Depression and Seizures

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I'm just curious... I posted a about feeling rather down lately and I've noticed other posts too... Have any of you noticed a correlation with feeling depressed and increased seizure activity? I'm sure there are other posts about this, but I want to ask anyways. I was feeling pretty depressed a few days ago, pit in my stomach and everything, and then for three days afterward I was having a lot of partial seizures that were more intense than I'd felt since I started on medication (Monday and Tuesday were the worst). They felt the way they felt when my seizures started getting more intense before I had that last TC seizure. Now today I haven't had any partial seizures, but I'm feeling really depressed again... Pit in stomach, crying spells, etc. I read something about inter-ictal depression. Have any of you noticed increased depression between seizures? Especially immediately before/after? It's been awhile since I've felt as bad as I have the past few days/today (last time I felt this way was right after I was diagnosed after my Tonic-Clonic seizure, was put on Keppra, and wasn't on any type of antidepressants).
 
There definitely seems to be a link between TLE in particular and depression, most likely because of the proximity to the hippocampus (area of the brain related to memory processing) and the amygdala (area of the brain related to fear and emotion). In folks with depression and folks with TLE, the hippocampus can shrink, and the amygdala can grow. There can also be a difference between the right and left sides: In studies, electrically stimulating the right-side amygdala produced negative emotions, especially fear and sadness. Stimulation of the left amygdala produced either pleasant emotions (happiness) or unpleasant ones (fear, anxiety, sadness). So depending on where your epileptic focus is, that could also affect what sensations you experience. Fun!

Just to make it more complicated, the hippocampus contains high levels of glucocorticoid receptors, which make it more vulnerable to long-term stress than most other brain areas. The hippocampus it's also one of the most "electrically excitable" parts of the brain. So to the extent that the seizures are over-stimulating vulnerable areas of the brain, you can have both short- and long-term effects on mood (as well as memory).
 
Thanks for the insight! My EEGs showed slowing in the frontal lobe, but my neurologist diagnosed me with left temporal lobe epilepsy due to all of my symptoms, mostly relating to memory, and the "dreamlike" state where I feel like I'm remembering something that never actually happened that I get in a lot of my auras. He also said that left temporal lobe epilepsy can also manifest itself in the frontal lobe (I can't remember everything he said exactly, but it was something along those lines!)

I also have some issues with anxiety, and yes, sadness/depression. These issues are not new either - I've always been more prone to depression/anxiety. I think it's also interesting what you bring up about the excitability of the hippocampus/amygdala and how they affect mood. I'm the only one in my family with epilepsy, but my dad is bipolar (and a relative on my mom's side), and I know that a lot of people with epilepsy are bipolar...

Annnnnd, there goes the analytic part of my brain :) Which also makes me forget about feeling depressed (I think my mood has all ready changed five times this morning, ugh, but this is better than the former).
 
I've had E for 30 years, and have suffered with depression along with it. Tried many anti-depressants, too. One dr. said I was bipolar (it does run in my family, too, my father was thought to be and one nephew definitely is. He takes Depakote.) and prescribed Zyprexa (a psychotic drug used for bipolar patients, too), and it brought on diabetes. So Beware of those type of drugs!

As Nakamova said, there is a link between temporal lobe E and depression in regards to the hippocampus and amygdala. I have a damaged hippocampus and when I had a left temporal lobectomy, that is when I really went off the deep end with my depression. They dr. said I was the most difficult patient he had ever dealt with because of the depression and return of seizures. But I take Keppra for seizures and Trileptal (which is also used for bipolar) and Zoloft. And my memory really sucks now.

Hang in there!
 
Wow, it sounds like you have been through a lot! I'll have to make sure they don't prescribe me anything that could lead to diabetes.. That also runs in my family (both sides). I have all ready seen my blood sugar fluctuate at times to borderline levels for no real reason.... They were looking for bipolar symptoms in me because of my family history, but I don't get MAJORLY depressed for long periods of time, and I don't have manic episodes (the closest to manic I get is getting irritated with people, but I'm pretty sure that's a normal thing for most human beings).

It does kind of make me feel better to know I'm not the only one dealing with this - not that I want other people suffering! It's just kinda nice to know that there's some type of explanation behind my random depression issues.
 
Hi Running Girl,

I suffer from depression as well. I read somewhere (while researching all of this on the internet) that epilepsy and depression are "co-morbid" conditions. Don't ya just love it? it makes it sound like walking around with a double death. But I think that's the med-speak way of saying that depression is very common in those with epilepsy.

For me, personally, I just get pissed off at my brain. I can't believe it turned on me the way that it did. I think my depression is caused, in part, by never knowing when it's going to turn on me again.

My depression does get worse around my seizures (especially after). I tried anti-depressants but the side-effects were worse than the depression. But lot of people do quite well on them and couldn't live without them. For them, anti-depressants are a God send.
 
Thanks for sharing! For me at first a lot was situational as I adjusted to this diagnosis and some of.it was also the Keppra. I am on Celexa and have been going to therapy, both of which have helped me feel mostly normal despite everything....until the past week or so... I probably wouldn't have made the connection except I had several intense partials starting Monday (and some on Sunday ) and my feelings of sadness were really bad on Saturday /Sunday and today. Like... totally irrationally in tears for hours at a time with an awful feeling in my stomach. I was doing the irrational crying when I first started on Keppra and before antidepressants but this general feeling of despair came out of nowhere (hey I made a rhyme! )

Sorry if I'm repeating myself from earlier posts. I use my phone as i lay in bed for a lot of responses so I can't see what I all ready typed! :)

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2
 
Thanks for the insight! My EEGs showed slowing in the frontal lobe, but my neurologist diagnosed me with left temporal lobe epilepsy due to all of my symptoms, mostly relating to memory, and the "dreamlike" state where I feel like I'm remembering something that never actually happened that I get in a lot of my auras. He also said that left temporal lobe epilepsy can also manifest itself in the frontal lobe (I can't remember everything he said exactly, but it was something along those lines!)

I also have some issues with anxiety, and yes, sadness/depression. These issues are not new either - I've always been more prone to depression/anxiety. I think it's also interesting what you bring up about the excitability of the hippocampus/amygdala and how they affect mood. I'm the only one in my family with epilepsy, but my dad is bipolar (and a relative on my mom's side), and I know that a lot of people with epilepsy are bipolar...

Annnnnd, there goes the analytic part of my brain :) Which also makes me forget about feeling depressed (I think my mood has all ready changed five times this morning, ugh, but this is better than the former).

WOW this sounds so much like myself. I have the weird dejavu episodes like you describe. I also battle depression and anxiety and a lot of fears, but other times I am fine. I am getting tested for temporal lobe epilepsy. I am noticing a connection between my episodes that involve strong dejavu that knocks me off my feet, nausea, vomitting, heat, and confusion with my days of intense emotions with crying for hours and hours.

I recently started a thread about feeling crazy prior to diagnosis. I have been treated for mental illness for years, but nothing seems to make sense according to my therapist.
 
I've had E for 30 years, and have suffered with depression along with it. Tried many anti-depressants, too. One dr. said I was bipolar (it does run in my family, too, my father was thought to be and one nephew definitely is. He takes Depakote.) and prescribed Zyprexa (a psychotic drug used for bipolar patients, too), and it brought on diabetes. So Beware of those type of drugs!

EEK! I was medicated for bipolar disorder from 2000-2006 and Zyprexa was one of the drugs I was on. I really need to add the fact that I did not get Diabetes to my list of things to be thankful for.

Then I focused my treatment on PTSD from 2006-2012.

Now I am looking into the problem being epilepsy.
 
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