I HOPE this is the right place.

[MikeysLady]

Happy Sunday afternoon to everyone! I hope this is the right place to ask a question that Google seems to have no answers for. Forgive me if there is a different spot I should use. First off, my name is Cynthia. *Insert wave* hehe

So here's my question that yes, is going to be very descriptive so odds are better someone can offer some insight. About a year ago, I started having what I call my "cold episodes". Now, I'm far from a small woman (Tall and THICK!), live in the dadgum south AND am enjoying the wonderful world of hot flashes as I age, so when I say "cold episodes" it's nothing I've ever experienced. I don't get cold. I was pregnant with my oldest child and standing outside in snow wearing shorts and a tshirt, that's an example of to show how I do NOT get cold. Anyway, these episodes are always at night when I'm asleep. I wake up uncontrollably shaking and feel cold all over. Painfully cold. The sheets and blankets on my bed hurt just laying on my skin. I say hurt but it's more like the most uncomfortable feeling I have ever experienced. Sometimes, when they wake me, I have to go potty like most of us more experience woman. Sitting on the toilet hurts. The actual feeling of anything touching my skin truly makes me cry. I usually run and jump back in bed shaking my poor husband awake who will pretty much turn me into a giant human burrito to get me to warm up. I almost always fall right back asleep crying because the blankets HURT. Wake up the next morning and usually have forgotten about it until now.

This past week, I went to bed early because I can't seem to sleep past 2am. I had taken a shower and was still kind of warm from the hot water so laid down with one leg out from under the covers. I fell asleep and woke up a little later, hubby hadnt even come in to kiss me good night, and I was freezing again. But so much worse than any other time. I have never and hope I never again feel that feeling. When I woke, I sat up, pulled the blankets over my head because the fan on was hurting. Then the shaking started. I FELT like my legs and arms probably looked like I was running in a fast race. Then my back stiffened and HURT. My whole torso was screaming in pain. I remember looking at my phone beside my bed and thinking wheres my husband. I should call him. Then I thought, quicker to scream so I did. BUT NOTHING CAME OUT. I just kept shaking and freezing. MIND NUMBING COLD. I guess i fell asleep because the next thing I remember was my husband rubbing my arms then freaking out asking why my lips were blue. He took a photo and it was scary when I saw it the next morning. I can send the pic if anyone is interested. G RATED. Promise. The next day, when I remembered it, I looked at him and asked, "did I have another cold episode last night?" He just nodded and said, "Baby, I think that was a seizure". But I have 100% no history of seizures or a family history of seizures. So my question is, after my long winded description of the events, is feeling that cold part of it?? Could it have been a seizure? (let me add, I know that no one on here is a medical professional and I should probably make an appointment but the cold thing has me wondering if its some pre-menopause thing).

Medical history that could contribute, I guess?? Ive recently been diagnosed as severely anemic but we have all my numbers back up within normal range. (Normal numbers just came back on last blood test three weeks ago)

I'm just confused and didn't know where to turn to for answers. please help???

Thanks!

 

[Porkette]

Hi MikeysLady,

Welcome to CWE! You posted in the correct area. You could be going through pre menopause and often a woman will get
hot when she goes to bed or even during the day. In regards to feeling cold a lot of the time you may have hypothyroidism which
I have and that is when you feel cold all the time, and you are tired along with low blood pressure and it's hard to lose weight.
I'm not sure if you had a seizure but sometimes when a person goes through their change in life it can cause seizures to start up
and sometimes they stop for some people. Do you remember if you felt really tired or confused when this happened and have
you noticed that you will get a good nights sleep and wake up feeling really tired? If you have you may be having seizures in your
sleep. This has happened to me in the past but then my Dr. put me on the drug vimpat and that stopped that type of seizure.
You should call your family Dr. and have them refer you to see a neurologist to be sure where they can do a e.e.g. on you to
see what's going on for sure. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue

 

[Bernard]

Hi Cynthia, welcome to CWE.

The cold sensation may or may not be related to a seizure. It's not a classic symptom, but the epilepsy/seizure experience is a very big tent encompassing so many different possibilities. I would think a sleep study where you are admitted to a hospital/clinic for one night and they measure your vitals and EEG while you sleep may shed some light on what's happening. That said...:

... I guess i fell asleep because the next thing I remember was my husband rubbing my arms then freaking out asking why my lips were blue. ...

Blue lips are a sign of oxygen deprivation. This happens with tonic clonic seizures. With my wife, when she has a tonic clonic seizure, there is usually a short period (10-30 seconds - but it seems like 10-30 minutes) of total body convulsions (muscle spasms) and then a short period where she does not breathe (usually 5-10 seconds - but this the really scary part of watching helplessly IMO) before a longer period of labored, unconscious breathing (anywhere from 5-30 minutes) before she awakes a bit confused and often, but not always, with a headache. Tonic clonic seizures sometimes present with incontinence (she pees herself), but not always. People who have tonic clonic seizures for the most part (like 99% of the time), do not have any conscious awareness of the event - it's a total brain fry. The timing of the different stages (especially the last one) can vary greatly for different people and even for different seizures by the same person.

One thing you should be aware of (most people without direct experience are unaware) - there are many types of seizures. Most people only know about tonic clonic (aka grand mal) seizures with the whole body convulsions, and loss of consciousness, but there are actually many types of seizures that do not present with convulsions and some don't even involve a total loss of consciousness. Many people who are eventually diagnosed with epilepsy/seizures come to realize that they have been experiencing simple partial and/or complex partial seizures for years without knowing what they were. Simple partial seizures can present as altered perceptions of reality so your cold sensations could be the result of simple seizures. Then again, it could just be menopause (my mother swears her internal thermometer is broken and she cannot regulate her body temp - getting either too hot or too cold frequently, but it's normally in response to the environment).

... I'm just confused and didn't know where to turn to for answers. please help???

I would recommend talking to your primary care doc first. He/She might refer you to a neurologist for evaluation/testing or he/she might order some tests her/himself.

 

[Plasticmask]

Welcome to CWE, firstly and most importantly.
Depending to whom you are speaking to or what epilepsy website you are researching, there are between 160 to 200 different types of seizures.
That having been said, I think that Mr. Bernard covered it best. Get a referral to a neuro, see what may or may not be happening with your brain.
Since this began happening to me again (childhood seizure activity stopped then began again in late adulthood) the NAMES of the different kinds of seizures have changed, which confuses me. Not like confusing me is a difficult thing to do, these days.
Point: I'm unsure if I have ever read about your particular issue here, but however considering the vast number and varieties of epilepsy, it just might be neurological, at least going by the way that it reads.
Only one way to find out, right?
Wish that I could help better, but I cannot do anything other than sending the best of wishes your way.
Again, welcome. Oh and yes, at least in my opinion, you're in the right place. Where exactly to place your initial messages can get to be a bit of a puzzle sometimes, but yours was easily spotted and I'm sure that many people have already seen it.
Ta. Keep in touch.

 

[MikeysLady]

Thank you everyone for the responses! I'm going to set up an appointment with my family doctor. I already have a neurologist due to some spinal issues, but I'm afraid to go back there. I had issues with fatigue, headaches, racing heart beat, trouble breathing and and other various "little" things. They told me the old classic, "it happens when we get older". Come to find out, I had such low levels of iron, I ended up in the ER. Getting older SUCKS! Especially when you KNOW your body and doctors say, "You're getting older, ya know".

 

[C0urt]

i do hope you can find the right answer, i am from the south to, but i understand little to nothing about wimmens

 

[Plasticmask]

i do hope you can find the right answer, i am from the south to, but i understand little to nothing about wimmens

I'm MARRIED to a wimmen and even after 13 years, she's still such a mystery to me sometimes. Wait, change that to often. lol I think sometimes that the only reason she keeps me is because I can make her laugh.

 

[gigi]

Thank you everyone for the responses! I'm going to set up an appointment with my family doctor. I already have a neurologist due to some spinal issues, but I'm afraid to go back there. I had issues with fatigue, headaches, racing heart beat, trouble breathing and and other various "little" things. They told me the old classic, "it happens when we get older". Come to find out, I had such low levels of iron, I ended up in the ER. Getting older SUCKS! Especially when you KNOW your body and doctors say, "You're getting older, ya know".

What kind of iron supplement do you take? I had a similar experience, am in my sixties and found out I’m anemic. The side effect of constipation happened the day after the first pill!