Dream or reality

[hedtrouble]

My question regards sleep & seizures. Is there anyone here who wakes in the morning not knowing if they have had a seizure or was it just a dream. Plus I grind my teeth something fierce. This happens a lot no tongue biting nothing major I can put my finger on, just confusion. Thanks Hedtrouble.

 

[Meetz1064]

Yes, there

are a number of members here with the same issues that you have. So don't feel as if you're totally off the wall. You're not. I promise.

 

[hedtrouble]

Thanks M glad Im not loosing it just yet, Cheers, Hedtrouble

 

[Nakamova]

Hi hedtrouble --

You might want to check out the threads below. You're in good company!

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/how-do-i-know-if-i-had-seizure-my-sleep-not-10940/

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f27/nocturnal-seizures-grinding-your-teeth-8097/

 

[gr33nr0se]

i do the same thing with the dreams and sometimes i have nocturnals and sometimes i dont so im never sure whether or not last night was a nocturnal or not. i dont grind my teeth but i bite my tongue

 

[Endless]

Hi, hedtrouble,

Oh, yeah. Sometimes I'm not sure if I've had a seizure or not. Especially complex partials. Once in awhile I'll have something that is like a dream - I'll go outside or walk around the house. But when I wake up in the morning the memory is really strange feeling - vague and dreamlike. I almost never remember my cp's, so I think it's a dream. But then I feel the bottom of my pajamas are wet. Obviously I did go outside.

Sometimes it is just a dream. Once I dreamed that I had a seizure at my sister's house. Obviously I wasn't at my sister's. I was home in bed.

 

[TempusFugit]

My apologies for bumping up this thread.... but this is really interesting! I never realised that teeth grinding could be seizure related... I think most nights I grind my teeth and my jaw often goes into some kind of paralysis in the mornings (to the point where I can't open my mouth fully). I never made the connection before and will definitely be keeping a closer check on this. I often wake up feeling very groggy and with headaches :S

 

[momof3boys]

My apologies for bumping up this thread.... but this is really interesting! I never realised that teeth grinding could be seizure related... I think most nights I grind my teeth and my jaw often goes into some kind of paralysis in the mornings (to the point where I can't open my mouth fully). I never made the connection before and will definitely be keeping a closer check on this. I often wake up feeling very groggy and with headaches :S

I have had the same thing happen to me before. My husband would notice me moving around, and when he would say my name, I wouldnt respond, and then noticed my jaw was clinched. I remember waking up to see his face, but I cant recall what he asked or what I might have said back. But in the mornings my jaw would be killing me. Sometimes afterwords I would have a headache too. Now from what my neurologist here in town have told me, those were more than likely seizures that i had during my sleep. The headache in the morning and my jaw hurting, Ive had right after coming out of a seizure.

 

[TempusFugit]

Thanks for your input momof3boys *hugs* It's really reassuring to know that you have also had similar experiences and to be honest, I never made the connection until now - how ignorant I really am :S Best I start keeping that seizure diary that I have been putting off for many moons now!

 

[CQ:)]

HI Hedtrouble,

My auras are usually really weird dreams & the only time I remember those type of dreams is just before a seizure.

I'm sure I have had a few auras or partial seizures in my sleep but because I have woken up after a sleep with a shocking headache (usually the type of headache I get after a seizure) or when I have woken up there have been things in places that weren't there before I went to sleep.

 

[momof3boys]

I didnt start keeping a seizure diary til September of last year. My neuro I started seeing a few years back gave me a small diary from his office, and said to write down any changes that I was experiencing when he increased my keppra from 3000mgs a day to 4000mgs a day. Since then, Ive had so many new changes with medications, that Ive been keeping a diary of anything new thats been taking place. Once you start to get use to it, you will get into the habit of writing down new things. It took me a good month or so before I finally got use to writing things down!

 

[CrunchyFrog]

The only way I know definitively is when my partner tells me. I've often woken up wondering if it was a seizure or a dream and usually he knows because when I have a partial seizure I smack my lips really loudly. I don't think I grind my teeth though :dontknow:

 

[mel239]

What I remember of my last seizure was a huge help for me because it mimicked what I had thought weredreams i had growing up.now i know that my seizures have been going on alot longer than 3 years-I can remember having what i thought what a dream since 4th grade and almost every other day.Makes me wonder why my family never noticed.My jaw clenches a little also but a lady who was sitting right next to me said it looked like i was repeatedly and quickly clenching and unclenching my teeth but you could only see the jaw muscle move so i guess its not noticeable unless you are rightnext to me.For some reason I feel better knowing these didnt just appear out of the blue 3 yrs ago sounds weird right?

 

[elizzza811]

I've been a teeth-grinder since I was little, but now I grind and clench something fierce all day long, 24/7.

But to answer your question, I've had numerous episodes in which I've woken up dazed and confused, unsure of what day it was, what I was supposed to be doing, what I did yesterday, etc..., and I often wondered if these events were seizure-related. I'd never really paid attention to whether these confused awakenings were then followed by seizures, until a couple of months ago when I needed to get a prolactin level drawn. Sure enough, I woke up dazed and confused, and within an hour or two had a seizure. So yea, if you're dreaming you had a seizure, it certainly is possible you really had one.

 

[mel239]

I always had what I thought were the same dream.My arms grew really long and thin nad then my hands blew up like balloons and then it felt like i was thinking in my head or imagining or had this this irresistable urge to start chomping through my arm because it was so thin and I thought i could do it.Weird and creepy-then it ends.But i remember it up to that point but not the actual biting or clenching point and my arms always stretch almost out of my view-down the stairs or across the room or out of the car or over peoples heads.Never connected this to e though because I always thought they were just wacky dreams