being sick during seizure

[bella]

hello I've come on here as the mum of a nineteen year old girl with epilepsy. Briefly my daughter was diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic type aged fourteen. Since that time she has had two tonic clonic seizures, but since being on lamotrigine 400mg daily her condition is fairly stable ,apart from small (warning jerks ) when she is under a lot of stress. However she returned from a holiday abroad yesterday. It had been an eleven hour flight ,she had been without sleep for over twenty-four hours and had forgotten to put any medication in her hand -luggage , so missed out on her days medication. Soon after arriving home I heard a crash in her room - went to check (although I know she gets irritated by my checking )she'd had a myoclonic jerk and was half-on /half -off her bed still trying to hang on to her plate of dinner. I tried to calm her ,she sat herself up ,then she went on to have a full seizure. The difference with this one was,once the jumping stopped and while she was unconcious ,she started being sick. Luckily she was already in the recovery position ,but I was very scared because with her breathing already affected due to the seizure and her teeth were clenched tight ,the vomit was coming down her nose. I don't know what I should have done ,and what should I do if it should happen like that again? worse still what if she'd been on her own? All I could do was keep her nostrils as clear as possible until she slowly recovered. Can anyone tell me how common is it to be sick during a seizure.I'm just going to be so scared now. my daughter is supposed to be going away to uni this year,and I know there have been other times when she has forgotten to take her medication. thanks for reading this.

[speber]

The body can do a LOT of involuntary movements during this time.
Many lose bladder or bowel control (had that happen to myself once).

The best thing you can do is be there for them to call for help if something major (like aspirating on vomit) occurs. I'm not sure if that's what happened with your daughter but I'm glad she's okay!

Aspiration (unless I'm wrong on this) is when vomit somehow 'goes down the wrong pipes' and into your lungs! then it's a very big issue and emergency technicians are needed.

Peace
Speber

[skillefer]

Hi bella! Actually, I've only been sick once....make that twice during a seizure. I have tonic clonic seizures, and I went off to university and did fine. If anything, this will reinforce the fact that your daughter needs to be good about taking her meds, and not let herself get sleep deprived. The only reason she probably vomitted was because she had been eating right before the seizure. As Speber said, the body does some weird things during a seizure. Like him, I've lost bladder control following a seizure. Only with me, it's happened several times. More embarrassing than anything else. As for the vomitting and what to do.....actually, you did the right thing. Just keep her on her side and try to make sure her airway stays clear. When I went off to university, all of my roomates, as well as the health aide (someone trained in first aid and cpr assigned to each dorm floor by the university) was told about my seizures by me. That way, they knew what to expect and how to help me if I did have a seizure. The health aides at my university also all received training in the different types of seizures and how to assist a person having a seizure. I later became a health aide, and started an epilepsy support group on my university campus. We actually had a fairly large group. So don't worry about when your daughter goes off to college. Just plan ahead a little. Worry never added a minute to anyone's life, and won't take a minute off the number of minutes that she'll spend having seizures over her lifetime....

[bella]

thankyou Speber and skillefer for your replies,it's good having someone to talk to at these times.my daughter has had a long sleep and much better now although still a little confused and has a sore tongue ,where she bit it. thank goodness she hadn't started to eat her dinner before the seizure ,so it was mainly fluid that she brought up. she has told me that while she was in jamaica she had noticed periods of time where she felt she'd kind of blanked out , due she thought to feeling nervous about certain planned excursions. Perhaps there had been a slow build-up of things making her more vulnerable to a seizure and then missing her medication along with lack of sleep was the final straw. I'm sure she'll now be more careful about looking after herself.

[RobinN]

Hi Bella, Welcome to CWE

My daughter vomited only once, and that was her very first seizure. She somehow worked her way into the bathroom, after the seizure. I had no idea this had occurred. She then fell asleep on the bathroom floor. I truly thought she was coming down with the flu.

She has never been sick again, but she often complains prior to a seizure that her stomach does not feel right. I believe there is a definite connection.

As for the safety aspect of this... that is the scary part. Hopefully you can get these under control so that you don't have to be always on edge. We have been helped with nutritional changes, bio-identical progesterone, magnesium, and neurofeedback. It appears to be moving in a positive direction.

I am glad that you found us.

[Bernard]

Hi bella, welcome to the forum.

... she had been without sleep for over twenty-four hours and had forgotten to put any medication in her hand -luggage , so missed out on her days medication. ...

Ouch! That would trigger seizures for Stacy for sure.

...... her teeth were clenched tight ,the vomit was coming down her nose. I don't know what I should have done ,and what should I do if it should happen like that again? ...

If there is any possibility the vomit backwashed into her lungs, she should be taken to a hospital and checked out. Vomit in the lungs can lead to pneumonia and it can be fatal if left unchecked.

My wife aspirated on her vomit while in transit to the emergency room last September. They managed to get most of the fluid out of her lungs and she recovered pretty quickly, but the docs explained to me that aspirating on vomit can lead to a severe (potentially deadly) case of pneumonia and it usually hits quickly.

[bella]

thanks to all of you for your advice. My daughter Anna returned to her temporary job as barmaid yesterday . first day back after her holiday and it was one of her long days -lunch shift and then evening shift.

I suggested she asked to do just one shift as she was generally ok but admitted to still feeling a little confused. However Anna being a very strong willed girl ,determined not to let her epilepsy stand in her way insisted she would be fine -telling me " I am 19 mum " when I wanted to contact work for her to ask if she could do half her shift ,giving her chance to fully recover.

I felt 11 or 12 hours was going to be too much while she was still feeling a bit fragile. Anyway I made sure her work place new of the situation.! ,and today is a day off so no doubt she will sleep through most of it. thanks again

[RobinN]

It is a delicate balance as to when to help and when not to help. A friend helped me with this once, when she reminded me that many 18,19 yr olds are off at college. Half of the time we do not get wind of what they do or don't do. I am not sure where you live, but here in the US, we do not get a call from school or work place after they are 18. They are considered adults and parents rights are very limited. You can pay for college but you are not allowed to know how their grades are unless they tell you.

I am glad that Anna is feeling better, and was able to return to work. I worry too when my daugher pushes it, but they do have to learn to self regulate. Better that they learn this while in our care. As my 16 yr old tells me, "I have to learn from my mistakes mom."

[bella]

yes you're right Robin about it being a delicate balance when they are at this age,and sometimes I admit I do need to remind myself of that.
It's just that when I see Anna so scared and vulnerable she becomes my little girl again and I just so want to protect her.....You'll know what I mean.
we live in the uk and I remember thinking it strange when this time last year as anna was still in regular school education (she stayed on there as a sixth former) we were still recieving letters addressed to "the parents of Anna " at the age of 18!!
where Anna is working at the moment is just down the road from our house so I know the people there quite well, and Anna told them of her epilepsy when she started there,so they all look out for her, which is great. thanks Robin.

[RobinN]

My son, who is now 23, fell off of a 40 ft. cliff in Santa Barbara. The hospital was not allowed to call the parents because he was 19 at the time. We had to find out through some friends of his. The law is very strange here.

[hawke86]

I have been sick several times during a seizure.

[doihaveepilepsy]

i have been sick after seizures, too i always thought it was because i had hit my head so hard, but maybe i was wrong maybe it was just part of the seizure.

[stringbean]

Hello Bella, Welcome


I can get very nauseas during a partial or complex partial and sometimes I do vomit. I will have to ask my family members who have witnessed my grand mals if this as ever happened then.

thanks to all from me also, I never realized how dangerous this can be. I will be informing my family about this.

[korisue]

Hello - Jessica vomited with almost every seizure, no matter the severity. She is currently seizure free but prior to this for the last year, 9 times out of 10 she was sick. When she would go into her seizures she would stop breathing for a short period of time, upon breathing again she would always vomit. I always kept her on her side and her airways open. Thank god she never aspirated. Her bed is still in our room just because of that - I didn't want to take the chance of not hearing her or getting to her quick enough. It has to be diffucult to not be able to watch over her like we can with younger children. God bless and good luck!