How do you the # of count Myoclonics?

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chop456

chop456

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When my daughter has her morning twitches (myoclonics) they are super quick. A very fast twitch that causes her to drop things. My question... is each twitch considered a separate seizure? She can have between 1-10 twitches each morning. On good days she has zero :banana: Some times the twitches are not a single twitch and can be like a flutter, but still one movement. so - is each twitch a separate seizure?? She has been leveling them little, medium and big - depending if it is a one twitcher, a flutter or a bigger, longer twitch. Thanks!
 
I'm interested to know as well. I've been having jerks recently and I've been wondering.
 
I think there very small seizures prolly a side effect of a med change or dosages and if she is getting her brain over drained might seem simple but I do that as well and me I iether took wrong dose or am overdoin my body.
 
My current neurologist doesnt consider them SEIZURES. He gets upset if I tell him if been having more seizures lately. He calls them SPELLS.. really upsets me. Anyways, I get those alot after I wake up in the mornings. If I take naps during the day I get them too after I wake up. Its really annoying. It frustrates me when I drop things or when Im doing my makeup and I twitch. Ive been on carbatrol fro 3 years now and I just seem to have gotten worse. I literally have stopped going out and staying out late. All I really do is work and go to school and take care of my son. Which my boyfriend helps me alot with. I agree each twitch is probably considered a small seizure.
 
he considers them spells? no wonder people with epilepsy were once considered to be witches etc. Docs today still think we are... casting spells and whatever
- kidding -

I have myoclonic tics moreso lately also - it feels like someone pushing quickly on my arm with a finger, or on my leg or whatever - it's mostly on my arms and back though
if it's a ghost I'd rather it scratch my back
but I guess that ain't the way it goes

I don't really count them as seizures, not individual seizures - I don't log each one or anything
maybe if there are several together in time to one another


Alma1986 said:
My current neurologist doesnt consider them SEIZURES. He gets upset if I tell him if been having more seizures lately. He calls them SPELLS.. really upsets me. Anyways, I get those alot after I wake up in the mornings. If I take naps during the day I get them too after I wake up. Its really annoying. It frustrates me when I drop things or when Im doing my makeup and I twitch. Ive been on carbatrol fro 3 years now and I just seem to have gotten worse. I literally have stopped going out and staying out late. All I really do is work and go to school and take care of my son. Which my boyfriend helps me alot with. I agree each twitch is probably considered a small seizure.
Click to expand...
 
Its still a seizure I know there experts but we know our body better than any bo dy maybe partials or complex partials ala petit-mal not sure of your case hope all is well
 
Im kinda happy my doc doesn't call them seizures, I have mild myoclonus from time to time, specially in the winter, dont want them considered seizures as I would lose my drivers license. gee I never really thought of it before, should myoclonus stop people from driving? I only get the jerks when Im relaxed usually, Ive never had one while driving.
 
well he does and he doesn't call them seizures, I finally got proof on my EEG today, I did have two good arm jerks during the EEG.
 
I started getting twitches/ flutters as well after changing meds (never had previously). I thought of them as seizures, didnt wanna risk driving when bad.They ranged from hardly noteable to massive.Now I just get them when tired or going to sleep. I found valporate must have been extremely helpful to control them and am hoping to eventually swap back. I rekon good night sleep and not too much strenuous physical activities and perhaps magnesium could help.
 
acpollard2010 said:
Its still a seizure I know there experts but we know our body better than any bo dy maybe partials or complex partials ala petit-mal not sure of your case hope all is well
Click to expand...

Doctors know how to quantify events and make classifications into realms of known instances.
EEG activity within a certain wave range has such-and-such terminology... a tonic-clonic seizure can be associated with brainwave activity of a certain range... but that doesn't mean all seizure activity shows up on an EEG. At some point I'm guessing EEGs will be far from being a modern standard for measuring brain activity and that new technology will make them obsolete. The fact that a device shows bounds of its limitations does not show that then everything else functions within those limitations, including the human brain.

imho
P

<edit- maybe I'm not clarifying well- I'm not discounting the benefits of EEGs, just saying that because random occurrences do not coincide with ones proximity to an EEG device doesn't mean the random occurrences do not happen>
 
I am severely afflicted by Myoclonus.

Myoclonus is not a seizure - but don't get hung up on it NOT being one. I know for me, the myoclonic jerks can be life-changing, disorienting and even dangerous. I've hurt myself, others, destroyed things - just from the 'jerks.' I have hundreds of them a day.

I have known triggers to the jerks - reading, computer screens, (chess). I can't do puzzles or crosswords or things of that nature simple because if I try to do them, my myoclonic jerks og completely out of control and if I were to push it and ignore the jerks, I'm sure I'd fall into a full blown tonic-clonic(which I've had before.)

Mine effect my whole body. They usually hit the arms, which causes me to 'throw' things. It can disrupt my speech and cause me to stutter. These jerks are made tenfold worse if you're not getting proper sleep. Quiest way to make them worse is to go without proper sleep - everynight.

Through it all, know that she doesn't have tourette's syndrome, clumsiness - if she's unfortunate enough to have something like JME(Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy), like I do, she needs to know she has triggers. There's certain things she's not going to be able to do for any period of time without 'jerking' all over the place. Luckily, if she's like me she won't have many TC's, so that's a blessing. Usually when Myoclonic is involved, it's the predominant 'seizure activity.'

I guess again to close this up - they're not seizures but they need to be dealt with on the same scale because they can be as frustrating, dehabilitating and dangerous as partial or tc's, if someone's unfortunate enough to have myoclonus to that extent.

It's an extent I have it to - I hate Myoclonic Jerks, I hate the limitations they impose on me. I hate the fool I make of myself in public (I threw a plate of food at an elderly woman 2 weeks ago at a buffet during a jerk. In depth conversation causes me to have jerks...)

Your daughter has all my sympathies but with time, learning what her 'triggers' are, she'll minimize the jerks and live a completely normal life - you both have my prayers.

Blessed Be.
 
Andrew, thank you for your post. My daughter (Paige) has been diagnosed with JME. So far she has only had the jerks - no tonic clonic ... Yet. I feel like I am waiting fir the T-C to happen. She has the myoclonics in the mornings and once in a while as she is dozing off to sleep. Are yours throughout the day? I had not heard of puzzles, etc bing a trigger.

Am I correct in saying clusters of myoclonics can be a potential lead up to a T-C?? Or can a T-C happen without myoclonus worsening or clustering beforehand - specifically with JME?

Thanks!
 
Myoclonic Jerks are actually very normal - everyone has them, typically right before falling asleep. It's when they happen consistently that it's more of an apt diagnosis as JME - that said, they are considerably more prevalent before bedtime and in the mornings. For myaelf though, I have them entirely throughout the day. I just know that mine have triggers - stress, puzzles, etc. etc. It may be the same for your daughter, I'd have her try to keep a mental checklist of exactly what she's doing when she's 'jerking' the most and maybe keep a journal of it and see if any patterns emerge. I realized for myself, it was ANY length of time more then a few minutes playing any type of puzzle game/chess/certain video games. My jerks are triggered by complex thinking as well such as if I'm in passionate conversation or arguement, what have you.

And yes, absolutely 1000% yes, clusters of 'jerks' are a HUGE red-glag warning sign of a Tonic Clonic seizure in JME. Should you ever notice an unusually high amount of 'jerking' in your daughter, especially over the course of only a couple minutes, make sure she lies down or you're getting her away from whatever activity/conversation/whatever and onto a softer surface because a huge 'rash' of jerks is definately a classic warning sign of a T-C in JME.

Hope this helps... things may be different for others, this is just my own personal observations as having been diagnosed with JME for years now.
 
I am new to this site and so happy that I found it. I admit it was foolish but I sometimes thought that I was the only one with myoclonus!! All of your comments have been helpful. And I'm so glad I found this thread :)
 
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