After effects of seizures, advice needed

[htl2010]

Hi, my hubby is just home from hospital having had 8 seizures in 3 days after being seizure free for over a year. He was very poorly and was kept in hospital for nearly a week. I'm pleased to say he's home now and I am just after some advice about how best to look after him. He's still very tired and just wants to sleep most of the time. He seems a bit unemotional but is this all to be expected, how long does it take to recover from an ordeal like this and how best can I support him? I'd be grateful for any feedback, thanks.

 

[Nakamova]

The recovery time varies from person to person. There's the physical soreness, and then there's the mental fuzziness, and they can heal at different paces. My very first seizures took me quite a while to recover from because I was dealing with a very sore back and mouth, as well as adjusting to being medicated. It probably took me a few months to adjust. Other seizures I bounced back from in a day or so. My most recent one (almost three years ago) I got dehydrated and that seemed to make everything worse. I recovered in a week or so physically, but it took a month before I felt myself mentally.

If your husband's sleepy, let him sleep, but make sure he's getting enough to eat and drink. Some of the AEDs can suppress appetite, so you might have to be persistent. If your husband's mouth is sore, stick to soft, mild, non-acid foods until it heals. I remember hard-boiled eggs worked for me -- they seemed to be an easy way to get some protein in. And watermelon was great.

If his back is sore, then he may want to take some over-the-counter painkiller (assuming that's okay with his docs). I found ibuprofen helped for me, as well as a session of ultrasound from a physical therapist. The therapist also gave me a set of exercises and moves to avoid hurting my back and to help it heal.

Assuming he's on meds, help him keep track of when to take them, and also pay attention to any side effects. I was put on way too high a dose the first time, and it took me a while to figure out that what I thought were post-seizure problems were actually symptoms of being over-medicated. Check with his docs if anything seems questionable about his behavior, or if he doesn't seem to be making progress.

You might also keep a journal of what's been going on. There will probably be a big blank spot in his memory, and it will help to have something to read later that will fill in the missing details.

It must be such a relief to have him home. I hope you both recover swiftly.

 

[htl2010]

Thanks for the good advice, this is such a good site, I'm glad I found it!
I am indeed very glad to have him home again, I missed him terribly while he was in hospital. I have asked hubby what he remembers of the last week and his memory is very sketchy so that's a really good idea to keep a journal so that he can look at it later. He is eating and drinking ok. His throat and tongue were sore for the first few days but painkillers helped with that. He doesn't appear to be suffering physically apart from a badly bruised shoulder from when he fell out of bed during his first seizure. He is extremely tired and still quite fuzzy and confused and isn't able to hold much of a conversation but his meds have been upped and they have added another drug too so I think it may even be a side-effect of that. He is safely tucked up in bed now and I think it's time for me to be there too, it's been quite a week one way or another! Thanks again, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions...