how do i know if i had a seizure in my sleep or not

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gr33nr0se

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i dont know if i have ever had a seizure in my sleep, it usually happens during the day. but i have no idea. i have a spot on my tongue that is kinda numb and i looked at it and it looks like i took a huge bite and clenched down. i have done this when i have seizures, but generally my whole body is sore for several days and i am exhausted. i was exhausted today and my tongue has felt weird since yesterday. did i have a seizure or am i going crazy? and is there a type of seizure where you can bite your tongue without your whole body convulsing or getting rigid?
 
One way to know for sure is to have a long-term sleep-monitored EEG. But short of that, it does sound like you may be having seizure symptoms at night. Jaw clenching, jaw spasms, and chomping and grinding of teeth can all be seizure symptoms, and nocturnal seizures can take other forms as well.

You should write down in your seizure journal whenever you think you might have had a nocturnal seizure, and why you think that -- what soreness or fatigue or other "after-effects" you might be feeling. It can help you when looking for triggers or patterns in your seizures, and it can be useful to your neurologist, and it can help in gauging whether meds are working properly or making things worse.
 
To be honest

that sounds like one of my milder nocturnal t/c's. But Nakamova's right. Please document anything that you think might be seizure activity. And short of having a sleep study done, see if you can use a camcorder or something similar in the meantime to document the activity to show the doctor.
 
thanks guys, i really thought i was going crazy. im going to record it. i just wish there was less confusion sometimes, you know? dont you wish you could predict everything? haha
 
Most of my seizure's happen while sleeping. I know right away when I wake up. I am usually very dizzy and confused. I have to go back to sleep right away. When I do get up, then it is zombie-ville for me! Sore like crazy, and basically just sit there and stare at the tv. I have not bitten my tongue, thank goodness, but I have chewed the insides of my lips. :lol:
 
I bite my tongue during my nightime seizures, so that's a dead giveaway. But I also know that I've had one when I wake up in the morning with the raging, post-seizure headache.

By the way, when I bite my tongue, I don't usually have stiffening in other parts of my body. That's what makes seizures so "interesting;" everyone's experience is different to some degree.
 
Hi,

I agree, write it down and tell your doctor. He can help you sort it out.

Sometimes I know I've had a nocturnal SP seizure when I wake up feeling really weird. It's hard to describe. I know the feeling by now, so I know it's a seizure. I also wake up with a bad headache, often a migraine, after a seizure.

I know I've had a CP during the night when I wake up outside and have no idea how I got there, find something broken in the house, etc. There is sometimes physical evidence of what happened.
 
I wake up to my husband looking over me and my dog ontop of me and with bruises that's how i know lol. I agree though long term overnight eeg is the best way to know.
 
I have had the overnight monitoring system for a couple days and of course, I never have symptoms while I have any testing done. This always happens to me, but when I tell the Dr what happens seizures is the only answer he gives me.
 
Im waking up in the mornings to a really bad headache that lasts through out the day, and my jaw and teeth hurting. I thought it was dental issues, so i went to the dentist, who did xrays and some tests, come to find out I have nothing wrong with my teeth. Its like Im clenching down and when I wake up, I feel sore along my teeth, jaw and gum lines. Today I woke up feeling tired as can be. I had a huge headache that lasted til 6pm. Im getting my magnesium level checked tomorrow. I went from two seizure medications last march to one. I did notice within that time period that any stress or lack of sleep has caused me to have seizures, where as before being on two medications I could stay up late, or have more stress and it wouldnt affect me.

I saw this thread about the night time seizures and wanted to see if what I was experiencing could be seizures at night.
 
have found that wearing a nightguard has been a great help to me.it helps protect the the tongue, teeth.lips,and jaws,Wake up feeling much more relaxed.
 
I have a similar question, two actually...

1) Would I know if I had a tonic clonic in my sleep? In other words, would I be guaranteed soreness the next morning? Or is it possible to have a tonic clonic without feeling any soreness afterwards and merely confusion?

2) I know you can lose bladder (or bowel) control during a tonic clonic. Can this happen with other types of seizures, for example, complex partials?

Just curious. For most of the time I was having seizures, I was living alone, so I've been wondering about this, especially since I had one episode of loss of bladder control in my sleep and I always thought that loss of bladder control indicated tonic clonics, though I'm probably wrong.

Also, how common is it to clench your fists during a complex partial seizure? I vaguely remember doing this at the very onset of each of a cluster of seizures before losing complete awareness, and apparently continued to clench them for the duration of each seizure as well (though I've no recollection of that part).

Anybody?
 
I often wake up exhausted, with a headache and saw jaw, teeth and body. If I don't feel better within half an hour, I generally suspect something has happened. I also find my sheets are all messed up and I'm sweaty and dizzy.
 
My most recent experience was waking up around 4 in the morning with my back hurting beyond words, a bad headache, my jaw and teeth hurting on the left side, and feeling like I wanted to throw up. I would ask if any of this sounded familiar, but in reading your posts, it seems I'm not so alone after all. Thank you all for your comments as I find them helpful to read due to my own situation.
 
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