(Female) Hormones and Seizures

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Hi Everyone,
When I was pregnant with my last child, I started to get jerking sensations in my leg, especially as I was about to drift off to sleep. I did not think anything of it at the time, but later on after I gave birth I started getting different jerks and twitches in different parts of my body, like my shoulder and my side. A lot of the sensations happen as I am drifting off to sleep but also occur when I wake up in the morning and later throughout the day. I am still breastfeeding my infant, and the jerking frequently happens when I am in the middle of breastfeeding the baby. It gets worse during menstruation and sometimes wakes me up at night.

All this has led me to believe that these jerking sensations are related to hormones--pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menstruation.

I have not been to the doctor or diagnosed with epilepsy but two of my children (including the infant) have been diagnosed with epilepsy over the past year. I don't know for sure, but I strongly suspect I am having seizures. I have some incidents in my past that may have been seizures, and the recent jerking and twitching just makes me feel that things are finally catching up with me.

My question is: Could the pregnancy have triggered such seizures (if they are indeed seizures)?

Also: How likely is it that the problem will go away once I wean my infant from breastfeeding?

My hope is that my hormones are just out of whack right now and will return to normal once I stop breastfeeding, but I wanted to hear other people's experiences. Has anyone had a case of seizures starting during pregnancy and then going away once your body/hormones returned to normal?
 
First of all, you'll need to make sure you are having seizures and not something like Restless Leg Syndrome or neuropathy.

Many women have seizures related to their hormones and menstrual cycles. Their called catamenial seizures. When I first started having seizures, I could tell every month when they would more than likely occur, based on my cycle. After I had my 2nd child, they increased in intensity, from CP to TC seizures. I was told not to breast feed because of the meds I was taking, so wouldn't know about that.

So if you think you're having seizures or something isn't right, my advice is to get it checked out ASAP. Hormones can/do play a part in seizures. Check out this site:

http://professionals.epilepsy.com/page/hormones.html
HORMONES AND EPILEPSY
 
My question is: Could the pregnancy have triggered such seizures (if they are indeed seizures)?
Click to expand...
The fluctuations in estrogen (high) and progesterone (low) that can occur during and after a pregnancy can act as a seizure trigger. The same is true for fluctuations that occur during your cycle. If you have estrogen-triggered epilepsy it won't necessarily disappear when you stop breastfeeding, since estrogen levels tend to be lower during breastfeeding and then rise once the baby is weaned.

Do you take a magnesium supplement? High estrogen levels can deplete magnesium from the body -- and magnesium plays a big role in releasing muscle tension (such as occurs with jerking, twitching, or cramps).
 
I definitely believe that seizures may be hormone related. I had my first one after the birth of my baby and they seemed to happen accordingly to my period and ovulation There was actually a phamphlet about it in the neurologist's office. I'm hoping with menopause my seizures will stop! Check into the hormone thing. You could be right.
 
My seizures did begin after my first child and got worse after each subsequent child.
Perhaps I had have something underlying everything to begin with and it is hard to tell of course.
You are now aware of the sublteties of epilepsy and for sure get it checked out.
My seizures got worse in the beginning of my pregnancies and then settled down, disappeared during my breastfeeding but when I started ovulating again they came back with a vengeance. Then settled down a bit once my body got used to ovulating but then never went away and my son is now 18 months. But this is just me. Everyone is different.
Now it gets worse when I ovulate and a few days before my period but everyone is different.
Well, now I'm in medically induced menopause but I'm trying something unique.
Go get it checked out! It certainly doesn't hurt to get an opinion!
 
Thanks to those who replied. It is interesting that a lot of women have their first seizures shortly after giving birth.
 
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