite mal epilepsy until about 13.

For a long time, I've had issues coming to grips with my past. On one hand, I don't remember very much, and my seizures were certainly not bad; so many people suffer from terrible, serious seizures. On the other hand, there are times when I feel that epilepsy has probably affected me more than I've acknowledged. I don't want to act like a hypochondriac, but I've always been curious as to which parts of my brain were affected, etc. My mother doesn't have a very good recollection. As a toddler, I forgot how to count after my first seizure, and lost some other knowledge; as I grew older, mild seizure activity continued to affect my writing (neat printing turned to chicken scratch) and consistency in school.

Have I grown out of my epilepsy? I really don't know. I seem to have a very difficult time following verbal instructions, and organizing thoughts. Is this just me? Maybe.

I'd love to meet someone who has "grown" out of their epilepsy. Do you feel the way I do?

[Bernard]

Hi Hunting girl, welcome to the forum.

Some people can go seizure free for decades before having breakthrough seizures. You just never know if you have "outgrown" it.

Stacy (my wife) has impaired cognitive facilities following grand mal seizures (memory recollection, speech, math skills, etc.), but they always return to normal given sufficient time without seizures. I have not noticed any "permanent" impairment in her (and she has had a LOT of seizures).

Have you been checked to ensure that you are not suffering from small absense seizures? They can make concentrating (mentally) difficult and usually the sufferer is unaware that they are happening.

[hunting_girl]

Hi Bernard.

Thank you for the greeting. I'm glad to know that impairments due to epilepsy are not common.

It hadn't dawned on me that I might still be experiencing absense seizures. I have heard of people with petit mal occassionally staring off into space when experiencing a seizure, and other types of things; when I had petit mal, I did this, and my speech would slur. However, my mother noticed when I was experiencing a seizure, even though I was unaware for the most part (the only seizure I remember being conscious of was my first, which was a more major one).

If I am still experiencing minor seizures, my family hasn't noticed -- is this possible?

[hunting_girl]

By the way -- you seem like a great hubby! Your wife's lucky to have you.

[Bernard]

Thanks.

Once I got to recognizing when Stacy was having absense seizures, it became second nature. If your family was recognizing them before, I'd expect they would be aware if you were still experiencing them (if you are spending enough time around them).

BTW, if you were slurring your speech, it's wasn't an absense seizure. They are the brief "blank out"/stare into space seizure type.

[hunting_girl]

Ahh, interesting... that's the thing about epilepsy, isn't it? There are SO many levels and affects, that one person's experiences can differ drastically from another's.

Thank you for all of the info. : )

[lorryanne]

Hi Hunting Girl
If you are still having trouble concentrating have you considered the possibility that you might be having mild seizures in your sleep?
Are you a heavy sleeper? Do you take a long time to really wake up after getting out of bed?
I had them for years and didn't know until I had a major one.
I was always very tired in the mornings and had trouble concentrating at school.
I was always irritable and cranky in the mornings.
Everyone thought I was just lazy.
Now that I am controlled on meds I wake at 6.30am without an alarm and I don't need a midday nap. My concentration has improved.
Lorraine

[Bernard]

Good point Lorraine. Another possibility might be sleep apnea.

[RanMan]

Good point ~ Sleep Apnea.

I was recently diagnosed with dangerously "Accute Sleep Apnea" and during my sleep over at the sleep clinic, it was discovered that I would stop breathing at least 50 times per hour, but the most interesting thing that I found out was that I had 3 grand mal seizures in my sleep and would wake up in the morning in a "Post Ictal" state (this was happening for the last few years and I didn't know it).

Now I have a CPAP machine for sleeping and I feel 100% better when I wake up, more energy, less short term memory loss to name a few.

This shows that your sleep pattern (amount of sleep or lack of) can effect your seizures and your awareness in the morning when you wake up.

Randy

[Bernard]

Hi Randy, Birdbomb had mentioned that you had been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I think that's fantastic that you are doing so much better now.

[1096]

i'm surprised no one mentioned ADD/ADHD

it is often mistaken for that kind of zoning out and vice versa (or something, so i've read)

[Bernard]

Good point. Curiously, EEG neurofeedback is an accepted treatment (ie. insurance will pay for it) for ADD/ADHD, and while not exactly as accepted for epilepsy, very effective as well (especially in Stacy's case for her absence seizures).

[orangelover77]

thanks hunting_girl