TLE and Bipolar Disorder

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My hormones went crazy after I had brain surgery. I was only 32 years of age at the time. My ob/gyn kept telling me I was "too young" to be going thru menopause. Ha! Welcome to MY world!! Everything turned UPSIDE down in my world after surgery. I had BIG TIME mood swings, night sweats, hot flashes, deep depression, and hormonal changes. The docs couldn't figure it out at the time. Finally, they realized the connection between epilepsy and hormones!

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/triggers-seizures/menstruation

Plus as we age, sleep is affected, so it could effect the brain, too.

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/impact/sleep-and-epilepsy

Maybe you need a sleep study? :ponder:
 
Cint,

My situation is different than yours in that perimenopause started years before I had surgery. Recently, I may have experienced a combination of things going on at the same time. I don't think surgery fast forwarded menopause. I started some perimenopause symptoms (e.g. night sweats, hot flashes) at age 39 and other symptoms (irregular periods) around age 44 or 45. I had surgery at age 47. I'm now 49 and haven't had a period in 4 1/2 months as I previously mentioned. I've never gone this long since the irregular periods started. The sleep problem just started a couple of weeks ago and like I said I think I'm in menopause now and I know insomnia can be a symptom of menopause. It's not just the hot flashes and night sweats waking me. I'm having a really hard time going to sleep. It will be 3:00 in the morning and I won't be tired. It's crazy.
 
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Music36 --

The symptoms you describe could definitely be menopause-related. Have you seen an endocrinologist? HRT is usually a no-go for people with epilepsy, but an endocrinologist might be able to recommend something else. If it's not contra-indicated, you might try a sleep supplement like Supersnooze (ingredients = mg, taurine, melatonin, hops, valerian, passionflower, chamomile).

Low doses of the anti-seizure drug gabapentin can also potentially help with hot flashes. (see http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/772249) . You might ask your neuro & GP about the pros and cons of giving it a try.
 
I don't have TLE - mine is based in the occipital lobe - but I have schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. I've always wondered about the connection between manic-depressive illness and epilepsy. Often I wonder if, in my case, the two are separate at all, or whether I've lived my life in a long string of lengthy auras! :p So, yes, can sympathise. I fell into a bit of a hypo/mania last week after missing my meds a few times, and I went and incorporated a company. Now I have a major broadcaster interested in my ambitions and I'm going to be on national television and radio, but now I'm back on my meds and growing increasingly depressed, so I have no idea what to do. It's all one crazy whirl. Here's hoping I don't have a fit on television... ;)
 
Nakamova,

Thank you for the suggestions. No, I have not been to an endocrinologist. Yeah, I know I can't do HRT, so I just been putting up with the symptoms. But, it would be nice to have some relief. I wouldn't do HRT even if I didn't have epilepsy b/c my mother had breast cancer and I smoked for 22 years.
 
Myshkin,

I don't think I actually have bipolar disorder. I just feel like it sometimes since the surgery b/c the first six months or so after surgery all my emotions were very intense. I was on an emotional roller coaster. It's now almost two years since the surgery and I'll still get quite emotional sometimes, but I'm going through menopause right now so that can be having a big effect on my emotions. It's crazy--sometimes I feel normal and sometimes I don't.

I'm sorry that you have to live with a difficult disorder. Stay strong and take care of yourself. I happen to know a lot about mental illnesses b/c my Bachelor's is in psychology and I have a Master's in counseling. I did my internship at a psychiatric hospital when I was in grad school. I never used my degrees, though.
 
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I also have schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, and do not have TLE. My epilepsy is "primary generalized". I'm not sure if the two are related in any way. The symptoms I have are more towards bipolar than schizophrenia, but nonetheless I have hallucinations and paranoia, or at least I did before medication. Even with medication I still have hallucinations and quite vivid too. As I've described it elsewhere, it's like the "ultimate surround sound system". Mainly I hear people curse at me, but I hear running commentaries on my actions and so on. Lately I have mostly visual hallucinations, but have increasingly had hallucinations of smell. Nothing like the smell of cat pee to get you going (mom has 3 cats).

No one else in my family has epilepsy or schizoaffective (or any other mental illness). My sister did have depression apparently and mom mentioned sleep walking too, but I guess she recovered. One thing worth noting was that my mom had chicken pox while she was pregnant with me, so the epilepsy and schizoaffective could be results of that (oh, and being born cross eyed). Now I have a lazy eye and the fun that comes with it (vision uncorrectable to 20/20).

Anyway, epilepsy and depression seem to be strongly linked, and manic depression is a form of depression so it makes sense.
 
Ok, I finally got up the courage to make an appointment for a psychological evaluation b/c I think there's a strong possibility that I may have bipolar disorder. It's getting close to three years since my surgery and I still think I may have bipolar disorder. I saw my epileptologist for my annual a few days ago and I told her what's going on with my emotions and thoughts and she said I may have bipolar. She made me promise on a handshake to go have a psychological evaluation. I have an appointment the end of this month.
 
That's great. I hope the eval goes well, and you feel better going forward.
 
Nakamova,

I already feel this sense of relief b/c I am finally being honest with myself and family after all these years about my emotions and thoughts. It took brain surgery making it temporarily much, much worse for me to realize and be honest with myself and family. But, at the same time I am also scared. I do not want to be wrongly diagnosed which often happens in psychological evaluations.
 
Can a friend or family member go with you to the evaluation? That might help, even if they just hang in the waiting room. Go ahead and let the psychologist know that you are wary of being misdiagnosed. It's a normal to be scared of something like that. And if the psychologist doesn't feel like a good fit, it's okay to see someone else.
 
I also believe diagnosing can be more complicated b/c of the epilepsy and brain surgery.
 
Yes, absolutely. I don't think the doctors can be 100% sure about some of these things with the brain, but at least they may have some ideas about you can try to get relief.
 
Hey guys, first poster here.

I'm 31, have led a rather severe course of Bipolar 1 disorder from roughly age 11 -- did not experience first severe, unprovoked (no psych meds) mania until age 19.

Took me until about the age of 25 to finally discover that Lithium worked near miracles for both sides of my spectrum. It can be an absolute hell. The mixed manias are the worst, when I go 7+ days no sleep and every effort goes towards NOT becoming unglued completely in public and screaming at everybody.


Anyhow, having read every post on this thread I must lament for those of you who "think" you might probably "have" bipolar disorder -- it's usually obvious enough that you need to do SOMETHING about it.


So as of about 12 months, I have TLE. I have had about 9 grand mals in 12 months, even with carbamazepine on board.


Tegretol absolutely ANNIHILATES all antipsychotic/neuroleptic medication, meaning causes it to metabolize in less than 2 hours rather than 12+... any advice, guys? In order to get one night's sleep I usually have to go off my seizure medication.


A little advice I may add for the bipolars, or would be bipolars:

Don't get TOO excited for what a psychiatrist may have to offer you as far as medication goes. I've been around the block with some of the TOP-top doctors -- and while my case has been particularly difficult to treat, sure, MOST of the psychiatrists are not effectively treating their bipolar patients. Those who actually MAKE it all the way to diagnosis? Of those, how many are JUST SIMPLY satisfied with Lithium or whatever medication? I'd wager that fewer than 5% bipolar folk are truly happy with their treatments.


As far as TLE:

Please don't go getting your brain hacked up by a surgeon -- never worth it. You can't expect to have a perfect life with TLE, but slicing into gray matter is SUCH a different story -- it's almost like getting a really really ugly tattoo! Most surgery recipients probably end up worse over time happiness-wise, and this is really something to consider.
 
Hey DTU, welcome to CWE!

Have you asked your epileptologist about alternative to Tegetrol that are less likely to effect the lithium metabolism? Going off seizure meds just to get some sleep is a very risky proposition.


Please don't go getting your brain hacked up by a surgeon -- never worth it. You can't expect to have a perfect life with temporal lobe epilepsy, but slicing into gray matter is SUCH a different story -- it's almost like getting a really really ugly tattoo! Most surgery recipients probably end up worse over time happiness-wise, and this is really something to consider.

There are CWE members who would disagree with this advice. Surgery is not for everyone, and not everyone will benefit to the same extent. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. but for some it has made all the difference.
 
Hey DTU, welcome to CWE!

Have you asked your epileptologist about alternatives to Tegetrol that are less likely to effect the lithium metabolism? Going off seizure meds just to get some sleep is a very risky proposition.

Please don't go getting your brain hacked up by a surgeon -- never worth it. You can't expect to have a perfect life with temporal lobe epilepsy, but slicing into gray matter is SUCH a different story -- it's almost like getting a really really ugly tattoo! Most surgery recipients probably end up worse over time happiness-wise, and this is really something to consider.

There are CWE members who would disagree with this advice. Surgery is not for everyone, and not everyone will benefit to the same extent. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. But for some it has made all the difference.
 
Hi DTU,

Welcome to CWE. I have been diagnosed as possibly having Bipolar II. My psychiatrist said he can't make a definite diagnosis from just meeting me a couple of times. He suggested medication, but I told him I do not think it is necessary and it can possibly lead to seizures. I am also seeing a therapist. As far as surgery goes, I had the laser ablation which is less invasive than the traditional lobectomy. But, I still have had to deal with pretty much the same side effects. Memory issues got worse, bipolar symptoms became apparent, and anxiety became much worse. With that said, I still think it was worth it to have surgery b/c I no longer have seizures. I just have occasional auras. I did have a complex partial about a month or two ago and that was b/c of a medication which I stopped immediately when that occurred.
 
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