could this be epilepsy ?

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dudley

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Hi,
I am new to this forum. For the last 8 years I have been suffering from crippling symptoms. They are not so easy to describe - which is part of the problem when I talk to doctors. Out of nowhere (no trigger whatsoever) I feel a strange feeling in my head. It takes a few seconds at most and it is not really unpleasant. Unfortunately, this feeling is soon after followed with cognitive impairment - inability to focus, memory impairment, and general confusion. This impairment can last two to four days and it gets progressively better. I am perfectly fine for another one to two weeks until I get another episode. The symptoms have been neither getting worse not better over the years.

I went through countless tests and evaluation (MRI, EEG, allergy, endocrinological tests to name a few) over the past years, all negative. Diagnosis varied from anxiety, depression to ADHD. I actually think I do suffer some sort of anxiety but that seems secondary, I can't imagine that anxiety would manifest with sudden "attacks". I have also been seeing a migraine doctor but it does not really fit the bill as I don't get headaches.

My question is this - does that sound like I could be suffering from simple partial seizures ? The migraine doctor put me on a few anticonvulsants (Lamictal, Depakote) but they did not seem to decrease the frequency of the episodes. Not sure if this is important or not but the episodes started after having too many drinks eight years ago.

Thank you,
DM
 
hi, and welcome to the forums. in some cases, people who have seizure disorders have mentioned that they get strange sensations. an altered awareness of themselves and/or altered awareness of their surroundings. seems to sound similar to what you describe.

i get partials which sometimes come and go every few hours for a couple of days. just went through it last weekend actually.

so yes, your description does sound like it might be partials. but a neurologyst needs to confirm that with you.

best of luck.
 
Hi Dudley welcome!

I agree with douglas, it sounds like you're experiencing partial seizures. Unfortunately it's not unusual to have the meds be ineffective. And it's also not unusual for the EEGs to come up negative -- that doesn't rule out a seizure diagnosis.. There are other meds you might try. Also, if you can, keep a seizure journal with the idea of identifying any seizure triggers -- things like fatigue, low blood sugar, certain foods, lack of certain nutrients, photosensitivity, anything that causes physiological and/or emotional stress.
 
First - thank you very much for your replies.

I have already seen two neurologists besides the migraine doctor. That was a few years ago and I think at that time my description was that I suffer from confusion/inability to focus. They quickly jumped to the anxiety/hidden depression diagnosis.

I think the only trigger that I have been able to observe is alcohol consumptions.

Is it frequent that partials are followed with cognitive impairment that can last 48 hours or even longer ? Or is it likely that partials somehow trigger anxiety that causes the impairment ?

Also, since I went through three different anticonvulsants (I forgot to mention Topamax which I hated), what is the next line of treatment ?

As always, I really appreciate our advice.
DM
 
Everyone has different "post-ictal" patterns, but yes, it's possible that yours could last up to 48 hours, or even that you might be having tiny seizures during that time that would account for your cognitive impairment.

Are you on any meds for anxiety? Sometimes those can actually help with seizures. Also have you looked at trying a special diet? Possibly a gluten-free one? For many people it seems to help reduce the number of seizures. There's info about it and other diets elsewhere on the site. If you try any of them you should transition slowly and be patient about seeing results. If you keep a seizure diary, you can tell if it's starting to help, or if your seizures start to change in any way.
 
this may sound crazy (or not) have you ever heard of celiacs disease. If this started occurring as an adult you may want to check into it. A friend had it and had no clue why she was getting migraines, fatigued and suffered from anxiety. It was a nightmare for her. If you check into it you'll find that a lot of the symptom are not GI related and seizures do occur in some people. The way you describe your episodes they are unusual.
<p>

Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms and may instead have one or more of the following:

* unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
* fatigue
* bone or joint pain
* arthritis
* bone loss or osteoporosis
* depression or anxiety
* tingling numbness in the hands and feet
* seizures
* missed menstrual periods
* infertility or recurrent miscarriage
* canker sores inside the mouth
* an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis
 
Wow

Learn something new everyday! I've known of Celiac in Children but it's usually pretty obvious.
 
You can be tested for celiac's disease. It's not an easy test - I forget the name of the procedure but they sedate you then stick a tube down your throat, into your stomach, then into the upper part of your intestine where they take a biopsy. The lab looks at it then can tell if you have celiac's disease.
 
You don't even need the test. It is known to have false negatives. You can just begin by eliminating foods for a while and see if you feel better. It isn't a quick fix, but after months of the offending food ingredient being eliminated, you just might see some positive results.

My daughter has not been tested and we decided that it was worth the experiment. It was when we made changes to her nutrition that we began to see positive seizure control.
 
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