Do your seizures end depressed moods?

[DayDreamer]

The last month was extremely low for my thoughts and contemplative actions. It just ended with a tonic clonic Monday morning. They are a rare occurrence, nothing to do with catamenial epilepsy. My mood seems to have improved ten fold, at least. Does anyone else notice improvement in mood after a seizure?

 

[epileric]

I know that when I was in my teens & younger my mood always changed. I could go from being really excited to do something to just too tired or being really depressed or upset about something and after the seizure it just didn't matter.

I likened it to waking up to a new day, it wasn't always happy or sad but it was usually different than it was before I went to sleep.

 

[Nakamova]

The "up" feeling is not an unusual after-effect of a seizure. In fact, that's essentially how electroshock therapy works -- it's a deliberate seizure administered under controlled circumstances to "reboot" someone who is seriously depressed.

 

[elizzza811]

I have trouble sleeping most nights, but after a complex partial seizure I will often sleep like a baby...sometimes for hours. It doesn't last though beyond a day. I also notice that prior to a seizure I'll feel agitated and restless. Following a seizure, I'll feel calm and peaceful. So yea...a seizure does improve mood.

I read that a seizure is the body's way of trying to correct something metabolically wrong in the brain. For that reason, in some ways I don't even want to treat these...I just wish I'd have a tonic clonic and correct the imbalances already, as crazy as that sounds...

 

[Cint]

The "up" feeling is not an unusual after-effect of a seizure. In fact, that's essentially how electroshock therapy works -- it's a deliberate seizure administered under controlled circumstances to "reboot" someone who is seriously depressed.

Back in the '90's when I was severely depressed, my neuropsychiatrist was looking for ways to alleviate my depression, and at times would actually say that maybe an occasional seizure would help with the depression. Some places still use ECT (Electro-Convulsive Therapy) for severe depression, although it isn't as barbaric as it used to be.

 

[Nakamova]

My cousin does ECT for his depression and it has really made a difference for him. It's still a last resort, since it can be very hard on both short and long-term memory.

 

[gowings83]

I can honestly say most days I do get a little depressed, if only for a short time. Aside from being sore I often feel better after a t/c seizure. Last night however, while not the 1st time, I feel A LOT better this morning since me and the wife apparently had "fun" even though I don't remember it. She tells me I didn't start shaking like most of my seizures, I just blacked out I guess.

 

[Katie]

I don't have tonic clonics, just myoclonus. It makes me feel angry and embarrassed. I've had one tonic clonic and I slept for hours afterwards and I don't remember a thing from that night.

On another note, at the animal hospital I work at, a known caution dog came in having tonic clonics. She showed strong postictal bliss. One of the sweetest dogs you'd ever met, you'd think. A few hours later though, she was back to her old self (very human aggressive). I can't help but think she was in a fantastic mood during the postictal period.

 

[valeriedl]

I don't think it really has anything to do with the epilepsy but I've always been a happy person in general. When I was younger and went to partys, everyone but me would be drinking and I think I was the one having the best time.

It takes a good bit to get me down. Last year I had to put one of my cats down. I cried like crazy over the weekend because I kenw what I was going to have to do and had to wait for the humane society to open so I could take him there. After we put him down my husband took me right to the pet store to adolpt a new cat and my mood changed drastically. I was happy to have a new little girl to take care of. I did however have a seizre a few days after because I'm almost guarentied to have one if I do get drastically upset about something.

As for the epilepsy I've just come to accept the fact that I have it and there's nothing to do about it, so I'm not going to let me down. I could be out in public and have a seizure and I know that's just something that could happen. I'm not going to worry about what people think when they see me doing all the goofy things that I do when I'm having the seizure. It's just something that's going to happen to me so I'm not going to worry about it.

I did have another medical condition going on that my neuro suggested I see a psych because he thought it could be because of depression. After about 5 visits the psych said that I wasn't depressed. Even things that were going on in my life (that didn't deal with the epilepsy) I wasn't getting upset about. I found a way to work around it and not let it get me down.