Breathing

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jfitt

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Hi, I know with other types of seizures you can stop breathing but can you stop breathing with a simple partial?

I have not been able to find an answer on this using google.

Julie
 
This doesn't really answer your question but I've had simple partials where I've woken in the middle of the night unable to move (completely frozen),and unable to call out for help.Because my mouth/throat wouldnt work I felt like I couldnt breath.I actually don't know if I was or not.I remember freaking out that I wasn't breathing and there was nothing I could do!!!!!!!It scared the life out of me.It still does thinking about it :(
 
that's sounds terrifying. How long do they last for, I guess if they last for 2 long and you don't pass out then you were able to breath at least enough to keep you conscious.
 
Yeah I really couldn't say.with all my simple partial seizures it seems like forever but I doubt it's really that long!!!should ask my neuro next time I see him.
 
Hi, again this may not answer your question but I've been diagnosed with tonic seizures and I get them in the middle of the night as well. I wake with all of my muscles as stiff as a board and for a few seconds I can not move until the seizure is over and they collapse. During that time I can't breathe. Not the kindest way to wake up from a dead sleep! I hope you find your answers :(
 
The way it was described to me by my epileptologist is that because the diaphragm is controlled by muscular contractions and they are also frozen during the seizure, it takes until they are released to resume function. It does seem like it takes forever, when in my case it's only momentarily. Not all of the time, but many times I'm waking up as I'm collapsing and gasping for air. I'd talk to your neurologist or epileptologist about it and see if s/he can do a med change or ambulatory EEG to see what's going on at night time.
 
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If this happens when you sleep (and sometimes waking) -

There are also sleep disorders where a person wakes up frozen and unable to move. It's called sleep paralysis. You may want to have a sleep study to help sort out what's what. Sleep studies have electrodes on your head so they can detect if there is a seizure, though they may miss it due to the smaller number of electrodes. If you had a video EEG it would have also diagnosed which it is, sleep paralysis or seizure. Here's some info on sleep paralysis

http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/commonsleepdisorders/a/Sleep_Paralysis.htm


As for stopping breathing during a daytime SEIZURE -

This does happen sometimes during tonic clonic seizures. I haven't heard of it happening in partial seizures, but someone is apt to chime in here who has additional information on how it can and does happen. I used to have partials that were fear seizures. For a half minute or so it was sheer terror. I'd be like a deer in headlights - completely frozen. It wasn't that I couldn't breathe, it's that I just didn't.
 
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