biting tongue during seizure...ow

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mommymela

mommymela

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I'm curious, does everyone always bite the hell out of their tongue during grand mal seizures? If so, how long does your tongue stay swollen and painful? It has been almost two weeks and my tongue is still half numb. I was in pretty horrible pain and wasn't able to eat much for a week, and I still don't taste food very well.. It's always like this. . What's your experience?
 
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Have you tried Anbesol? It can help a bit with the pain.
 
I have and it numbs it for a few minutes but it's still swollen and the pain comes back quickly. any food that I make myself eat is bland and I almost always end up biting my tongue again while chewing since it fills up my mouth. Do you bite it every time? I always bite the same areas too.
 
I've bitten my tongue a few times, not always, during a TC seizure. It depends on the severity of the seizure, for me. Sometimes they would last much longer and that is when I
would end up biting my tongue. And it would be sore/swollen for days afterwards.
 
I always bite mine during seizures. My forehead also has a cut from falling off my bed.I had one yesterday and I can't eat anything my mom makes. We're Indian and you know how Indian food is :( so I have to eat rice, yogurt and bland veggies until the pain goes away!
 
Cint said:
I've bitten my tongue a few times, not always, during a TC seizure. It depends on the severity of the seizure, for me. Sometimes they would last much longer and that is when I
would end up biting my tongue. And it would be sore/swollen for days afterwards.
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But it has been a week and 5 days, my tongue still isn't completely back to normal. Do you think that means my seizures are pretty severe? I know I need to ask my doc, I'll see him next week.
 
katzy said:
I always bite mine during seizures. My forehead also has a cut from falling off my bed.I had one yesterday and I can't eat anything my mom makes. We're Indian and you know how Indian food is :( so I have to eat rice, yogurt and bland veggies until the pain goes away!
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The first week I think I lived off smoothies, popsicles, and very cold ginger ale and water. The annoying part is that I didn't even lose any weight from not eating lol.
 
mommymela said:
But it has been a week and 5 days, my tongue still isn't completely back to normal. Do you think that means my seizures are pretty severe? I know I need to ask my doc, I'll see him next week.
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Maybe your seizures lasted more than 5 minutes. If it lasts longer than 5 minutes someone has to call 911.
 
mommymela said:
The first week I think I lived off smoothies, popsicles, and very cold ginger ale and water. The annoying part is that I didn't even lose any weight from not eating lol.
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oh wow. I bet you were hungry the whole week lol. I will hate anything that I eat on the days I have my seizures, because I have these outrageous headaches and I throw up because of that :(
 
I feel your pain. I always have ginger ale because I get nauseous a lot, but I definitely am sick of smoothies. I am alone with my kids most of the time so I'm really not sure how long most of my seizures are, and my boys aren't old enough to time them. My 5 year old knows how to call 911 and put me on my side and throw pillows around me. I told him only to call if I don't wake up for a while, which I guess is kinda vague. Maybe I should buy him a stop watch but I feel bad putting the responsibility on him. He goes to kindergarten on Monday so then it will be me and my 3 year old, who will be going to preschool in a couple weeks. I need a roommate!
 
I always lose a few pounds on tc days.. i do love it when my wife gets me a booster juice later in the day after having one. After I'm done throwing up for an hour.

Mela - I bite my tongue a lot too. Almost always on the right side - it's pretty mangled overall. It can hurt for up to two weeks afterwards for me. But it's only numb for a few hours after the seizure.

I'm tired of bleeding on everything though!
 
Ugh for me it's the worst part of a seizure Chris! I bite the front 1/3 of my tongue and all along the right side. Ofcourse you men would lose weight, not fair! what meds are you on? I take 300 mg of lamictal a day.
 
Yeah it's the worst part of post seizure for me too, much worse than the weak muscles and headaches. The worst overall for me though is the terror fear and confusion in the post ictal phase.

I'm on lamictal too, 550mg a day, and ativan as needed. Makes me pretty sleepy!
 
I used to take Lamictal (400mg/day)too, but I stopped taking it without asking my doctor in January and learned my lesson yesterday. So I called her office today to ask for a new prescription. Now I probably have to start again from 25 mg .
I also bite my right side. fortunately I was wearing my Aml EEG during the seizure :)
 
mommymela said:
I feel your pain. I always have ginger ale because I get nauseous a lot, but I definitely am sick of smoothies. I am alone with my kids most of the time so I'm really not sure how long most of my seizures are, and my boys aren't old enough to time them. My 5 year old knows how to call 911 and put me on my side and throw pillows around me. I told him only to call if I don't wake up for a while, which I guess is kinda vague. Maybe I should buy him a stop watch but I feel bad putting the responsibility on him. He goes to kindergarten on Monday so then it will be me and my 3 year old, who will be going to preschool in a couple weeks. I need a roommate!
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OMG poor things :( At what age did yours start? Ginger ale doesn't help me. Gatorade is the only thing that doesn't bite me back after my seizure.
 
Pretty normal Mela, just the fact that you bite it but also that the pain is still there after almost two weeks. A lot of it can depend on your body position when the g.m. hit. If you're always standing when it happens and crash to the floor then it's to be expected. If you're sitting on the couch/bed and your body leans over and sort of 'rolls' off then the impact won't be quite as bad so the bite shouldn't be so drastic either. If you're sitting up and stay in that position the whole time it should be less severe (I've had three in a car, once behind a seatbelt and twice being held up, and when being held up there was no bite at all, and a very light one behind the seatbelt only b/c I slumped over into the next seat somewhat).
The biggest indicator is if you're on your back. It's the body's natural defense to hold your tongue in place so that you don't wake up choking; and though you wouldn't actually 'choke' it's your body's instinct anyway, hence tongue depressors being unnecessary and dangerous. I've seized on my side twice and just like in the car, I hit the floor once trying to get out of the shower but since my backside ended up against the bathtub the bite was very minimal, didn't even notice it until the next day. The only times I've experienced what you are now is when I've been flat out on my back on the floor.
Try some frozen yogurt for awhile, popsicle and ice cream are helpful but you need something for nutrients. Try freezing some bananas partially frozen and then suck on the cold pieces. And as katzy says too, go for gatorade (even partly freeze it if it's more soothing), as not eating for two weeks means your electrolytes are quite diminished and as your body just went through something really rough this could cause you to end up sick (don't need that!!). And btw... you don't really look like you should be worrying about losing weight :)
 
i have only bite my tonge a few times and it was after severe seizures where i seriously if u didnt know i had e u would think i was in a wreck but a roommate melanie aint the worst as long as they understand situation.
 
Katzy, they started in January when I was 24, I'm now 25. You?

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Qtowngirl, this last one I had a friend here and she said I was walking to the bathroom and said 'uh oh..' And sat on the floor so she knew and dragged me to my bed and put me on my side and it started. I don't really know how the other ones started or what I was doing since I always black out. I'm so stressed out right now, I finally got my xanax prescription after 2 weeks of being out, I can't wait to pick it up since stress is my main trigger. I forgot what point I wanted to make...crap. I'm hungry lol.

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