Dream or seizure??

[Khcf4]

I've never had a seizure before, that I know of. I've recently been under a great deal of stress lately (new baby, toddler, mom has cancer, moving, etc). Early this morning I was awake with my baby and was going to go back to sleep. I was laying on my back and drifting off and my hand was on my stomach and it felt like my body was tremoring. But I felt out of it so my only thought was "weird". Then it got worse and I thought "I should roll over and call for help". As I rolled over to reach for my phone my body started convulsing starting with my arm down.... Then suddenly I woke up on my back an hour later. I was not sweating, sheets were not messed up or anything. Was this a dream or a seizure?? Do you ever remember the beginning of a seizure when your body starts to seize or is that impossible?

Thank you...

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Khcf4, welcome to CWE!

Do you ever remember the beginning of a seizure when your body starts to seize or is that impossible?

There are all kinds of seizures. Some kinds can happen while the person is fully conscious (simple partials), some kinds occur when the person is conscious but not fully aware (complex partials), and some that occur with full loss of consciousness (tonic-clonics, what used to be referred to as grand-mals). They can stay in one form, and/or they can progress from one to the other, so it's certainly possible that you could remember the part of a seizure in the beginning stages.

From the description, I think it's less likely that you had a full-on seizure with convulsing and loss of consciousness, but you may have had a smaller seizure. However you may also have had a minor or one-time sleep disturbance brought on by the stressors you mention. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasomnia

I recommend that you:
a. Take steps to reduce your stress, even if that means a few minutes here and there throughout the day where you take a "time out" and breathe quietly.
b. Try to get regular sleep, and make sure you are eating healthily as well. Avoid caffeine and other stimulants, particularly after noontime.
c. Make a note if the tremors happen again, or if any other unusual symptoms occur. Get in touch with your doctor if they recur more than once, or escalate in some way.

It's very possible that what you experienced is just a one-off response to all the stresses you are dealing with right now. If so, use this as a heads-up to do what you can minimize those stresses. And feel free to check back here with any more questions.

Best,
Nakamova