Getting to know your triggers

[Rose]

A lot of people who are newly diagnosed with epilepsy don't know exactly what triggers a seizure.

So when you are coherent enough to do it, ask yourself these questions:
1-What was I doing prior to the seizure? If you can pinpoint your activities, you may just find that you can identify a trigger and either take steps to cut down on it or just plain avoid it if possible

2-Was I under a lot of stress at the time I had the seizure? Stress can be a trigger for some people with epilepsy. Try to find ways of keeping as stress free a life as possible or learn yoga, meditation, or relaxation techniques to de stress after a day of moderate to severe stress.

3-What was the weather like? In some cases, extreme temperatures such as excessive heat or cold can be a trigger. Drink water or cool drinks on hot days, stay out of the sun, in cold weather stay bundled up or if you can avoid going out stay indoors.

4-Were lights flashing? Again, stobe lights and even flourescent lights can trigger seizures in some people. Try to avoid looking at them. If you are spending a lot of time on the computer, try limiting yourself or spacing out the time you spend on it. If you like playing mindless computer games, try to limit your time on them or avoid the ones with a lot of flashing lights. Try wearing polarized sunglasses in stores when shopping(I know it sounds silly but it works and IMHO I would rather look silly than have a seizure)

The sooner you can identify your triggers, the easier it will be to talk to your doctor about them

Peaceful Hugs,
Rose

[TeeTees]

^^ Good tips there. I've gone through all those pain-staking questions, and mine usually falls back to being tired/stressed. The interesting thing is : although mine aren't caused by flashing lights, I do become more photo-sensitive if I have already had one.

[brain]

You may also find many of these threads
on Seizure / Epilepsy Triggers by clicking
on the link below:

Seizure and Epilepsy Triggers

[dfwtexas]

Brain, your link is not working.

I know being tired and sleep or lack of it, is a big trigger for me

[hawke86]

Drowsiness is a trigger for me.

[Belinda5000]

my seizures can be brought on by certain things like flashing lights, extreme stress,crowds, and I can have seizures for know paticular reason either.
Belinda