triggers to seizures

[crazychick]

how can you find a trigger to what starts your seizures off? mine are only ever in my sleep. and roughly the same time every month. i dont even get a sign that there going to happen. any advice would be appreciated.

[Nakamova]

Hi crazychick,

Since your seizures happen at the same time every month, that's a clue that your trigger may be hormonal. The best way to identify triggers is to keep a diary where you track the seizures along with all sorts of information about your general health and lifestyle. What you're looking for are things that happen in the days or hours before your seizures that might be playing a role in lowering your seizure threshold. Here are some sample triggers:

Fatigue
Hormones (fluctuating or high estrogen levels, low progesterone levels)
Food sensitivities or allergies (Additives like aspartame or MSG. For some folks, it can be dietary things like gluten or dairy, or sugar)
Infection/Illness
Dehydration
Low blood sugar
Fluorescent or flashing lights or patterns, computer monitors
Alcohol
Physical stress
Emotional stress

Not everyone can identify triggers, and sometimes it can be a combo of things that push you over threshold. In my case, I'm fairly sure that it was a combination of fatigue, low blood sugar, emotional stress, and aspartame that triggered my initial seizures. And I may have had a lower seizure threshold to start with, due to ahead injury as a child. But for subsequent seizures it's been tough to say for sure. Sometimes triggers can change, or, if the brain gets in the habit of seizing, it can take less to provoke a seizure. If you miss a dose of medication, that can trigger a seizure too.

[crazychick]

thank you, i thought from the beggining it was hormonal, can hormone probs be hereditory? my mam had hormone probs wen she was younger gave her severe headches n she had to get her womb removed, now she never has headches and is totally fine, the doc did mention something about hormone replacement or something like that. i also thought it could be low blood sugar levels because if i dont eat regular times i go light headed and like i'm going to collapse could that be a sign of diabetes?i knoiw i used to eat a load of ribbish like chocolate , crisps and rubbish like that instead of healthy stuff so could that also be a trigger? they checked my bloods and they were ok, im just confused as how i have just developed them all of a sudden, no one sufferes with epilepsy on both sides of my family. i do stress out a lot and worry quite a lot could thatcbe another reason> i just dont know i'm so confused.

[Eve]

I have nocturnal simple partial sleep seizures. When I tell [people they always give me a weird look. I didn't get diagnosed with it until I was in my 30s. I am sure I started having them in my 20s' because I remember alot waking up in the middle of my sleep and feeling like I had been electrocuted. It wasn't until I went to the University medical center and they did a sleep EEG on me that they discovered it. It was a weird test. I had to go off all Meds and stay up all night with no caffeine. Then about 9 30 am they put me on a table with wires all over me and a helmet like thing on my head and told me to go to sleep. Even after being up all night I could not sleep. The table was hard and they had funny wires all over me.

The good thing is after I had the test they finally figured out what was wrong with me. It took 10 years for me to finally get properly diagnosed. I was misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia, cerebral palsy and needing psychiatric help.

I know it was always the hormones that brought it on. Also stress mental and physical, certain smells , weather changes and certain foods unfortunately chocolate and anything with artificial sweetener. Also MSG I stay away from all foods that contain this ingredient. I went to a neurologist once who told me if it was up to him he would take MSG off the market because he said all his patients that have any kind of neurologist problems had bad reactions to MSG. If I eat Chinese I make sure they cook with no MSG. Better yet I cook my own Chinese Food.

I must admit thought that once I started on Carbatrol ( tegretol) I did start to feel alot better it was just a few of the side affects....mainly my blood count.

[crazychick]

wow 10 year thats a long time. thats bad diagnosing you with all that. i dont ,mind taking the meds its the hair loss that i cant cope with but i will def try the vit b stress complex. i asked my doc for a slepp test n he said no he wont do it they gotta take my word that my seizures are under control etc. but im gonna ask my neuroligist if he can do it. i just wanna know gor def if it is epilepsy. i also think the hormone replacement will work with me.

[Eve]

When I finally got to the right doctors after my Dad sent the records to that Brain Specialist at a Medical School Hospital I took a plane out and after they gave me a sleep EEG they knew I had the simple partial nocturnal seizures. They immediately put me on the Tegretol 600 mg and I felt like a new person. It actually took a few years for the side effects from that drug to kick in. What really bothers me was the Doctor telling me that I was going to have to take seizure drugs for the rest of my life.

Horomones do play a large part in triggers for alot of women. Good idea to check with the Doctor on that area of concern.

Another area of trigger is flashing lights . It's a good thing the Disco Era is over.

Another trigger I have found is when ever I get a bad cold I seem more likely to have a sleep seizure.

[crazychick]

Thars wats really bothering me taking seizure meds for the rest of my life. Flashing lights dont effect me st all. There is nothing i can say that triggers it off as they happen in my sleep so i dont know. I really need toget off this keppra im feelin furtherr and firther down with it. Wat side affects does the tegretol give? i was told bout hormone replacemmt therapy. Have you heard of this? My doc has never hesrd of it either.

[Eve]

I get my seizures in my sleep too. The other triggers the lights, smells and etc give me the migraines and increased me likelihood of having seizures in my sleep.And always "that time of the month" would trigger it.

Actually when I finally got diagnosed they put me on the tegretol immediately and I felt great. at that time I was living in a different city and the doctors were carefully monitoring my blood count and everything was fine. I did notice an increase in PMS symptoms I don;t think it was related to the tegretol I always had a problem in that area. though but the gynecologist told me I had endometreosis and he put me on some kind of medicine to get rid of the PMS. I believe it was Lupron but I wouldn't recommend it, it gave me headaches and made me feel old. I would hope that they have better drugs on the market today.

I had a bone density problem while on Tegretol but I don't know if it was related to the drug . The Gynecologist put me on high doses of calcium and vit D3 and Magnesium and my bone density is fine now.

When I think back I actually felt mentally better on the tegretol than the Keppra. I felt Great mentally while on the Tegretol but the doctors switched me to Keppra because I went thru years of not getting my blood levels properly monitored and he said I was on way too much Tegretol 600 mg.

I remember when I started on Keppra it was rough I felt like I was loosing it. After a while the side effects lessened up and when I started taking the Vitamin B 100 stress complex I felt a little better. I was on Zoloft a while and I went off of it and Now I'm taking 5 HTP and so far it seems to be helping. I haven't yet discussed with the Dr about taking the 5 HTP.

When I moved to another town I was still on the tegretol at that time and none of the Doctors were monitoring my blood levels That is how I ended up with the blood live count problem.

The neurologist I am seeing now said that the other doctors had me on way too much tegretol and that is how my blood coun t got wacko.

It might not be a bad idea to not only see the neurologist but the gynecologist as well.

[crazychick]

dont mean to sound thick but what is a gynecoligist for? lol, i have never heard of tegretol. i was ok on keppra at first it took a few month for side affects to kick in. so he reduced my dose down and the symptoms got worse so he reduced them again and still same side affects. mentioning blood counts if i dont eat at regular times i go light headed and feel like i am going to faint but as soon as i eat im ok again could that be a sign of diabetes? and can you get fits with diabetes? i know i probly sound thick lol

[Eve]

I meant a Dr that deals with female problems-gynecologist. Next time you go to the Doctor get your blood checked-sometimes a regular family practitioner is good for that stuff or really your neurologist should be able to do this.

[crazychick]

the last time i went theu tested my bloods and they were all normal apparantly. my thyroid was ok to, im so confused i really dno what to think if am being honest.

[Eve]

Wait till you see you Doctor and see what he thinks. If your CBC (Complete Blood Count) was normal than that is good. When is your appt?

[RobinN]

Seizure Triggers

there might be more links if you do a search of Seizure Triggers

[crazychick]

thanx robin i will have do a search. how are things with you?

[Joby]

I believe we have to be our own Dr's, so to speak. I have partial complex and they are generally between 2:30 - 3:00 am. I have been keeping a journal, what I ate, if over tired, etc. and it looks like my blood sugar drops in the middle of the night. I have recently started eating more balanced meals and no sugar in the evening hoping this will pinpoint it for me. I'm not sure a fasting blood test would give me any proof of this?

[crazychick]

Thanx joby i never really thought about that. Thats usually bout th tym that mine happen. Ii knw during the day if i dont eat at regular times during the day i feel lije im going to collapse. How did u find out your blood sugars dropped on a nite?

[RobinN]

I would put other symptoms my daughter was having in a Google search, along with the word seizure, and read and read and read. I kept notebook filled with the information. Eventually some of the research began to connect the dots, and we continued to work on ways to correct what caused the symptoms. Over time (it wasn't a quick fix) her symptoms went away. She is 10 months seizure free and she remains med free.

[crazychick]

Im defo goinh to do some searching on it all becuase my neuroligist is perthetic. I have.t actually been diagnosed with the e word. I had some seizures and was giving some tablets to take and havin so many side affects.

[Cint]

... mentioning blood counts if i dont eat at regular times i go light headed and feel like i am going to faint but as soon as i eat i'm ok again could that be a sign of diabetes? and can you get fits with diabetes? i know i probly sound thick lol

Sounds like low blood sugar to me and if it's extremely low, one can go into a seizure. I have diabetes and have had extremely low blood sugars-- lows in the 30's, especially during the night, but haven't experienced a seizure due to the low blood sugar. I do feel faint and shaky, tho, until I eat something and get my glucose back up to 70.

For more info about hypoglycemia/diabetes:
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-...low-blood.html

[crazychick]

The doctor tested my bloods and my thyroid and they said they wre ok this is what i dont understand. I know if i dont eat i go light headed and i feel sick but i dont go shaky.