seizures post stroke query

[wants2know]

Im wondering if those of you who developed a seizure disorder after a stroke might share your story and insights with me. My neurologist tells me "it happens" and that once you have a seizure post stroke, even if it's 3 and a half years later (as is my case) there is a stronger liklihood of more down the road. And this can happen even if the seizure was provoked for a different medical reason. Of course, this is unsettling information. Coupled with the lack of certainty in diagnoses im finding that im feeling there is something im not doing that i should be.... but i dont know what that is. Im not very good at this hurry up and wait stuff. So... anything you think is valuable to share with me, i will be appreciative!!!

 

[Cint]

Seizures can start from a multitude of reasons: brain tumor, meningitis, encephalitis & stroke or in my case idiopathic, i.e. we don't know why or how. My father had a stroke 15 years ago and now has aphasia and kidney failure, so has to do dialysis 3 days a week. My mother thinks he had a mild seizure in his sleep, but nothing was done about it and he hasn't had any since. Here is more info on stroke & E:

Stroke-related seizures and epilepsy.
De Reuck JL.

No guidelines exist concerning risk factors, diagnosis, management and treatment of stroke-related seizures. Seizures related to intracerebral haemorrhages occur in 10.6%, while those related to ischaemic stroke appear in 8.6%. Early-onset seizures have a poor prognosis with a high in-hospital mortality rate. They occur significantly more often in patients with haemorrhagic strokes. The recurrence rate is low. Late-onset seizures occur mainly between 6 months and 2 years after stroke with a high recurrence rate. Patients with a partial anterior circulation syndrome, a large cortical infarct with irregular borders, located in the parieto-temporal regions, are mainly at risk. Post-stroke seizures are harmful and require treatment with antiepileptic drugs. Post-stroke EEG can help to predict those patients who are at risk of developing seizures. The difference between early- and late-onset seizures is arbitrary as 20% of seizures occurring in patients with a previous cerebral infarct are the clinical expression of a new stroke.

and more

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/age-groups/seniors-and-epilepsy/seniors-epilepsy
As in younger people, the cause of epilepsy that begins in an elderly person cannot be determined in about half of the cases. Of those in whom the cause can be determined, the largest number of cases (about 33%) are caused by stroke, often a small one that did not cause other symptoms. Degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease cause about 11%, tumors (either benign or malignant) lead to about 5%, head injury causes about 2%, and infection gives rise to 1%. Although alcohol abuse is not considered a major cause of epilepsy in the United States, a study in Denmark found that it was very often associated with newly diagnosed epilepsy in adults.
The elderly are more sensitive than younger people to a variety of mental, physical, and environmental stressors. They are also more likely to develop many medical, neurological, and psychiatric disorders, some of which can make seizures more likely to occur. Such disorders include metabolic changes such as very high or very low blood sugar, very low sodium levels, and endocrine disorders (for example, diabetes, thyroid or parathyroid disorders).

 

[wants2know]

Thank you Cint.

 

[MAB]

I had a stroke 4 years ago this month. It was a very small stroke and I was in the hospital for only 24 hours. I started having partial seizures while in the hospital When I told the nurses that I felt like I was having another stroke all the hospital doctor said was she wasn't surprised, they told me they were TIA's. After the stroke I went back to the emergency room a couple of times convinced I was having another stroke. The symptoms felt exactly as the stroke I had. They would do CT scans and say I was having TIA's. They would go on for hours and I would be completely exhausted. The original neuro did do an EEG but when it didn't show anything he continued to treat me for TIA's and of course I continued to have symptoms. 1 year after the stroke I had 16 hours of major surgery on my back After the stress of the surgery I developed phantom odors in addition to the weakness and heaviness that would come and go in my left arm and sometimes my left leg. I was so sick of seeing doctors that I didn't mention the phantom odors for a long time, I would complain about the weakness and the strange but difficult to explain sensations I would fell on the left side of my body and the complete exhaustion I was having. As soon as I mentioned the phantom odors to my physician's assistant I think she knew what was going on. She referred me to a different neuro because I didn't like the one I would see whenever I needed a refill on my useless TIA's meds. All the strange sensations and phantom odors are actually partial seizures. I had them for 3 1/2 years before finding out what was really wrong. Many of the seizures would go on for hours to days especially if I was ill. I still have the status seizures but less often now that I am on medication. The last time I saw the neuro, she gave me a prescription for klonipin as a rescue med.