development of new reflexes

[DayDreamer]

As I look at my seizure diary I notice I now have more than one seizure trigger, some music when my brain chooses and now movie trailers all the time. Fifteen to twenty years ago I had no triggers to my knowlege, even though I did have seizures. Who knows, I did start to hate television around that time. Maybe they just take a while to cement themselves and happen recurrently.

For the past year, movie trailers have caused seizures even when I do not have sound present or I close my eyes, so I assume the cause is the disjointed state of affairs. Sometimes even looking at icons representing movies with my family becomes unsafe if its done for more than a certain amount of time. I keep searching but the only information I can find on movies and reflex epilepsy is photosensitivity warnings for some trailers.

I'm sure there are infinte triggers out there. I am curious if anyone has something similar or has read some articles on how they develop.

 

[DayDreamer]

So it looks like I have more than one reflex within my skull according to my beloved neuro. He says thinking about specific subjects can explain the movies causing seizures in specific formats.

The international league against epilepsy gives a good paper on the reflexes no one wants, Precipitating Stimuli for Reflex Seizures

ilae-epilepsy.org/Visitors/Centre/ctf/reflex_seizures.cfm

Any ideas, even farfetched ones, on how the heck do they develop? I'm grateful I don't have seizures in response to breathing!

 

[Nakamova]

Even with your eyes closed, your eyes can register certain flashes of light, so it could still be photosensitivity that is causing the movies to trigger your seizures. As your neurologist points out, psychological conditioning can play a role too -- if you anticipate having a seizure from seeing a trailer, the accompanying stress/anxiety could actually play a role in causing the seizure. Some triggers can become dysfunctional feedback loops. The more you experience them and the seizures they produce, the more hard-wired that pathway becomes, so the more likely your brain will choose that path the next time.

You could try removing the photo stimulus as much as possible (maybe have sunglasses handy). As for the pyschological component, you could try practicing relaxation/breathing exercises to see if that helps. Think of a movie trailer and then do relaxed breathing (breathe in from the diaphragm, with long slow exhales). Get in the habit of doing that, and try it when you see an actual movie trailer as well.

 

[valeriedl]

I've never had a seizure dealing with different types of lighting (that I know of). However I was at a party this weekend and there was a disco ball flashing. It was making me sick to my stomach, I had to go into the house so I wouldn't see it. Don't know if that had anything to do with the epilepsy or not?

 

[DayDreamer]

My neuro said that thinking about certain subjects can be a type of trigger of reflex epilepsy. I didn't think that was what was causing the movie seizures until I had a confusing seizure where all I did was read a list of movies and had a seizure. If this is a reflexive trigger it would help explain why the billboard like icons of movies are sometimes unsafe for me. I feel fine by closing my eyes and imagining different films. I have the most horrible memory for movies and actors you can imagine. I can never tell if I have seen a movie before. Even if I go to the theatre to a new one (rarely) I have to ask if this is a redone movie as it all seems so familiar. Movies I have watched before repeatedly I do not know the storylines to.
I consider myself a very stoic person, void of most fears and emotion. The idea of seizures do not seem to bother me or cause fear although fear is the beginning of some of my seizures. Conditioning myself or trying to listen to certain music more in safe environments hasn't seemed to help with the trigger of music.
It is possible the axons have become used to certain traffic pathways though. It would be nice to change the route. How in the heck did it even start to go that way for both music and movies?