What seizures do these sound like?

[Hardworker]

Okay, on July 21st I started taking Zarontin and it caused my seizures to increase and even change. Sometimes I hate meds, anyway I stopped the medication August 20th or so and I am still having seizures and a different type and this never happened before.

What I am experiencing:

- Throughout the day, my teeth will grind by themselves but never during a seizure do I fidget with my clothing.

-My eyes now sometimes stay open and my vision on the school bus the other morning went a bit blurry (has happened once)...

-They only last 3 seconds (well, my other seizures were like that)

-I know when I have a seizure- during an absence I know when I am having one.

Someone said it sounds like atypical or complex partial.

My meds have never worked 100 percent and I am thinking maybe I have been misdiagnosed.

I had an EEG last Monday and I see the doctor the day after tomorrow and I am scared for the results.

Can normal absence seizures make you do this?

 

[valeriedl]

I have a few questions first and I might be able to give you some answers.

Questions:
- Did you go off of the Zarontin yourself or did your neuro take you off of it?
- Were you taking any other type of med before the Zarotin?
- How often were your seizures like and how often were you having them before this?

Answers:
Absence or pet mal seizures -
I don't have these so someone else might be able to give you some more information about them. I did look up some information on the internet and here is the description:
The clinical manifestations of absence seizures vary significantly among patients. Impairment of consciousness is the essential symptom, and may be the only clinical symptom, but this can be combined with other manifestations. The hallmark of the absence seizures is abrupt and sudden-onset impairment of consciousness, interruption of ongoing activities, a blank stare, possibly a brief upward rotation of the eyes. If the patient is speaking, speech is slowed or interrupted; if walking, he or she stands transfixed; if eating, the food will stop on its way to the mouth. Usually, the patient will be unresponsive when addressed. In some cases, attacks are aborted when the patient is called. The attack lasts from a few seconds to half a minute, and evaporates as rapidly as it commenced. Absence seizures generally are not followed by a period of disorientation or lethargy (post-ictal state), in contrast to the majority of seizure disorders.

I'm not sure how old you are but I read that they usually occur between 4–12 years old.


The seizure types that I have are these:

Simple partial seizures
During these you don't black out.
When I have mine I may get dizzy, blurry vision, confused and my lips will tingle. Sometimes things in the room won't look right. Once I thought the couch was in the wrong place in the room.
Mine last usually between 5 and 10 minutes.
Different things happen to different people and they may last different lengths of time.

Complex partial seizures
During these you black out.
I generally don't even know I've had it unless there is someone there to see it happen to tell me it did.
I may stare off into no where.
I'll smack my lips.
Sometimes I'll walk around.
I may pick up things and play with them.
I've talked (if you can call it that) but what comes out of my mouth isn't anything close to words, just sort of something like what a baby would say.
Mine last between 5 and 10 minutes.
Again different things happen to different people and they will last different lengths of time too.

Tonic Clonic or grand mal:
I will shake and my body will freeze.
I very rarely have them and they last between 5 and 10 minutes.
Everyone is different with things that happen and lengths of time with these too.



We all hate taking meds. There is no miracle medicine that is going to guarantee to stop your seizures. Many people, including myself, have gone through several different meds before they found one that works for them. It may not stop their seizures completely but they won't be having as many as they were before hand.

I hope this was some help. Let us know how your dr visit went.

 

[Hardworker]

Questions:
- Did you go off of the Zarontin yourself or did your neuro take you off of it?
- Were you taking any other type of med before the Zarotin?
- How often were your seizures like and how often were you having them before this?

I'm 18

Answer to 1: My parents first said that try taking me down to one and we did then the next week we called the doctor so I was on 1 pill for maybe 2 weeks.

Answer 2: I take Clobazam (4 pills-40 mg) and Lamotrigine at 100 mg (400 mg so another 4) before this and have for a couple years. I never had any problems before. This year I tried Keppra which failed, Zarontin which failed I guess and Valproic acid when in grade 8 (the doctor put me on a high dose so I'm allergic).

Answer 3: For me it is hard to say, I can go a week without one. My sleep seems to play a good role with my seizures same as stress. One day I could have 5 in an hour one day from poor sleep and other times though I could sleep bad and maybe have 2 or 3. My trigger is so hard to find.

 

[valeriedl]

Was there any reason that your dr changed your meds and put you on the Zarontin? I know sometimes they think that if they put you on something different than what you were currently taking it might help reducing your seizures. My neuro did this with me several times. If the different med wasn't helping or making things worse he'd put me back on the med I was taking or try something different again.

You might ask to be put back on the Clobazam and Lamotrigine again. You may have been having seizures when you were taking it but it sounds like it may not have been as many and they may not have been as bad. There is no medicine that you can take that is going to guarantee that it's going to stop your seizures completely.

Stress and lack of sleep are two big seizure triggers. If either one is happening with me I'm almost sure to have a seizure. I don't know how much caffeine you drink but that can be a big seizure trigger too. I can drink some and be ok, but I try to drink things without caffeine in it.

I don't know if you drink any alcohol or not but that can be a major trigger for many people, myself included.

I know if any of the things that I said are triggers for me I'm pretty sure I'll have a seizure then. When my grandmother passed away, which caused a lot of stress for me, I think I had around 15 seizures in ten days (which for me is a lot). But there are those days out of the clear blue when everything is perfect, I'll have one. You really can't say - 'Since this is going on then I'm going to have a seizure and not any other time'.

I can have several in one day, one two or three days in a row or I can go a week or two with out one then I have one. On average I have around 7 a month.

 

[Tez_20]

I have a few questions first and I might be able to give you some answers.

Questions:
- Did you go off of the Zarontin yourself or did your neuro take you off of it?
- Were you taking any other type of med before the Zarotin?
- How often were your seizures like and how often were you having them before this?

Answers:
Absence or pet mal seizures -
I don't have these so someone else might be able to give you some more information about them. I did look up some information on the internet and here is the description:
The clinical manifestations of absence seizures vary significantly among patients. Impairment of consciousness is the essential symptom, and may be the only clinical symptom, but this can be combined with other manifestations. The hallmark of the absence seizures is abrupt and sudden-onset impairment of consciousness, interruption of ongoing activities, a blank stare, possibly a brief upward rotation of the eyes. If the patient is speaking, speech is slowed or interrupted; if walking, he or she stands transfixed; if eating, the food will stop on its way to the mouth. Usually, the patient will be unresponsive when addressed. In some cases, attacks are aborted when the patient is called. The attack lasts from a few seconds to half a minute, and evaporates as rapidly as it commenced. Absence seizures generally are not followed by a period of disorientation or lethargy (post-ictal state), in contrast to the majority of seizure disorders.

I'm not sure how old you are but I read that they usually occur between 4–12 years old.


The seizure types that I have are these:

Simple partial seizures
During these you don't black out.
When I have mine I may get dizzy, blurry vision, confused and my lips will tingle. Sometimes things in the room won't look right. Once I thought the couch was in the wrong place in the room.
Mine last usually between 5 and 10 minutes.
Different things happen to different people and they may last different lengths of time.

Complex partial seizures
During these you black out.
I generally don't even know I've had it unless there is someone there to see it happen to tell me it did.
I may stare off into no where.
I'll smack my lips.
Sometimes I'll walk around.
I may pick up things and play with them.
I've talked (if you can call it that) but what comes out of my mouth isn't anything close to words, just sort of something like what a baby would say.
Mine last between 5 and 10 minutes.
Again different things happen to different people and they will last different lengths of time too.

Tonic Clonic or grand mal:
I will shake and my body will freeze.
I very rarely have them and they last between 5 and 10 minutes.
Everyone is different with things that happen and lengths of time with these too.



We all hate taking meds. There is no miracle medicine that is going to guarantee to stop your seizures. Many people, including myself, have gone through several different meds before they found one that works for them. It may not stop their seizures completely but they won't be having as many as they were before hand.

I hope this was some help. Let us know how your dr visit went.

Hi Valeried,
Good info and all these I suffer with my grandmal and temporal-lobe epilepsy, there's that much involvement at times it's a wonder we know where we are with the lot

 

[Tez_20]

Questions:
- Did you go off of the Zarontin yourself or did your neuro take you off of it?
- Were you taking any other type of med before the Zarotin?
- How often were your seizures like and how often were you having them before this?

I'm 18

Answer to 1: My parents first said that try taking me down to one and we did then the next week we called the doctor so I was on 1 pill for maybe 2 weeks.

Answer 2: I take Clobazam (4 pills-40 mg) and Lamotrigine at 100 mg (400 mg so another 4) before this and have for a couple years. I never had any problems before. This year I tried Keppra which failed, Zarontin which failed I guess and Valproic acid when in grade 8 (the doctor put me on a high dose so I'm allergic).

Answer 3: For me it is hard to say, I can go a week without one. My sleep seems to play a good role with my seizures same as stress. One day I could have 5 in an hour one day from poor sleep and other times though I could sleep bad and maybe have 2 or 3. My trigger is so hard to find.

Hi Hardworker,

I've just seen your taking clobazam I've been on the drug for nearly 30yrs and it's definitely a drug if you ever do need to come off it anytime which needs careful withdrawal as i'm addicted to the med now but it does help anxiety plus depression also.

 

[Hardworker]

Hi Hardworker,

I've just seen your taking clobazam I've been on the drug for nearly 30yrs and it's definitely a drug if you ever do need to come off it anytime which needs careful withdrawal as i'm addicted to the med now but it does help anxiety plus depression also.

Hey I am confused, my EEG came back perfectly and no sign of a new seizure type or anything so I'm not sure what's going on. I am trying Valproic Acid again next week and slowly going back...

 

[Hardworker]

Was there any reason that your dr changed your meds and put you on the Zarontin? I know sometimes they think that if they put you on something different than what you were currently taking it might help reducing your seizures. My neuro did this with me several times. If the different med wasn't helping or making things worse he'd put me back on the med I was taking or try something different again.

You might ask to be put back on the Clobazam and Lamotrigine again. You may have been having seizures when you were taking it but it sounds like it may not have been as many and they may not have been as bad. There is no medicine that you can take that is going to guarantee that it's going to stop your seizures completely.

Stress and lack of sleep are two big seizure triggers. If either one is happening with me I'm almost sure to have a seizure. I don't know how much caffeine you drink but that can be a big seizure trigger too. I can drink some and be ok, but I try to drink things without caffeine in it.

I don't know if you drink any alcohol or not but that can be a major trigger for many people, myself included.

I know if any of the things that I said are triggers for me I'm pretty sure I'll have a seizure then. When my grandmother passed away, which caused a lot of stress for me, I think I had around 15 seizures in ten days (which for me is a lot). But there are those days out of the clear blue when everything is perfect, I'll have one. You really can't say - 'Since this is going on then I'm going to have a seizure and not any other time'.

I can have several in one day, one two or three days in a row or I can go a week or two with out one then I have one. On average I have around 7 a month.

I was on the Clobazam and Lamotrigine along with the Zarontin; she didn't take me off Clobazam nor Lamotrigine. Stress and sleep apply to mine in so many ways.

 

[Hardworker]

Was there any reason that your dr changed your meds and put you on the Zarontin? I know sometimes they think that if they put you on something different than what you were currently taking it might help reducing your seizures. My neuro did this with me several times. If the different med wasn't helping or making things worse he'd put me back on the med I was taking or try something different again.

You might ask to be put back on the Clobazam and Lamotrigine again. You may have been having seizures when you were taking it but it sounds like it may not have been as many and they may not have been as bad. There is no medicine that you can take that is going to guarantee that it's going to stop your seizures completely.

Stress and lack of sleep are two big seizure triggers. If either one is happening with me I'm almost sure to have a seizure. I don't know how much caffeine you drink but that can be a big seizure trigger too. I can drink some and be ok, but I try to drink things without caffeine in it.

I don't know if you drink any alcohol or not but that can be a major trigger for many people, myself included.

I know if any of the things that I said are triggers for me I'm pretty sure I'll have a seizure then. When my grandmother passed away, which caused a lot of stress for me, I think I had around 15 seizures in ten days (which for me is a lot). But there are those days out of the clear blue when everything is perfect, I'll have one. You really can't say - 'Since this is going on then I'm going to have a seizure and not any other time'.

I can have several in one day, one two or three days in a row or I can go a week or two with out one then I have one. On average I have around 7 a month.

No alcohol here, lol. My EEG came back perfectly fine and no new seizure types but I have no clue what is going on

 

[Tez_20]

Hardworker,

Thanks for updating and i'm pleased your EEG came back perfect...im not a doctor to diagnose but you could possibly suffer from none epileptic seizures.

http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Non-Epileptic-Attack-Disorder-(NEAD).htm#