Does this sound like early symptom of epilepsy?

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Hello,

New member here. I have never had a seizure, but the past few times I've gotten a haircut, when they get close to my ears with the electric clippers my head starts shaking uncontrollably. It's just a very slight shaking/vibrating, but it kinda feels like I'm on the verge of a seizure. I've never felt anything like it before. Does this sound familiar to anyone here?

I was recently diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. I believe I've had the sleep apnea for about 10 years and I think the chronic sleep deprivation causes a myriad of strange symptoms, but this would be a completely new one.

Any info/feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Honestly, it's hard to say if you're having an early symptom or not. Epilepsy is different in each of us. I can say that a higher percentage of people have sleep apnea than the reg. population...you might try tellling your doc the next time you see him about the head vibrating...
 
my neuroligist said 1 in 3 people with E have sleep apnea
I am not sure about the shaking...but E is so different from person to person, I would recommend seeing a neuroligist.
 
Interesting. Sounds like there's a connection. I haven't seen a Neurologist yet, but I'll discuss it with my sleep Dr. and see if he knows anything about it.
 
Hi Kogrox,
Epilepsy is only a label. It means you have had two seizures or more.
Seizures are only the symptom of something else more serious occuring within the body. What I encourage people to do, is find the cause.

If it is sleep related, find out what is causing the sleep issues.
 
what happens is that you have been well. Then you begin to have symptoms. One symptom, some people have, is seizures. When you have seizures the best plan would be to figure out what is lowering your threshold. Could be nutritional choices, could be viral, could be toxins...etc. So when you are stressed, or sick, or don't get enough sleep, or are dehydrated, or don't have enough magnesium.... etc, you are more likely to have your "symptom" of seizures. The brain uses what is known as kindling. The brain learns to seize as a release mechanism.

Most doctors just don't bother to suggest finding the cause. Most doctors either don't have the time, or they figure that you want these seizures under control, so they put a bandaid on it in the form of an anti convulsant (after you have had two or more seizures). They do not tell you about the nutritional issues, or inflammation, or vitamin or mineral deficiencies, because all they really know is prescription meds. Problem is with this path, is you get on a roller coaster with no control of the switches. You get scared into thinking that there is only one way to control your seizures, and IF you go OFF of them you will have uncontrollable episodes. So people continue to increase their meds, and add on meds, because they dont' know about the alternatives. Or ... are too nervous to try them, or simply can't be bothered.... IMO

So .... keeping a journal is really a great tool. I use an empty calendar. I record everything. I can see what is a trigger, but I can also try to find the cause. I can heal and see if there is improvement. When there is, I see the results on the calendar.

There are many ways to improve sleep. We have threads here on the subject. But also consider that there might be an underlying reason that your body is not turning off to rest. Read all you can, and see what makes sense to your particular situation. Dont' rule out anything.

All the initial fasting blood tests came back that my daughters blood glucose was within the norm. However, after a year of asking for a tolerance test.... she finally crashed and the test was administered, and we found out that Sure Enough that is the reason she has been having seizures. So for this the meds were only making her more sick.

Tune into your body.... it will tell you many times why this is happening. Unless.... you mask it with chemicals.
 
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I know if I don't get enough sleep it will trigger a seizure. My last seizure in August came after I went to see my son's rock bank play at a club. As luck had it, they were the headliner and didn't play until late, by the time I got home it was 3 am and then I got up at 7 to go to church.
Writing everything down is very helpful.
 
jgb - have you ever considered that it is the expectation that something is going to happen that makes it happen?
 
Exactly right Robin! That is precisely what I am going through now. All of what you have said in this thread is right on the money!
 
Robin has lots of info for us. I need to look into my diet. Will pm you later robin
 
Head shaking

my head begins shaking sometimes, then it spreads to my body. Or sometimes it starts in a leg or hand...while i am totally conscious and can hold conversations through it...Most people wouldnt notice it unless they are right next to me. i dont know what triggers that yet but sometimes i shake for 2 hours at a time, and luckily i would be at home so no one would know! It was soo bad a few weeks ago that i googled parkinson's disease, and i am only 31 (that doesnt usually hit till age 50) so i still don't know what that deal is! But i can relate!!!
 
Robin, I don't think there was any expectation...I thought everything would be fine. When that last complex hit me, I thought it was totally out of the blue, but then started thinking "what have I done in past 24 hours" and realized it was probably due to the lack of sleep.
 
It is like that stacking game with the blocks, one too many and the whole tower comes crashing down. Might not have been the last block that was out of balance though, might have been the third one down.

Everything needs to be considered. A Lot of people have sleep challenges. Over time it could be an issue, though the healthy body should be able to regulate this. A challenged body, can't. You have to give the body the nutrition (vitamins and minerals), and enzymes that it needs to function properly. This is down at the chemical level, and most people are afraid to learn about this.

The body was designed to consume a particular kind of food. Think hunter gatherers. Think was kind of food was around 100 yrs ago. Our bodies have not evolved to be able to handle the synthetic ingredients, toxins, overly process, and cooked foods that we dump in our systems every week. We expect it to, but we see medical issues continue to skyrocket out of control. Take something as simple as asthma. Out of control in schools today. Air quality is better, but what is causing this increase then. Most likely the nutritional choices. The body is overwhelmed, and can't process the ingredients that are foreign. Diabetes, Arthritis, Autism, ADHD, Alzheimers, etc all increasing

Just consider for a moment that the body is overwhelmed. Last week you might have been just fine, but you have lowered the threshold so much over years of "living well" that you are now walking a fine line. Take one misstep and down you go. Have too many of these and the brain has a good memory. It lets go far sooner due to the phenomena of kindling. Inflammation is also considered to play a role. I am certainly not a neurologist so I have no idea how this occurs. But to heal you have to begin with what fuels your cells. This is the nutrition of our ancestors.

It isn't an overnight fix. They have drugs for that... and another one next year, and you have about twelve to pick from. So with the increases and the decreases and the crossovers, you could be on that ride for a good 15 yrs. or longer if you have success with any particular one.

I like clarity of mind, energy, passion, memory improvement.... so that is why I have made the choice to have my daughter med free.

No Shame - I have Parkinson's on both sides of my family, and there is a connection to toxins in the system, and perhaps immune issues. To me that means, once again, it begins with nutrition. Have you ever had a Hair Test for toxicity?
 
I have sleep apnea (I suspect). It runs in my family and my grandmother suffered minor strokes because of her lack of oxygen. She's disabled now. Anyways, I always noticed before being on my meds that my complex partials were always triggered by lack of sleep or waking up a lot during the night (which I still do). In fact, I sometimes wake up covered in sweat and gasping for air. So, treat the apnea and you may be able to prevent anything from getting worse if you have a lowered threshold. Hmmm....maybe I should treat mine as well now that I think about it.
 
I've had lots of different tests but not a hair test for toxicity. I've never even heard of that one. I did start avoiding MSG (harder than it sounds), Aspartame, and some other chemicals/additives about 6 months ago after reading a couple books about neurotoxins. I've also recently weaned myself off Inderal, which I have been taking for a few years for erratic pulse & BP, both of which I'm pretty sure are caused by the sleep apnea/sleep deprivation. I also quit smoking about 18 months ago.

The frustrating thing is, I feel crappier now than I did 2 yrs ago when I was smoking, taking Inderal and eating MSG laden foods & drinks. I think it's most likely a cumulative effect of the sleep deprivation. Unfortunately, they haven't found an effective treatment for my sleep apnea as I'm unable to tolerate the traditional CPAP therapy.
 
It could be that the chemicals that you were ingesting stored themselves in your body fat or tissues. I quit smoking on Ash Wednesday, and was doing great until I started exercising...then I got hit by cravings galore. Personally, I think that it was my body releasing the last of the chemical it had stored in my body.
 
 
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