Epilepsy and Anxiety

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allisoncliff

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Hello Everyone,
I have just been diagnosed with epilepsy at 30 about 5 months ago. Does anyone know why it just starts for no particular reason in the middle of a persons life? Anyways I have been taking Topamax for the last 5 months. It makes me pretty aggressive and dumber than a box of rocks. I do suffer from anxiety which I'm finding is common in epileptic sufferers do to GABA possibly? Is there a medication that you have found helps with both seizures and anxiety? Any information will help. I'm new to all of this. Thank you so much.:dontknow:
 
Hi, I'm pretty new here too. I also suffer from anxiety and complex partial seizures. Just 3 months ago I was diagnosed. The crazy part is that I was taking Trileptal and Klonipin for the Panic Disorder. The neuro was amazed that with two AED I had the seizures. His thoughts were possibly two reasons for the triggered seizures. One is I have scar tissure in a region of my brain that could be interupting the natural brain activity. The other is that the Trileptal could have been running out of my system too fast becuase of it's short half life. So now I take it once in the morning and once at night. Since then I've not had any more in the last three months. Plus the combination of these two work well for my anxiety. My biggest thing is the drowsiness from the med's. I am still learning to function during the day since I know take Trileptal in the morning (before I only took them at night). But after my EEG results came back abnormal, dr's orders are to take in the morning as well. When I first started the Trileptal for anxiety, it took me about 6 months for me to get used to it and have a steady mood. But I feel great for most of the time, I still get sick to my stomach with anxiety sometimes though.

After some research, I think I've had seizures before and actually not realized it. For complex partial you can carry on physical motions but have a loss of time, which has happened to me before. It's just that somebody finally saw me have this happen and I would not respond to them.

Also I have found that anxiety can be an aura which makes me very confused since I've had high anxiety for quite a while.
 
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Hi, hello

and how do you do, Allison? It's very nice to "meet" you. :)

For many, Topamax is also known as "DOPE-A-MAX". For the very reason that you described. So, no, you haven't lost your mind.

In regards to the timing of WHEN E can show up...........it can show up at any time, for whatever reason. It can even show up in the 70s and 80s. Perhaps you've had a hormone change, your body's now allergic to something that you eat (a lot of us E patients are allergic to things like wheat, dairy, soy and corn). There may even be a scar on your brain that has just finally set them off.

You might consider starting an E journal to help track things. And, maybe sort things out a little bit better. Right now, I am having some trouble accessing my files (computer is updating) so I can't post the file I normally would with what I suggest to put in an E journal. But I will do so as soon as I can.

Good luck, and enjoy CWE!

Meetz
:rock:
 
OK, so here is what I promised you

1. Sleep. List how much & when.

2. Eating. List how much, when & what. It's possible to have seizures caused by allergies to food.

3. TV/computer/video games. Yup, they can affect you if you're photosensitive, so list when, what, and HOW LONG.

4. Menses (for women). Start tracking your cycles. CATAMENIAL epilepsy does exist, sometimes it's tied to ovulation, sometimes its right at the TOM. Also, LADIES, DO get a thorough check of ALL your hormones done—female, thyroid, and any others. Believe it or not, they do factor in on seizures.

5. Stress List when it occurred, and what happened.

6. Exercise List what you did, when, and any reactions.

7. Seizures/auras. If you have either, DOCUMENT THEM. Auras--note what they're like--do you smell or taste something that others don't? Hear something? Seizures--how long, when, where, what happened. If you don't KNOW what happened, get eyewitness accounts when possible and DOCUMENT THEM.

8. Smoking and alcohol. Ditch them--both are neurotoxins for our brains.

9. Meds (of ANY kind). List the dosages, and when taken.

Responses to the above list :)

1. You MUST get 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep as a MINIMUM, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

2. Eating--one of the other mods, Skillefer, (we call her Skilly), promotes eating 6 small meals a day, using a dessert plate, filling it with a carb and a protein. Good idea, I think. However, some people, like me are allergic to certain foods. You might want to look into various diets. Ketogenic, Modified Atkins, Low Glycemix Index, Gluten Free Casein Free (see www.dogtorj.com).

3. Look into a glare screen for your computer or blue tinted polarized GLASSES (available by prescription from eye doctor). These can help cut down on seizures that are caused by photosensitive epilepsy.

4. GUYS--you may not have a cycle, but you DO have hormones. DO get your doc to do a full hormone screen, check thyroid, etc, just to make sure.

5. Use things like yoga, music, walking, whatever it is that you do to bust out your stress. Keep a separate journal to write in so that you can write out your feelings in--and keep it for your eyes only. Write it out by hand, two or three pages at a time. It helps A LOT. DO IT EVERY DAY.

6. REFLEX E can be caused by exercise, so DO track what you do. Keep in mind that you SHOULD NOT swim, bike, hike or bungee jump by yourself. Same goes for mountain climbing.

7, 8 & 9. 'Nuff said.

OK, the journal IS a pain in the arse. No doubt about that one. BUT it DOES help the doctors track things down.
 
Thanksomuch!!!

I really appreciate that you guys have taken your time to answer my questions. :adore: I've never been on a forum before but it has been helpful. Do a lot of anti-epileptic medications cause agitation? Oh and lets not forget emotional. BTW I am usually a very stable person. I promise!!!
 
Some do,

some don't. It just depends on the med. Keppra has been known to cause big mood swings, often called "Kepprage." Usually that can be combated by using Vitamin B6.

HOWEVER, KEEP THIS IN MIND.

Just because one side effect happens for one person, does NOT mean it will happen for another. I turned into the Energizer Bunny on Speed on Keppra, the first time round. Then the neuro scaled WAY back on the dose..........and things started showing up in triplicate, and ROTATING. Go figure.

Good luck!

PS. Had a brain fart. Talked about Keppra, not Topamax. I AM on Topamax at the moment. Right now, it's giving me no issues that I'm realizing. I do have to fight to keep weight on, but I am a celiac patient also, and one of the side effects of Topamax (also called "Dope-a-max") is to lose weight. So, when the doc and I had to discuss meds 2 days ago, we couldn't up that one. Topamax can sometimes make people a bit aggressive, sometimes dopey. Depends on the person. Try using some meditative techniques, CDs, yoga, stress busting techniques like walking and exercise.........

*walking away, shaking head.*

OK, gotta go to work. I'll examine my forgetful brain while I'm there....... :)
 
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Agreed....

Agree totally with Meetz. Yet, I will add one thing. Having E itself can cause anxiety. I can say that from experience as I've watched my seizures lessen with the nutritional changes that I've made. As the seizures stopped, my anxiety lessened. So much so that I'm now titrating off of the ridiculous drug (Ativan) my doctor told me was helping with my anxiety.

Another thing that helps with anxiety is empowerment. Empower yourself with any/all information you can find about your condition. You may find that your doctor is fabulous at textbook information, but when alternative/complementary ideas are brought up there's that kind of "DUH" expression. There's a lot of great information on here (much posted by Robin) regarding the lessening of seizures due to nutritional/lifestyle changes.

Good Luck!---LMT
 
My wife has been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks for a long while now. She had problems with depression and anxiety before her seizures started, and the stress is likely what triggered her first t-c (a year and a half ago).

Since then she's tried Zoloft which didn't do much expect make the seizures more frequent. While on Zoloft she had 2 more t-c's in a span of 3 months.

At the time I didn't realize that her increase in Zoloft from 50mg to 100mg coincided with her t-c's increasing in frequency. After we discussed it, she came off the Zoloft and was put on Lexapro. It seems to be working much better for her and she's now been seizure free for 4 months.

Granted she's also now on Depakote, so who knows if it was the Depakote working or the Zoloft being taken out of the equation, maybe a combo of both. Since she started on Depakote around the same time as the switch to Lexapro, one can't be sure. I believe the Zoloft was a bad idea for her though.

In the last month or so she's certainly found a good balance of medication and the seizures are well controlled. I've not seen her as happy or stable as she's been in the past 2-3 weeks for a long, long time. Probably in at least a couple years (seizures started 1.5 years ago). I'm happy we found something that works well for her because anxiety is such a horrible thing. I know because I had a nervous breakdown after seeing her have her second t-c 4 months ago. It's taken me 4 months to get well again and I still have some lingering issues with anxiety and anxiety attacks.

My wife also takes Xanax, but she's needed it less and less as the seizures have stopped and she got used to the Depakote. In all honesty, she's doing very well. I'm sure that the combination of control and an AD that agrees with her has a lot to do with that.

If you want, I have a link to an absolutely amazing forum for mental illness (including depression, anxiety, etc) that I can PM you. If you want the link just shoot me a PM. I've been a member there for 4 months and it's one of the best forums I've ever been a part of. It was a big part of my recovery and being able to help my wife cope with all of this.
 
Also, take a look at RobinN's video about the changing brain. It was eye-opening. We can change how we react/think---it gives a lot of hope to anyone.....---LMT
 
Just adding to what LMT said. Look into CBT therapy. What an amazing tool it is. Without it, I would have never made it through all of this. It stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and it teaches you how to process and work through events and thought processes in a healthy way. When it comes to anxiety and panic, it's one of the best tools you can add to your tool box. Certainly worth checking out.
 
Thank you!!

Thank you for all of your advice. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow so I will share if I learn any new information.
 
Good luck at your appointment.
Take your questions with you. I remember our first appointment, and many of my questions were answered incorrectly. Not sure if the doctor is just uneducated or wanted to pacify me. Just keep a notebook, a calendar or journal, and be open to alternatives. It is the only way my daughter has become seizure free.
 
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