Not So Lucky

[Zoofemme]

Well, I was going to post this in the padded room Saturday becaue I was pretty angry about it but I still couldn't type all that well (I think it took me about 30 min. to type the little bit I did post). Friday afternoon I ended up having a seizure. I was on the computer paying bills and the next thing I know I'm in the middle of the kitchen floor staring up at the ceiling wondering where in the heck I'm at (I have a computer in my kitchen). I'm just glad I was standing up and there was nothing behind me...the last time my husband didn't catch me in time and I wonked my head good on his steel guitar I managed to contact my doctors office and let them know what happened although it was a very tedious conversation since I was talking a lot of gibberish They increased my lamictal so now i have to take it in the morning and at night. The only problem is I'm not sure I understood the nurse correctly about the dosage so I have to call today and straighten that all out. I also think they are going to revoke my driving privileges again It took me 7 yrs to get it back the last time. I voluntarily don't drive much to begin with but its the whole idea of being officially told you can't do something that gets to me. Of course, there goes my riding my motorcycle down the drain as well Hubby bought me a Harley Sportster last year when we were still living in Kuwait and had it shipped back to the States...we just picked it up a couple of months ago from the importers.

Ok...enough whining. Here is something interesting I noted and everyone has commented on as well. We have pets and always have. We've had 2 dogs that have ever responded to my seizing. One was a coonhound who would lay on me while I was seizing and would lick my face when I was coming around. He was stolen out of our yard. The other was a lab mix who would whine and lean on me who, unfortunately, started running and hiding after I latched onto her a couple of times while seizing Most of our cats have always just puffed up and hissed at me and taken to the rafters. I got a Persian while living in Kuwait and brought him back with me and he is a lover, but lately he is going overboard with the glue. He is trying to get up on the counters when I cook (he knows this is not allowed), follows me everwhere so I have to make sure I don't shut him up someplace, lays by my mouse hand or on the table beside me (if I'm on the computer, playing cards, talking etc), pushes the dogs out of my lap, gets between my husband and I, etc. These are abnormal behaviors for him. His norm is to jump in a lap, get a strok or two and move on. He is an everyperson cat not a oneperson cat. When I had my seizure and came out of it, besides wondering where I was I noted my cat was laying next to me licking my face. No other animal was in the room with me, just him. And he just kept licking utnil I struggled up off the floor, not his casual two lick, how are you (he is a "kisser"). It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen a cat do, lol.

Oh, well...I hope it isn't the topamax that sparked the seizure. It is doing a great job of keeping the headaches at bay and that is a huge relief after months of those on end.

[Nakamova]

Hey Zoo, I'm sorry to hear what happened. I hope you're feeling better.

A few others have commented on their pets reacting to their seizures. There are dogs that are trained specifically for that purpose, which you can read about here:

Seizure Alert/Response Dogs

There are also folks who have noted their cats responding to the seizures. For obvious reasons, cats aren't trained as companion pets, but they sure can bond with their owners and sense when something is wrong.

[josieb]

Sorry to hear about your rough times. Not that it makes things any better, but many of us have been there and understand exactly what you're going through. I know the driver's license thing really sucks. Wishing you good luck with everything and hopefully the med increase is all it will take.

[Zoofemme]

Thank you Nakamova and josieb. Like I said, I get angry about it more than anything...it puts limitations on me that I don't appreciate. Even my husband is treating me a little more "gently" than usual Well, maybe I shouldn't complain about that one too much; I finally got him to help me walk the dogs, but ...you know what I mean?

[Nakamova]

The kid-gloves treatment can be annoying because it draws attention to what we would rather not think about. But in your husband's case it comes out of love and concern, and you and he will find the right balance eventually.

[Zoofemme]

Well, there is a whole lot going on that is bothering me...maybe that is why I sought a forum out, I don't know. People with the same/similar experiences who could relate to what I was going through? I started having some minor health issues last year...frequent migraines mostly which I hadn't had a problem with in years (odd one every now and then mostly) and muscle cramping. Then I had a breakthru seizure. First thing I did when I got back to the states was get a complete physical. Dr. finds I've got some vit deficiencies and of course I'm too fat so we worked out a diet, exercise and supplement routine, right. Only things didn't get better, they got worse The headaches are constant, vertigo, double-vision, running into things, insomnia, loss of appetite, light-sensitivity, nausea, mood-swings and of course, another seizure The doctor went on at me about smoking and not losing any weight...he personally "experienced" what I meant about moods swings through a few choice words I had to say about his theory; he ordered another blood test (below-norm magnesium) and sent me to the neurologist.

Things that haven't been said to the doctor

I woke up about a month and half ago with the side of my tonge a little chewed up. I didn't think anything of it.

When we were still in Kuwait I was waking up in the middle of the night with my pillow soaked with slobber on several occasions. Just assumed I drooled for whatever reason. FLip it over, go back to sleep.

Sometimes I wake-up feeling like I have been beat-up, a train-wreck, insert your favorite drained achy euphimism here. I always kid my husband about using me as a punching bag while I'm asleep. It seems to have gotten worse lately though...to the point where it was getting too painful and I blamed the dogs so they aren't allowed to sleep with us anymore. I asked my husband if I was seizing and he said not that he was aware of...which only means not grand mal type which would have jostled him awake

I've only had 2 seizures that we know about in my sleep, I don't know if I want to tell the doctor about this or not.

I'm also experiencing more weird smells again. My olfactory hallucinations are a running joke. I have a hypersensitive sense of smell so a lot of what I do smell is real, I'm the one who figures out if the leak under the car is oil, brake fluid or antifreeze, but I smell things that aren't there too. I never really put 2 + 2 together because I don't smell things right before I seize but when I think about it, when I first started having seizures I did "smell" things more frequently...particularly vomit and burnt things I spent 15 minutes going through my house Sunday trying to figure out what smelled like chocolate...everyone thought I was nuts

I don't want to tell the doctor some of these things...some of them I haven't even told my husband about.

[Nakamova]

Are you taking a magnesium supplement now? They've helped a lot of people here with migraines. Certain kinds of magnesium are better absorbed than others.

All the stuff you describe does sound seizure-related. How come you don't want to tell the doc? Sometimes it can be helpful for the doc to know all the kinds of seizures you're having in order to prescribe the right medicine.

For the olfactory auras/simple partials it's a good idea to try and "distract" your nose. Try having something strong-smelling like jasmine or peppermint to put under your nose when you start smelling the other stuff. Another thing that has helped some folks is using a neti pot/nasal saline rinse.

[Zoofemme]

Yes, I've been on Mag oxide since the beginning of Sept. I also eat sm. qty of raw tree nuts and dk leafy greens. Hasn't helped a bit with headaches or cramping and my mag levels went lower I'm going to ask the Dr. about the whole gluten-free diet thing. I don't eat much in the way of gluten beyond pasta anymore (about once a week). I just went through the cupboards yetserday looking for "hidden" things. I'm very much a "whole foods" person and even make my own breads and doughs for hubby...looking forward to the warmer weather and getting the garden in

I guess I don't want to tell the doctor because i dont want to hear the whole "your nuts, imagining things, its all in your head" spiel again. In the back of my mind I keep hoping its all a dream and I'll wake up, 33 yo w/ grease under my nails and espousing the pros of a 350 small block chevy over a ford 351 modified.

*I keep editing becaue I can't type for squat for some readon today... !*

[RobinN]

In medicine, magnesium oxide is used for relief of heartburn and sore stomach, as an antacid, magnesium supplement, and as a short-term laxative. It is also used to improve symptoms of indigestion.

Wikipedia

After looking into magnesium for months, what I came away with is that magnesium comes in two types:
- soluble forms/organic (aspartate, malate, glycinate, citrate and succinate etc.)
- insoluble forms/inorganic salts (chloride, carbonate, oxide).

Overall, the chelated magnesium and magnesium glycinate are often referred to as being very absorbable.

The soluble ones are pretty equally absorbed and as a group are much better absorbed than the insoluble group. Of the insoluble group, the oxide is the best absorbed. The insoluble group is far more likely to cause loose stools/diarrhea than the other group. If magnesium nutrition is what you want, go for the soluble group. If constipation is the issue, then some insoluble forms are okay. The loose stool effect (if not wanted) can be minimized by taking the magnesium with food.

*****
"Magnesium chelated with amino acids is probably the most absorbable form. Less
absorbable forms include magnesium bicarbonate, magnesium oxide, and magnesium
carbonate. Magnesium oxide is probably somewhat better than magnesium carbonate
(dolomite). The newly available salts of magnesium aspartate or citrate, both known as mineral transporters, have a better percentage of absorption."

*****
The symptoms of magnesium deficiency are irritability, tantrums, seizures, insomnia, muscle cramps/twitching, hyperactivity and poor digestion among others. Magnesium is needed for proper electrolyte function, over 300 enzyme functions, and calcium absorbtion.

http://www.enzymestuff.com/magnesium.htm

[Zoofemme]

Hi Robin...I read that on Wiki to and asked my GP about it; his answer was "that is why I have you take it on an empty stomach, and acid stomach offers a better uptake enivironment for the vitamins and minerals we have you on"...whatever in the heck he means by that He is a good doctor, he does practice holistic medicine as well as being an MD (or is it homeopathic...I get them mixed up?) and doesnt just throw "pills" at everything. For instance, I have borderline high cholesterol...the easy thing would be for me to take lipitor and drop it where it needs to be in an instant. But, I have the muscle cramping and a multitude of drug allergies so the choice taken was the harder option...diet, exercise, supplements. Hubby on the ther hand, dangerously high cholesterol Dr said in his case it was BETTER to go on Lipitor but hubby had elevated liver enzymes so couldn't. We are trying to get his weight down to get his enzymes down so he might be able to go on lipitor; the Dr doesn't think diet and exercise alone will drop it enough

At any rate, I am going to call him tomorrow and pester him some more about the magnesium. I only have one tablet left so before I renew the prescription I figure it is worth another go since the tablets still aren't working.

Thanks!

[CleptaK]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your seizures and the way you're feeling - it sounds really crummy.

It's interesting what you said about your cat. My cat Sharon was a stray, and since she's been with us she's always been very close to my Mum - it's almost like she's obsessed with her! Probably to do with food... - and very indifferent to me. Anyway, whenever I have an 'off' day and I have a seizure, or if I have an aura, she seems to know. She'll hang around or jump up on my lap. When I have had a fit and she's been around she's also licked my face. It's offputting and sweet all at the same time!

Your symptoms of headaches, nausea, muscle cramping and mood swings all happened to me when I first started having 'proper' seizures in 2006. Since then I've been diagnosed with bi-polar type 2, but aside from that the symptoms have slowly abated as my seizures have become more manageable. I take lots of vitamins (including magnesium) and do neurofeedback each day.

So, I hope that you find something to make things better! Just rest assured that you're not nuts -- I can sympathise with what you've described. Good luck!