partial complex seizures

[julie9924]

hello, my mom has recently begun to experience what doctors believe are partial complex seizures. i wanted to know if anyone may find her symptoms familiar and have any advice. about a month ago she began to have "out of body" experiences where she felt like she was aside from herself. then she began having 'episodes' where she would scream a lot and say things like 'i'm going through the ceiling" or "i'm falling through the floor" and "bob (my deceased father) is still alive isn't he?" she tries to run sometimes. during one that she had last week she was away on vacation with my brother and he found her mid-episode in the hallway of the b&b screaming and naked. sometimes she remembers part of what goes on afterward and sometimes not. the episodes have been lasting between half hour and 45 minutes. anyone have any input or find these descriptions familiar? my brother is in the process of trying to find someone to help care for my mother in her home (she's 61) so that she doesn't hurt herself, but has yet to find a home health/help provider. the anti-seizure meds have obviously not been helping because lately she's been having 6-8 seizures a week. she is also on a ton of other meds for depression (has been for years) and has bone metastases from her breast cancer. this is her second relapse of the breast cancer and it has metastasized to her thorasic spine, femurs, ribs, and skull. they havn't found any tumors in her brain, however. she has recently been taken off of chemo (was on it for almost 1 1/2 yrs.) we feel helpless as a family and as i am typing, she's in with a neurologist and i'm praying for some answers for her. any input would help. thanks for listening

[Bernard]

Hi Julie, welcome to the forum.

They sure sound like complex partial seizures.

Many medications for depression are contraindicated for epilepsy (ie. they don't work with epilepsy meds).

[RobinN]

Hi Julie,
This sounds really tough for you. I bet is it difficult to see your mom in this condition, and to feel helpless.

My instincts just say that the mix of drugs are doing one huge number on her senses and behavior. Is there a nutritional schedule for her? Our bodies can't function on meds alone, even though the doctors seem to think that is so.

My belief is that my daughters meds have increased seizure activity, pain, and behavioral changes.

[KAM]

Hi , we need to talk, I have Stage 3 Breast Cancer and have Epilepsy as well. I had brain surgery in 1998. November of next year, Epilepsy & Breast Cancer Awareness will be "our" month. I actually got tatooed today for where I will get radiation for the next six weeks. My left temporal lobe is about 75% scar tissue and cancer thrives on scar tissue, I am very aware & scared. Everytime I go in the office and look arourd, I am too young!

[julie9924]

thanks everyone for your warm welcome. my mom has been advised by one of two neurologists she saw this week that her dilantin levels were non-theraputic (under 10?) and he started her on keppra last night...thinks it will control the seizures better. i'm just crossing my fingers and praying. ever since these seizures started happenning, she's not exactly the same person (even in between them). she's very "flat" and quick to want to get off the phone when she's usually the one we have to beg to hang up. some of her warmth is gone and i'm hoping that too will return someday. i did some reading up on the keppra and some side affects were severe depression and anxiety (problems that already exist with her at times and that she's been medicated for for years). i hope it doesn't compound any of those feelings for her. anyway, thanks for listening.
julie

[julie9924]

so sorry to hear of your illnesses. how old are you? did you have the epilepsy first? my mom's cancer is stage four and has been for 1 1/2 years. this is her second relapse and she was recently taken off chemo because her markers were good. she hasn't had any radiation or surgery in her brain and they don't think there is any cancer there they did mris/cat scans there two weeks ago. however it is in her skull and they aren't ruling out the possibilitiy that it could be microscopic tumors in her brain. either way, i think she and we all just want the damn seizures under control. it's like she had to put her life on the back burner because we're afraid she'll have an episode alone. so now, we've made sure she's constantly supervised. good luck with the radiation. my father had that years ago he had small cell lung cancer and they radiated his brain so that it wouldn't spread to there. i think compared to all the chemo he endured, the rads were a piece of cake. hope all goes well

[KAM]

I'm 41, had the epilepsy since I was 9 months old. My Dilantin level was very low throughout chemo, it was a level of 1-5 when I am usually 18-25. I took Topamax as a backup for seizures and was on Neurontin for pain with the double mascectomy & lymph node removal. They tried to reconstruct twice but my body wanted nothing to do with the expanders. My period stopped after chemo and I haven't had any issues with seizures. Just started Tamoxifen and what a wicked drug, did your mom have to take that as well? I did the Adrimycin/Cytoxin and Taxol. Sorry to hear about the stage 4 but it sounds like it may be somewhat under control or in remission now? There are no happy meds for epilepsy and the chemo can knock the wind out of you. All I did was be sarcastic when I could, it helped. I'll say many prayers for her, I can totally relate to how she feels.