Excersice, sleep, neurotransmitters, and seizures

[forward2007]

When I was in my mid to late 20's, I did a lot of exercising. I would either be running 30 miles a week as well as swimming 3 to 6 miles a week or I would be biking 120-180 miles a week plus swimming 3 to 6 miles a week. During these same 10 years or so, sometimes I would have a seizure one to two hours before I would wake up from my sleep. The interesting this is I would almost NEVER have a seizure while I was awake during these 10 years. I was also only taking regular Tegretol (1000-1200 mg) during this time. I have recently started to wonder if the exercise had anything to do with me having the seizures right before I would wake up. I also wonder if I ended up having less seizures by exercising. I am guessing doing too much exercise too soon (overtraining) probably plays havoc on the brain's neurotransmitters in the same way emotional stress would and lowers the seizure threshold. Have there ever been any studies done on how moderate to extreme exercise effects seizure threshold? Also have any other forum members had any experiences with their exercise effecting their seizure patterns?

[epileric]

I don't know if there have been any studies but when I worked out regularly I noticed my seizures to be less severe.

[RobinN]

I believe Rebecca's first seizure was triggered by vigorous exercise (3 hrs of intense figure skating), bad nutrition and nothing for the body to pull on that day, hormones.) I really see it as building blocks. If a few are askew and you pile on one more... bam they all come flying down. We all have a threshold.

My threshold for my migraines is now higher, due to the fact that I found my triggers, and made changes to my lifestyle and the nutrients that my body was needing.
Now I don't get migraines. Weird... after 30 yrs of suffering.

I think you have found the magic bullet Forward... for some it is a help and for others it is the last straw on top of a system that is overburdened. Trying to figure out where you fit in the puzzle is the hard part.

[brain]

Mine fluctuates, since primarily my seizures are
mostly nocturnal anyway, in the past - but at
the present stage ~ I'm having them both day
and nights, so it appears my seizures are changing.

[Bernard]

Stacy's seizure threshold stays higher when she maintains her morning yoga/excersize regimen. Aside from the overall health benefits of regular excersize, it does affect neurological systems.

Exercise may boost brain's natural antidepressant

physical exercise heals stored trauma

Does Physical Exercise Influence the Occurrence of Epileptiform EEG Discharges in Children?

more "don't overdo it" anecdotes...