Seizures at night?

[RunningGirl85]

For those of you who have them, what do they feel like? I think I posted something similar to this before, but it was a different question.

I ask because before I went to bed last night I was having some longer auras for the first time in a few weeks. Last night I woke up several times feeling weirdly dizzy and strange in general, and then at one point when I woke up I was hearing something weird - I think it was all in my head. I can't tell if it was a dream or what, and I'm trying to remember the sound now, but it was repetitive, like something was being hit over and over again. Then I remember it kind of going away. I felt afraid I was going to have a seizure (I felt that before I went to bed as well), I do remember that much.

I ended up sleeping around 12 hours last night (fell asleep around with the assistance of half of a melatonin that I took because I took a two hour nap yesterday afternoon 11:00 and woke up today at 10:30), and this morning I've had a TERRIBLE headache since I woke up that will not go away.

I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks. I flew to the west coast from the east coast to visit family for a week, then just came back, then my boyfriend came to visit two days after I came back, so my schedule is all sorts of jacked up. Sleep is my number one trigger as far as I can tell, though I really don't know if I have night seizures or not.

I also started on an anti-inflammatory patch (Flector Patch - it's like Voltaren for those of you who have used it, and I didn't want to take anymore pills, so I asked for something external, and I heard this was awesome) last night for my knee, and last week I started on Celexa for my moods, which actually seems to be helping a lot (not irritable or crying for no reason anymore, and haven't really felt any ill effects). The psychiatrist knew about my seizure meds, etc. and asked me quite a few questions, so I'm pretty sure they aren't interacting weird, and I asked my doctor about what type of sleep aids are okay to take with the medications I'm on, and she said melatonin is probably the best thing I can take. That's just some side info I guess.

Any insights/experience? I don't have a neurologist appointment until the 11th but I'll ask him about it as well.

 

[Silat]

In my experience, I've always had them go two ways.

1: I'm woken up from my sleep first, with an aura, and then seize.
2: I seize in my sleep, and wake up to the post-seizure effects. :? Typically I'll have a full blown migraine when I wake up as well.

My only suggestion here, since you have a doctors appointment in a week, is to try and get more regular sleep. Having a consistent pattern of sleeping is very important to keeping your body in a natural rhythm.

 

[Eli]

*The ones I don't remember as a seizure, but as a horrid, horrid nightmare...The next day my husband says "you had a seizure in bed, I held you afterwards and you fell back asleep."

*Other times I end up waking up and sit on the edge of the bed smacking my lips or I wander into the kitchen, (when I wander into the kitchen i usu fall and hit a counter on the way down. Have done that twice that I remember).

Keep in mind my husband works out of state so I sleep alone alot.

*I wake up all foggy minded and I'm on the phone with my husband. I say, where am I, what happened? He says, "you had a sz and called me", (or he calls me because I im'd him - I keep a laptop by the bed as this happens alot!)". I usu say something dumb like, "well who are you"? I ask a bunch more dumb questions then fall back asleep. Sometimes I have a vague memory or I see some crazy message typed on im in the morning and I know what happened.

Occasionally I wake up in a tangled mess of sheets and I know I had one because otherwise i sleep in one position.

The next day my head hurts and my body feels like it was dragged behind a truck.

 

[RunningGirl85]

Interesting input from everyone! My body doesn't feel terrible, but my head STILL hurts. My sheets were a bit of a mess this morning too... But I think I may be more likely dealing with partial seizures in my sleep if I'm getting them at all. The feelings are just so weird... The dizziness, last night the fear of getting a seizure (I don't think I'd had that feeling like that before), and the general weirdness. I live alone, so if I'm having tonic-clonics, there is nobody witnessing them.

I do try to get regular sleep, but my body doesn't always let me, unfortunately. Even when I go to bed at an early time, I still wake up randomly throughout the night. I also try to avoid naps, but sometimes I'm just too tired not to take a nap when I'm going through times where my sleep is bad. Good thing I have an appointment in a week

 

[Nakamova]

I think if you were having tonic-clonics at night you would feel it in your back the next morning. At least that's been my experience.

Don't forget to write down any and all questions you may have for your doc.