Seizures at predictable times of year

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ndelc

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Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with epilepsy a little over a year ago after suffering a tonic clonic seizure. My health care providers believe that I suffered an earlier one back in 2001, but no one witnessed it, so they didn't count it until my seizure in 2016. I was put on Keppra and free of seizures until a few weeks ago when I suffered 5 in a 4 hour period and had to be hospitalized again.

The really interesting thing is, all of my seizures have occurred toward the end of June, and I haven't had any issues any other times of the year. I was wondering if that was the case in anyone else's experience?
 
Hi ndelc,

Welcome to CWE! I've had seizures for 45 yrs. even after I had brain surgery but the surgery did reduce my seizures. I noticed I started to have more seizures in the fall and winter compared to the spring and summer and my Epileptologist told me I have "seasonal seizures" which means I have more seizures at certain times of the yr. which is fall and winter for me but some people may have more seizures in the spring and summer and others it may not even bother.
What's going on is when a person has seasonal seizures either the lack of serotonin will cause them or too much serotonin will cause them. In the summer there's more serotonin out there so I have fewer seizures while in the winter there's less serotonin and that's what triggers more seizures for me. I've found that sitting around bright lights in the winter helps me. I hope this info. has been of some help to you and you may want to ask your Dr. about seasonal seizures. Wishing you only the best and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
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Seizures usually happen for me the most when it's the Summer so the Summer is terrible for me. If it's cooler I do better such as in the Winter months. You could take it to the bank though that I would have seizures in the Summer though.
 
Hi ndelc, did youe seizures happen at the same time of day as well?
 
pressure changes on the inner are pretty obvious, can be something to bank on
 
Nakamova said:
Hi ndelc, did youe seizures happen at the same time of day as well?
Click to expand...
Hi Nakamova,

No, I've had them at all different times - morning, noon, late afternoon, and night.

But regarding the time of year, I had an interesting conversation last year with a guy whose dog had epilepsy, and he said that he can count on her having one every time there is a full moon on a solstice. Now, I'm a very science-oriented person who doesn't buy into the superstitious, or anything where there isn't good solid evidence, so at the time I just kind of wrote that off. But thinking about it later, I realized that my seizure last year was on the summer solstice, and when I looked it up, I was surprised to see that there was a full moon as well. I did some research on the idea and found that it was long believed that the moon had something to do with various different brain conditions. In fact, the "lun" in the word "lunacy" pertains to the moon. I found that interesting, but still far from real evidence, so I asked my doctor about the idea (especially since my last seizure was close to both the summer solstice and a full moon). He said that there is no evidence of there being any connection, but that we do know that sleep deprivation is one of the most common triggers for seizures, and that things like lunar phases and solstices - especially summer and winter solstice - can mess with our circadian rhythms, and thus, alter our sleep cycles. Still, far from any real evidence, but it's an interesting idea, especially for someone like me who has always had seizures right around the longest day of the year. That just made me wonder if there were others who may have noticed the same cycle.

I think what I've learned so far is, I just need to hunker down and get a lot of rest in June :)
 
Yes, the full moon connection (at least concerning madness or ER visits) has largely been disproved, but the sleep-related effects of the solstice are definitely worth-considering. Maybe you should record your sleep patterns in the weeks leading up to the summer solstice? If you are gradually losing quality sleep, then that could be a contributing factor -- and one that you might be able to mitigate with earplugs, light-blocking shades or other simple steps.
 
Summer Solti day gone I think.The druids have done skyclad thing at Stone Henge already
 
lots of naked people in new orleans a few weeks ago, no tellin what went down
 
My sister say mine are always worst during the summer.
We have really hot summers here.
I can't drive and when it's hot it's harder for me to walk. I need to walk to get to the bus stop etc.
August was the date that I had my traumatic brain injury that is the cause of my seizures.
Just thinking about that gets me down.
 
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