could i be having a seizure

[huggytree]

I have been having a problem for 15 years now

it always happens while sitting or laying....if im active I feel it coming on, but it doesn't go anywhere....it happens typically 8am-11am....daily sometimes

starts out w/ legs numb and moves up....pins and needles in arms/legs/face...I sometimes lose the ability to speak or slur.. numb lips, trouble swallowing..body is heavy.breathing is something I seem to have to think about...lasts 30 minutes.......I am partially mentally impaired like im 1/2 there..sometimes nauseated (come close to vomiting).once in a while I have it in my sleep and it wakes me up....always starts with numb legs...when its over I can hardly walk...calves are locked and I have come close to falling over......it typically happens while driving...sometimes ive felt like blacking out, but then get a rush from being scared that zaps me out of it

ive been seeing doctors for this issue for 10+ years.....no one has an answer....latest brain doctor says I am having panic attatcks....im on some medication and it isn't doing anything......

today I went in for a MRI of my back....to make sure its not a pinched nerve causing my leg numbness

I woke up with my legs feeling numb, so I knew it wasn't going to go well during the 1/2 hour mri.....it all started as soon as I layed down....the mri machine is extremely loud and has a rhythmic bang/bang.... I started to clentch my teeth during the first 4 minutes of it and felt like I couldn't take it anymore....pins/needles on arms/legs....trouble breathing...no matter what I couldn't stop clenching my teeth...it felt like I had my whole face contourted....I held it together and made it through the 30-45 minutes feeling like this....when the noise would start again for the next phase my feelings always got 10x worse....when it was over I stumbled off the table...calves were rock hard...neck was sore

no twitching.....

daughter has epilepsy and I see a few similarities, but obviously what I have is not nearly as severe

panic attack sounds like a possibility, but I find it strange it happens like clock work daily....my daughters seizures always happen at the exact same time (5am)......also don't understand how you can have a panic attack in your sleep....whatever my problem is it continues to get worse every year

ive had this happen with my wife sitting next to me...she see's no signs its happening to me....my legs get so heavy that while driving I worry I wont be able to lift my foot off the accelerator and onto the brake...I always do, but its like lifting a lead brick

any opinions???

 

[notime]

I will try my best to offer you advice, but please understand I am not a medical doctor and do not have much experience with panic attacks or epilepsy. I will try my best though.

There could be a lot of medical conditions for this, but why would it take 10+ years to diagnose? Surely a doctor would have figured it out by now, perhaps it could be panic attacks. Based on what you have said and if these were seizures then these sort of sound like simple partial seizures, but I could be wrong. If your neurologist cannot figure it out, and you are afraid that it is epilepsy. I'd advise you to ask for a referral to an epileptologist, which is a neurologist who specializes in the treatment of epilepsy. Usually they will take a history from you and they want a person who seen it to accommodate, you and they will ask them questions as well. Perhaps take your wife with you.

They may or may not order an EEG, usually it is a useful tool to diagnose epilepsy. Perhaps see if your brain gives off any abnormal electric signal and this could be a hint that you have seizures. However, it doesn't mean that you do not have seizures it's just a tool to help them to determine it. You may not have abnormal electrical activity, but there is a chance that you may have epilepsy. They may also request a MRI on your brain, if you haven't had one recently to see if there are any tumors or brain scars that could be causing these if they are seizures anyway. It doesn't mean that you will need surgery, it's just helpful to diagnose epilepsy. This doesn't rule out epilepsy, but usually these tests combined with a history is extremely helpful to doctor such as a neurologist or epileptologist to diagnose epilepsy. But as I said it may not be epilepsy, but it's better to be safe than sorry right?

Are there any specific triggers like stress, lack of sleep, lights, or exercise that triggers these symptoms? Usually lack of sleep and waking up in the morning is a huge cause, at least from my experience.

Like I said perhaps it isn't epilepsy, and I hope it is something that can be easily treated because I understand how difficult it is to live with epilepsy. Perhaps it could be panic attacks, and the medication that you are taking isn't working. There are many others out there, have you considered seeing a psychiatrist, and see if they can do something for you? I don't mean to scare you with epilepsy, but perhaps there is a possibility and perhaps not. I am not a medical doctor or anything though. Also it could be panic attacks, but as I said I am not a trained medical professional, perhaps others can come along with better experience than myself and offer you advice. I strongly urge you to see a psychiatrist first then perhaps see an epileptologist.


my daughters seizures always happen at the exact same time (5am)

These could be nocturnal seizures, which happens when you sleep or could happen at the same time even when awake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturnal_epilepsy To give you more information about it.

 

[holly]

I agree notime, there are many possibility's and many things that are similar in symptoms to E, again no professional medical training here at all, altho my kids think im an excellent band aid applier! but all joking aside the road to diagnosis can be a long and stressful one purely because there are so many different things that could also be causing possible seizures, I am on this road of trying to discover if my suspected seizures are in fact epilepsy and I have battled with them all my life and never put 2 and 2 together (math isn't my strong point) lol ... im experiencing some similarity's and different symptoms than you, I am having them around the clock and recently had a massive spike this week I have had 6 that I know of.
you defiantly in my opinion need to make notes what time, estimated length, if you were with people did you do anything strange make faces, twitch, etc, did you loose or keep consciousness, if you remember what did you see feel, hear. ill gladly compare notes with you if it will help I have my first Drs appointment on the 5th aug.
stress, lack of sleep, poor diet, sugar lvl spikes high and low, migraines, heart conditions, also infections from teeth I read recently, are all things that "could" make seizures more apparent. but like notime stated you need to research the things Drs say it could be and start doing a cross reference perhaps.... just don't drive yourself crazy with it do it in pieces, remember that you have already coped for 10+ years and you will cope many more, be patient and persistent to get to the bottom of your condition regardless of E or not. the folk here have defiantly made me 100% calmer in the few days I have been here, and if nothing else make sure you share with us everything, your journey can and will help others, I find it very therapeutic to discuss with everyone here what im going through, and help pick people up and keep them moving forward, even tho I am going completely out of my mind with the thought that a Tonic Clonic is around the corner for me. and until I get diagnosed im not under any control >.<
one other thing ... read others story's on here, you will realize that whilst you are scared of what is going on with you personally, some of the wonderful people here have E with much worse symptoms, and the medications they are on may also make them feel particularly crappy!.. I for one am thankful my symptoms whilst for me are scary im thankful that I am not going through what many of these wonderful people are...... time for an E/HUG
I don't know if what I said helped really but know your not alone !
I found a home away from home here
welcome to CWE
Holly

 

[Cint]

Huggytree,

What you have described does sound like it could be simple partial seizures. Like notime suggested, since you've been experiencing this for years and been seeing a dr. for 10+ years with no answers, then it is time to see an epileptologist. Before I was diagnosed with E, I had been having strange things happening and my dr. just treated it lightly and diagnosed me with hypoglycemia. The seizures gradually increased in intensity and finally had a TC. Unfortunately, a lot of doctors (even neurologists) are not educated enough when it comes to all the symptoms of epilepsy. That is why an epileptologist is needed in your case and in cases like mine, for hard to control cases of E.

And here is a list of symptoms for seizure(s) from http://www.epilepsy.com/101/ep101_symptom

Early seizure symptoms (warnings)

~Sensory/Thought:
Deja vu
Jamais vu
Smell
Sound
Taste
Visual loss or blurring
Racing thoughts
Stomach feelings
Strange feelings
Tingling feeling*

~Emotional:
Fear/Panic*
Pleasant feeling

~Physical:
Dizziness
Headache
Lightheadedness
*Nausea
Numbness

~No warning:
Sometimes seizures come with no warning

Seizure symptoms


~Sensory/Thought:
Black out
Confusion
Deafness/Sounds
Electric Shock Feeling
Loss of consciousness
Smell
Spacing out
Out of body experience
Visual loss or blurring

~Emotional:
Fear/Panic*

~Physical:
Chewing movements
Convulsion
*Difficulty talking
Drooling
Eyelid fluttering
Eyes rolling up
Falling down
Foot stomping
Hand waving
*Inability to move
Incontinence
Lip smacking
Making sounds
Shaking
Staring
Stiffening
Swallowing
Sweating
*Teeth clenching/grinding
Tongue biting
Tremors
*Twitching movements
*Breathing difficulty
Heart racing

~After-seizure symptoms (post-ictal)

Thought:
Memory loss
Writing difficulty

~Emotional:
Confusion
Depression and sadness
Fear
Frustration
Shame/Embarrassment

~Physical:
Bruising
Difficulty talking
Injuries
Sleeping
Exhaustion
Headache
Nausea
Pain
Thirst
Weakness
Urge to urinate/defecate

Take this list in and show your dr. Good luck and hope you find an answer.

 

[notime]

I forgot to include in my post that you may want to stop driving as much as possible, if you do drive. In my opinion, it's not really safe even if they are simple partial seizures where you do not lose your conscious. But, just to be on the safe side reduce your driving as much as possible and perhaps allow somebody else to drive or take public transportation, if possible. I know it seems difficult, but if you do have epilepsy then you never really know and you could end up injuring yourself, somebody else, or worse so I suggest you cut down on it.

If you can't then at least drive slower, for now and be more careful. At least until you see an epileptologist, and if s/he says it is safe then perhaps return to your normal driving.

Again, I understand that this sucks but it's better to do that. If you do have epilepsy, you will probably lose your license for a certain amount of time depending on your state laws. You must remain seizure free depending on state laws in california it's like 6 months and in others the law varies you should check with wikipedia depending on the state or country you are in.

Just thought I should warn you, please don't be insulted or anything; this is just a warning to remind you it may not be safe to drive.

Video about it, if you're interested in watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKafkTHKoI8

 

[huggytree]

im a plumber and driving around all day is part of my job....I own my own business, so its either drive or sell my business right now

3 questions


can you have a seizure without muscle twitching?
can you be having a seizure and still be able to drive/talk/function at the same time?
can repetitive loud sounds induce a seizure?

 

[Nakamova]

Hi huggytree --

can you have a seizure without muscle twitching?

yes, both Absence Seizures and Partial Seizures don't tend to have twitching. Absence seizures are very brief "brain blanks". They last a few seconds long, and the person having them isn't necessarily aware that they've occurred. To an observer, it appears that the person is daydreaming. Partial seizures involve a wide variety of sensory distortions. While sometimes this can include muscle twitching or jerking, they are just as likely to take the form of things like phantom smells or sounds, visual distortions, sensations of dread or nausea, cognitive confusion etc.

can you be having a seizure and still be able to drive/talk/function at the same time?

Yes. Partial seizures, which only take place in a "partial" area of the brain, don't necessarily impair awareness or consciousness. Thy can be similar to migraine aura in this respect.

can repetitive loud sounds induce a seizure?

Yes, all sorts of things can be seizure triggers. For some people particular sounds are triggering.

 

[notime]

can you have a seizure without muscle twitching?

There are different forms of seizures, the one you're thinking of is tonic clonics which is the most known and I happen to have it. Not everybody diagnosed with epilepsy has it. There could probably be other forms of epilepsy with it, but as I said I am not a doctor, and I must learn more!

can you be having a seizure and still be able to drive/talk/function at the same time?

I am very sorry about your problem with driving, at least please just try to drive slower than normal and be a little more cautious. But yes you might still be able to be conscious, usually simple partial seizures could be losing control of one arm or both or lose control of your leg or legs or could be a strange feeling there are many forms of it.

As I said I am not a medical doctor, and perhaps you do not have epilepsy. But, just because you are driving please ask your doctor for a referral to an epileptologist immediately, there is a chance that you may be having seizures. Depending on your state law, you could be breaking it if you do have seizures. I am not a lawyer or anything, but usually depending on the state or country you are in they want you to remain seizure free and this includes simple partial in a lot of states before you are able to drive.

Some have exceptions for things like this, but as I said there is a possibility you may have it and since you're driving a lot I would want you to see an epileptologist someone who specializes in epilepsy to take a good look at you and they can offer you better advice.

can repetitive loud sounds induce a seizure?

There are a lot of triggers for different forms of epilepsy and different kinds of people, so yes sound could be a trigger.
-

As I said though please seek advice from an epileptologist immediately, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Cint]

There could probably be other forms of epilepsy with it, but as I said I am not a doctor, and I must learn more!

can you be having a seizure and still be able to drive/talk/function at the same time?

You may be having a seizure and still be able to function or speak, but it may be jibberish if it is a CP seizure.

I am very sorry about your problem with driving, at least please just try to drive slower than normal and be a little more cautious

.
I don't see how driving slower is going to stop a seizure if it happens while driving, even if you don't lose consciousness.

But yes you might still be able to be conscious, usually simple partial seizures could be losing control of one arm or both or lose control of your leg or legs or could be a strange feeling there are many forms of it.

Just not being able to control your limbs is enough to not drive.

As I said I am not a medical doctor,

I posted the symptoms a few posts back from real medical doctors who specialize in epilepsy (epileptologists).