E in families

[SoonToBeMommy]

Found out last night Epilepsy runs in my family. Not sure where in my family, but it seems my dad may have it a bit. How likely is it that I could have it? Most of anyone who has had it in my family have absence seizures; but I have absence seizures, myoclonic jerks (which my dad said many who have had E in the family have had) and Grand Mals so is it also just depending on person to person? I was really sick as an infant so maybe that plays a role?

 

[Autumn Breeze]

My father is also epileptic. His seizures started when he was younger, still a boy. I think he said he was 12? Anyway, he had 3 tonic clonics that year, and then not another one for almost 15 years. He's only had the 4. He's been on Dilantin since the third seizure. He gets an aura, so he can go lay down. I get nothing.

I was quite healthy as an infant and as a child. I am beginning to suspect that I'm dealing with catamenial epilepsy - my 'trigger' being annovulatory cycles. So, I'm going to go back to charting my cycle/temps to see if we can nail that one down.

 

[Crash]

My father experienced,severe migraines as a child and teens.He has always put my epilepsy to been the next one up on the scale so to speak.Hard to say if theres any truth to it.I also had migraines as a child and then my first seizure at seventeen.Intresting thread.

 

[CQ:)]

I am the only one in my family (Parents, siblings) who has epilepsy but my Dad has depression & the last couple of years he has been diagnosed with other neurological problems.

 

[jemma]

My father experienced,severe migraines as a child and teens.He has always put my epilepsy to been the next one up on the scale so to speak.Hard to say if theres any truth to it.I also had migraines as a child and then my first seizure at seventeen.Intresting thread.

Your father has an interesting theory, Crash. This sounds similar to my experience- my mother and grandmother have migraines. I was 8 when I had my first migraine (they were much more frequent and worse than hers from then on) and I had my first grand mal at 16. Epilepsy doesn't run in my family but migraines do.

 

[Intothatendlessblue]

My Grandmother had about two years when she was a teenager were she had seizures. There were very few tools for diagnosing Epilepsy and the causes at the time, so when they stopped she stopped looking for answers. Now I've been diagnosed and we are on the hunt for why. There is certainly evidence to show that Epilepsy is a familial disease. I think it would be interesting to look at the link between depression, migraines, and epilepsy...

 

[Crash]

Your father has an interesting theory, Crash. This sounds similar to my experience- my mother and grandmother have migraines. I was 8 when I had my first migraine (they were much more frequent and worse than hers from then on) and I had my first grand mal at 16. Epilepsy doesn't run in my family but migraines do.

Thank you for bringing that up Jenny as iv'e never heard anyone else mention anything like it before,as you say it is quite intresting,but who knows.eh?
All the best.

 

[jemsister]

There is variance in my family as well. Uncle had childhood generalized seizures that he outgrew (not injury related). My cousin (his daughter) has myoclonic jerks. I have partial seizures. Who gets it.

 

[SoonToBeMommy]

I am not sure why the E is caused in my family, but my dad says no one has had it as bad at me. He has absence seizures on occasion and is photosensitive.

 

[RunningGirl85]

As far as I know, I am the only one in my family with epilepsy, though my dad is bipolar and there is usually a link there. I have heard that while most of the time epilepsy is not related to family history, absence seizures are the most likely to be hereditary. I don't know why, but I've seen it in a few places

 

[mommymela]

As far as I know, I am the only one in my family with epilepsy, though my dad is bipolar and there is usually a link there. I have heard that while most of the time epilepsy is not related to family history, absence seizures are the most likely to be hereditary. I don't know why, but I've seen it in a few places

I didn't know about the bipolar link. Both of my parents are bipolar, so I guess I was already screwed.

 

[M1ssy]

I am one of a few in my (extended) family with E.
E is on my dad's side of the family and apart from myself, one of my cousins
has it, my great grandma's sister had it & other sisters of my great grandma
have grand children with E. I had a febrile convulsion when I was an infant which probably
triggered the E although I was more prone to E due to the family history.

 

[qtowngirl]

my dad had two convulsions when he was little but my doc, neuro, and epileptologist have all said that's just coincidence. no one on either side has E or seizures, or migraines. looks like i'm unique
there is however the lesion and they aren't hereditary (as running girl said i've also read/been told that though E can run in families it is not a genetic disease).
sounds like many of us had our first in our mid-teens. my epileptologist said after the investigative unit that our brains are still growing into our 20's and somehow the ideal seizure condition was created while nerves, cells, and hormones were putting it all together. any of you that started in your teens ever been told the same?

 

[arnie]

My dad had some sort of seizure activity when I was younger. I don't remember all the details but he was on tegretol for several years. Apparently a maternal uncle also had epilepsy, and my oldest daughter (31) had her first sz about 8 years ago and has been on trileptal ever since. She tried to go off a time or two but had tc szs again, so she is pretty much a lifer with meds, I would think.

 

[Crash]

No iv'e never been told that,although i am aware that the brain grows into the twentys.So for people seizing in their teens it's an idea that makes sense,basically wrong wiring,for want off a better word.

Although im thinking along the lines that epilepsy should be understood a lot better than it is now.I don't think there will be one magic fix.I still think it will take a lot off different fixes for the different types.What i would give for a time machine to go forward and see what medical advances they make.

 

[jemsister]

Seizure types vary in my family as well. My uncle had childhood tonic clonics, and my adult cousin has myoclonic jerks. It's possible that my brother has it, since he has episodes where he claims that everything seems to slow down a whole bunch, so I suppose that would be a partial seizure if he has seizures.

 

[KarenB]

Absence seizures do tend to run in families. Childhood absence seizures (that begin before age 4) can be caused by Glut-1 deficiency, which is genetic.

If any of you have a child with absence epilepsy, Jillian Weifield of Mount Sinai School of Medicine would like you to contact her. She is coordinating a sudy on the causes of Childhood Absence Epilepsy. Apparently genetics play a key role. For more information visit their website at www.petitmal.com and Facebook Page www.facebook.com/ChildhoodAbsenceEpilepsy. You can email Jillian at: jillian.weinfeld@mssm.edu

Nobody in my family or my husband's family has epilepsy except my husband's brother who also has Down Sydrome, and began having seizures in his 40's, right around the time he also developed a lot of other health issues. Our son, who also has Down Syndrome, began having seizures at age 1.

However, our older son had chronic migraines beginning in Kindergarten, and I have occasional migraines. I don't think anyone else in my family ever did though. But there seems to be a link between migraines and epilepsy, just like with bipolar and epilepsy. A lot of seizures meds are also used with bipolar and/or migraines (Trileptal, Topomax, etc.)

 

[Crash]

Thank you KarenB,i suffer from tonics as well as absence seizures.I must ask my father if he thinks he ever had absences as a child or growing up.It would be intresting to hear what he has to say on the matter,thanks again.