Seizures and...Solar and Geomagnetic Activity?

[elizzza811]

This is going to sound crazy, but I'm hoping those having seizures will consider the possibility and give it some serious thought, especially those who keep 'seizure diaries'. Those of you who keep seizure diaries can actually go back in your records to see if certain solar and/or geomagnetic events may have served as 'seizure triggers'. (A couple of the websites I'm about to post allow you to search backwards in time.)

I have been checking several Space Weather sites daily for several years now and have definitely noticed that certain solar and geomagnetic 'events' or activity (or even lack of activity) can either improve or worsen my symptoms (which I now realize are seizure-related). This isn't a fluke either. Many times I've even had my boyfriend check these websites for me over the phone because my symptoms either improved or worsened (dramatically) within a short period of time, and I've been right that something had 'geomagnetically' changed more times than I've been wrong. In fact, many times when I thought I was wrong an article about a solar eruption of some sort was posted a day late on one of the websites, proving I was actually right.

Back when I had a uterus, my menstrual period would never take the traditional "28 days" that we're told it should - mine would start on the 27th day every single month, like clockwork. And guess how many days it takes for the sun to make one rotation? At the equator it takes 27 days for the sun to complete one rotation. Solar Cycle 24 'officially' began January 4, 2008 with its first reversed polarity sunspot of this new 11-year cycle, and mid-summer 2010 solar activity really picked up speed with an increase in the number of sunspots with 'complicated magnetic fields' - and this is precisely when these seizure-like episodes of mine began to increase.

I will first start by posting the 4 websites I've been checking daily now for about 6 years, along with the values that might deserve special attention. Later I will post the dates of my seizures, along with what was happening 'geomagnetically' on those days. Actually, I have an appointment today with my neurologist, so I only have time to post the websites right now, but I'll try to post the other information within a day or two. Hope this post helps somebody!

Space Weather Now:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html

*Check the Magnetic Field Component (is it North, South, or Neutral?), Solar Wind Speed, and Dynamic Pressure.
*Pay special attention to days when the Dynamic Pressure Drops to zero, especially when it's zero and neutral for a long period of time.

Todays Space Weather:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today2.html

*Read the 3-day Solar-Geophysical Forecasts.
*Check the Solar X-ray Flux graph for an increase in strong solar flares, especially M-class and X-ray class flares.
*Check the Satellite Environment Plot's 'Estimated Kp' graph for red and yellow bars (which indicate geomagnetic storms underway and an unsettled geomagnetic field).
*Check the Proton Flux and Electron Flux graphs. Pay special attention to days when the blue line in the Electron Flux part of the graph goes 'crazy jaggedy'.

Space Weather Archives (Click on 'Currently in Effect):
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/archive.html#2006

*This one is pretty self-explanatory - check for X-ray and radio events, proton events, electron fluxes, sudden impulses, geomagnetic K and A storms, stratwarms.
*This website can be searched backwards and then compared to your 'seizure diary'.

Space Weather - Sunspot Page:
http://spaceweather.com/

*Check for sunspots and coronal holes. Also, solar wind speed and density.
*This website can also be searched backwards and then compared to your 'seizure diary'.

[elizzza811]

I thought I'd get some responses by now? Maybe my post is too long? Sorry! But I'm excited!

Anyway, below is my 'seizure diary' and maybe the 'results' will pique your interest more than my first post in this thread??? What seems to stand out (so far) is that in 3 of my 4 seizures investigated (possibly all 4, but I can't go back and check), the blue line in the Electron Flux graph went 'crazy jaggedy'. And in at least 2 of the 4 seizures (again, possibly all 4, but I can't go back and check), the Dynamic Pressure was 'zero' and the Magnetic Field Component was 'neutral' and it remained that way for quite some time.

Also, apparently solar wind streams, geomagnetic storms, coronal mass ejections, and auroras seem to 'trigger' seizures in me. It's blatantly apparent, if you look below. Specifically, I tend to seizure immediately BEFORE big geomagnetic storms. Check it out...am I onto something here?...

MY SEIZURE DIARY:

1) December 19, 2010 11:00am-ish? - complex partial seizure while driving (funny taste in my mouth, followed by a dizzy spell, followed by inability to respond and lip smacking, followed by confusion).

This seizure happened the day BEFORE a K4 geomagnetic storm...

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/arch...16Dec2010.html

No sunspots, BUT a solar wind stream flowing from a coronal hole was about to reach Earth within 24-48 hours...

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?...h=12&year=2010

2) January 25, 2011 1:00pm - complex partial seizure (funny taste in my mouth, followed by a dizzy spell, followed by lip smacking, followed by confusion)...

2 sunspots
0 coronal holes
Magnetic Field Component was 'negative'. Dynamic Pressure was up.
The blue line on the Electron Flux graph went 'jaggedy'.
The Interplanetary Magnetic Field tipped South at some point during the day.

Auroras the night of January 24, 2011 (the night BEFORE my seizure). In fact, I was sweating like crazy (day and night) prior to this seizure and could not sleep!...

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?...h=01&year=2011

Auroras the night following my seizure, too, in this case...

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?...h=01&year=2011

3) February 3, 2011 6pm - complex partial seizure (funny taste in my mouth, followed by a dizzy spell, followed by lip smacking, followed by confusion)...

1 sunspot, decaying
1 coronal hole
Magnetic Field Component was 'neutral'. Dynamic Pressure was 'zero'.
The blue line on the Electron Flux graph went 'jaggedy' again.

This seizure happened the day BEFORE a 'sudden impulse' and a K4 and K5 geomagnetic storm. In fact, there was a coronal mass ejection (CME) the day after my seizure and a red bar on the Estimated Kp that next day, according to my notes...

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/arch...01Feb2011.html

4) February 16, 2011 (morning) - woke up confused with severe memory problems (seizured in my sleep?), one episode of vomiting (hadn't eaten yet)...

3 sunspots
0 coronal holes
Type II, IV, and 10cm radio events
Magnetic Field Component was 'neutral'. Dynamic Pressure was 'zero'.
The blue line on the Electron Flux graph went 'jaggedy' yet again!
Proton Density was 'zero', and this was not typical.

This seizure happened the day BEFORE a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) was expected to hit Earth's magnetic field. Auroras were expected, too.

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?...h=02&year=2011

[carlos.fonke]

It's an interesting idea. There doesn't seem to be much information out there about a possible link, though. This page is the number one google hit for a search on solar geomagnetic activity epilepsy.

Several scholarly studies are also listed, like this one in India over the period from 1955-1971: Correlation between convulsive seizure and geomagnetic activity. "For a particular geomagnetic activity index the correlation coefficient is significant at a 99% confidence level."

That's only one study, but it would be interesting to see others.

[Nakamova]

There was also this study done on rats: http://www.springerlink.com/content/10235q7670436t83/

It suggests that the suppression of nighttime melatonin levels by increases in geomagnetic activity can lead to a variety of unusual health behaviors, including seizures, cardiac events, and psychiatric admissions.

[hootie]

I don't have time to look at all the information right now...but I do think this can cause increased seizure activity.

I worked in a hospital blood bank in the past and we often noticed that at certain times of the year certain groups of people would need their transfusions...GI bleeds in the fall, people with leukemia at another time of year...I wonder how the Earth's and other forces dictate what goes on in our bodies...

Cool!

[Nakamova]

There was a massive solar flare on the 24th of February -- anyone affected?

[Endless]

The 24th was the only seizure I had that week, but I don't think that means anything. There is a lot of totally random variation in my seizures. Some weeks I'll have 25, some weeks nothing, some weeks one. Which days is anybody's guess.

[elizzza811]

Wow! Maybe there is something to this then? And yes, I feel every big flare when it follows a period of relatively weak flares, and like I said, I've been checking these websites daily for years now.

I can't exactly claim that I can predict 'what' changed geomagnetically. For example, I can't usually tell you (without looking) that a new sunspot appeared today, unless it is large or otherwise different (although I can often detect when sunspots disappear and the sun goes blank). What I CAN tell you with accuracy is when these websites have been pretty consistent for several days in a row (for example: 1 small quiet sunspot, only B-class flares, dynamic pressure up and fluctuating beween positive and negative...for several days in a row), and then something BIG changes...a few new sunspots appear, one of them HUGE, it gives off an M-class flare, and the dynamic pressure drops to 'zero' and 'neutral'. That last one...when the dymamic pressure drops to 'zero' and 'neutral'...is one I've gotten EXCELLENT at detecting, along with tangled magnetic filaments appearing and erupting on the sun.

One other thing I've noticed, too, is that I often develop a white coating on my tongue just prior to the onset of a geomagnetic storm and just prior to a seizure, and apparently yeast grows faster when exposed to electromagnetic fields?...

Do EMFs Affect Yeast Growth?
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/J1310.pdf

Google 'The Effect of Microwave Radiation on Fruit Mold', too.

I think I read somewhere, too, that the growth rings of trees are often larger during solar maximum?

I have this theory though, and I could be wrong, but I've been reading that seizures are the body's way of 'electrically' trying to correct something that is metabolically off in the brain. So perhaps this is the purpose of the 11-year solar cycle?...every 11 years the sun tries to 'recharge' our batteries and electrically correct and heal us? Unfortunately, this isn't working too well because we have introdced too many man-made electromagnetic and microwave frequencies?...our electrical grid, radio, radar, cell phone towers and wifi antennas...

I highly recommend two books by Dr. Robert O. Becker...The Body Electric and Cross Currents...to ANY person who suffers from epilepsy or ANY disease. He is deceased now, but his research proved that non-healing bones could be healed by applying the proper electrical current, and he truly believed that the right 'frequency' could heal virtually any disease, even cancer. In fact, cancer cells look remarkably similar to stem cells in a culture dish - both grow rapidly and look disorganized and chaotic - but one kills and one heals. Below is an interview with this doctor. Let me know if this link works...I can't open pdf files on my computer, but I've read this interview in the past.

An Interview with Dr. Robert O. Becker:
www.emrnetwork.org/pdfs/becker.pdf

[hootie]

I look forward to checking out the information you posted.

I do think some are influenced by these forces while others will be influenced by something else--the phase of the moon, for example. It does take some tuning in to what is going on around you and what is going on with yourself...kind of like detective work...interesting, fun and challenging.

[Literophile]

This is going to sound crazy, but I'm hoping those having seizures will consider the possibility and give it some serious thought, especially those who keep 'seizure diaries'.

It's not crazy at all! You may not know it, but bipolar disorder is very similar to epilepsy, and my brother has bipolar. On windy days or days of the full moon (and sometimes the new moon) my brother was a terror! He has trouble sleeping on the full moon, so the next day, he'd be....

Maybe werewolves do exist!

[hootie]

Some parasites reproduce during the full moon...if you are infected with them, I think it can alter your behavior when they are reproducing. Also, parasites can cause seizures.

[Endless]

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Like, what KIND of parasites. Wait. Don't answer that.

[Loopy Lou]

There was a massive solar flare on the 24th of February -- anyone affected?

I don't know if its related at all but that's when I had my last tonic clonic.

[elizzza811]

I'm glad you don't think I'm crazy, because I really can feel these daily geomagnetic changes, and I do believe they can aggravate my symptoms (insomnia, moods...for example) and can, in some instances, trigger my seizures.

The thing is I don't seem to seizure with EVERY geomagnetic storm or solar something, so there must be something here I'm still missing? Maybe I need to start checking the moon phases, too, to see if my seizures result from some combination of sun and moon cycles? I know changes in barometric pressure can affect me. And yes, wind!

With regards to parasites reproducing during the full moon though...I believe it! Actually, apparently certain types of bacteria have the ability to orient themselves along the magnetic field lines of the earth...

Magnetotactic bacteria:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetotactic_bacteria

I was thinking, too, if there are dogs that have the ability to alert a person to an impending seizure, maybe humans have this underlying ability, too, but we're just choosing not to utilize it? I know there are dogs that can detect earthquakes in advance, and I happen to check for earthquakes daily, too. There haven't been any earthquakes in the Northeastern U.S. recently, not even tiny ones, but back when we were having some tiny ones, I know I used to feel...?...restless? even agitated?...just prior.

U.S. Recent Earthquakes:
http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps...al/earthquake/

[elizzza811]

These articles are pretty interesting, too...

North Magnetic Pole Is Shifting Rapidly Toward Russia
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...orth_pole.html

Researchers Crack the Mystery of the Missing Sunspots
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news...r_spotlesssun/

[Nakamova]

I think it's possible that these other geomagnetic changes may play a role if you have a lowered seizure threshold or other existing health vulnerability, but I also think they are very minor compared to other factors relating to your overall health. I recommend paying less attention to the solar flares and the moon (which you can't control) and more attention to the things you can. Be proactive in your overall health: Quit smoking (if you smoke), avoid coffee and alcohol, stay away from MSG and aspartame, maintain a healthy diet with Omega-3s, B-vitamins and antioxidants, get plenty of sleep, find ways to relieve stress (meditation, progressive relaxation, counseling, exercise) and avoid any known triggers. If seizure control can be achieved with meds (and tolerable side effects), then be consistent in taking the meds. I realize that these behaviors aren't easy for everyone, and don't automatically lead to seizure control, but they can help with quality of life regardless, as well a providing a degree of autonomy.

[Cint]

I'm also affected by the barometric pressure. Often, when there is a low pressure system coming from the Pacific southwest, I get intense headaches, sometimes 3-4 days before the storm hits the Rockies.

Here is an excerpt from http://danapress.typepad.com/weblog/...-diseases.html

The brain of a dog is dominated by the olfactory cortex. Up to one-third of the canine brain is devoted to scent detection, and dogs have 220 million scent receptors, 200 million more than humans.

Of course I always knew dogs had an amazing sense of smell, but I learned even more about man’s best friend while watching an episode of “Blue Collar Dogs,” a new show on National Geographic Wild.

“Dogs come pretty close to something that can be a biological sensor,” Solouki said. “They are not only very sensitive to chemicals, but they are also smart enough that they can analyze the signals they are getting.” Solouki’s goal is to determine the biomarkers of cancer within the samples. Dogs are either noticing something that is or isn’t there, or recognizing a variation in the molecular pattern.

Up close and personal with some of those 220 million scent receptors. (Credit: Piotr Grzywocz)

The Cancer and Bio-detection dogs are trained, but the average pet canine has shown the ability to detect cancer and other illnesses in their owners in some cases. The episode included a dog that sniffed breast cancer in its owner, and another that alerts its diabetic owner before she has a hypoglycemia crash. Other dogs have been known to alert epileptic owners moments before they have a seizure.

On “Blue Collar Dogs,” a young woman with dystonia, a neuromuscular disorder that causes muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily, was able to better function on a daily basis because of a black Labrador from Canine Companions for Independence. The dog helps pull her wheelchair, picks up items she has dropped, and opens doors for her using a rope.

Dogs will continue to use their powerful noses—albeit in mysterious ways—to detect changes in the human body, and many will effectively communicate their findings with their owners. I hope one day scientists will be able to pinpoint this ability and develop portable devices that can replicate it.

[elizzza811]

I heard about that!...dogs detecting cancer...but I'd forgotten. That is pretty cool!

I wanted to ask though...does anybody here seizure or at least feel horrific when thunderstorms are approaching? Now maybe that has more to do with the barometric pressure than with anything else, but I always feel horrific when thunderstorms are approaching. In fact, we had 'thunder snow' the other week. I have to check and see when my seizures happened in relation to that storm.

[elizzza811]

Just an update...

I'm currently awaiting my next seizure so that I can have my prolactin drawn to hopefully 'prove' that I'm having complex partials, once and for all. The problem is I haven't seizured since February 16th, and there have been plenty of solar and geomagnetic storms since then - and like I said before, I check the websites above multiple times daily.

What there HASN'T been since February 16th are those 'jaggedy blue' Electron Flux lines on the Satellite Environment Plot graph below. And when I say 'jaggedy blue', I mean the blue Electron Flux line tightens up and goes ZIG-ZAG. It's not zig-zag today (3/14/11) and hasn't been since my last seizure (2/16/11)...

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today2.html

So is this possibly what is triggering my seizures? I was having seizures pretty frequently last summer (1 or 2 a month), and back in the fall and winter especially (2 a month), and back then the blue lines were going zig-zag pretty frequently, too...a couple of times a month for days at a stretch, just like my seizures.

We also haven't had any prolonged periods (lasting a full day or more) of 'zero' and 'neutral' dynamic pressure, though this data wasn't common to every seizure of mine...

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html

I just wish I would seizure again already!

[elizzza811]

5) Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - woke up confused (seizured in my sleep?), a seizure within an hour (funny taste, followed by dizzy spell); more 'staring' seizures in the car on the way to and from the lab (prolactin level drawn), one in which I clenched both fists in front of me; another seizure when I got home while on the phone with my daughter (dropped the phone, burned fingers with cigarette); more seizures in the ambulance (eyes rolled back, up and to the right), wanted to resume task at hand between seizures (put stamps on bills while paramedics waiting), pressure at the base of my skull throughout, frontal headache afterwards.

1 sunspot emerging, 1 sunspot departing over limb
0 coronal holes
Magnetic Field Component was 'positive'. Dynamic Pressure was up.
1 'prolonged' solar C flare on the Solar X-ray Flux Graph - seizures began with the flare and ended when it did!
1 CME, supposedly not earth-directed

These seizures occurred the day after earth had been bathed by a solar wind stream. Also, the Dynamic Pressure had been up and 'positive' for 4 days prior to the seizure and followed a long spell (about 10 days) of ups and 'negatives'. Protons were higher on the graph the day following my seizure, and I felt much better that day!

- Severe diarrhea the day before and the morning of my seizure (prunes?)
- No BM the day following my seizure. (This is significant. I often skip bowel movements during geomagnetic storms, and a CME was still in our vicinity, though not earth-directed).