Has a cause been found for your seizures?

Has a cause been identified for your seizures? (Choose all that apply)

  • No. It's a big mystery.

    Votes: 80 35.6%
  • Maybe. We have some suspicions, but it's hard to know.

    Votes: 74 32.9%
  • Yes. There was an event, injury, or an illness/physical cause that caused my seizures.

    Votes: 56 24.9%
  • It's a confusing topic - I may have more than one cause, some we know, some we don't..

    Votes: 30 13.3%
  • I don't care what the cause is, so don't ask me.

    Votes: 2 0.9%
  • I care what the cause is. I want to know.

    Votes: 50 22.2%

  • Total voters
    225

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I am so sorry things are escallating for your son. He is in our prayers.
 
I had strep throat my entire childhood.As we moved from base to base,Im not sure if I ever saw a doctor all those different times.I do remember some high fevers with hallucinations that I was flying and choking.There is some kind of big deal with groundwater contamination at Camp leJeune,N.C. where I was born but the govt is saying it was no big deal.I was conceived while my mom was exposed and then born there and lived there first 3 years and we were right at the dangerous area.We are in a registry for that and it does say neurological problems,but reading some of their stories,I am SO LUCKY
 
Hi stilldancing,I am so sorry about your son-you and he will be in my prayers-Melody
 
thank you

Thanks every body. I hope it calms soon. I need prayers. Lots of em lots and lots. I feel so lonly.
 
I have an appointment with his epileptologist or we have an appointment next week.Blesses go back to you all.
 
I was also a forceps delivery, but am missing a key injury for my brain damage to have been caused by my birth. My neuro said many tle patients can be traced back to forceps delivery.

This stuff about the association between TLE and forceps delivery is interesting. I hadn't heard it before (specifically) but had rather suspected there was a link for a long time.

There were quite a lot of problems when I was born: I was born several weeks "late" and they induced the labour against my mother's wishes due to the lateness (hence, being her, she was probably behaving uncooperatively which wouldn't have helped).

I'm not sure why, incidentally, they think that the correct duration of gestation, a natural process which can be reasonably expected to vary between individuals (never mind the difficulty of finding the correct conception date to begin with), can be established by an arbitrary calendar count, and the simple fact of falling outside their narrow predetermined limits is automatically deemed reason enough for intervention without considering more pertinent factors such as ACTUAL health of mother and fetus. Perhaps in addition to the time spent teaching obstetricians to use surgical implements in medical schools, they could set some time aside for teaching them the correct employment of another very useful tool known as a bell curve, the use of which at present they appear to be entirely ignorant of... I suspect this would save a lot of quite unecessary birth traumas and subsequent health issues, and themselves a good deal of work. Anyway, better give that a rest. :)

I too was a forceps delivery, in case you hadn't guessed by now. Further complicating factors were the induction, my mother's non-cooperation (I think she was trying NOT to have me in order to prove them wrong by this point, she's stubborn as hell) the extreme length of the labour, and the fact that she had a damaged pelvis as a result of a road accident when she was young, which made all her deliveries (she had 7 children in total) extremely difficult to begin with. Apparently she only just survived the experience herself due to stress and heart failure, and I believe they had to resuccitate me to some extent (I was apparently not a very healthy colour by the time I finally popped out and had little or no pulse). Oxygen deprivation seems highly likely too in these circumstances.

My mother did also get poisoned by an industrial chemical very early in the pregnancy, before she knew she was pregnant. It was some kind of halogenoalkane used as a solvent, which she inhaled a pure sample of (which she was doing something with in the company laboratory) due to a remarkably stupid and irresponsible "practical joke" played on her by another employee. She says that she suffered permanent lung damage and intoxication symptoms, and spent several months off work recovering before she decided that it was not an ideal work environment to go back to when she was pregnant. I don't know whether this thing had an effect on whatever little bundle of cells comprised myself at the time; but whatever effect it did have can be reasonably presumed to be not so good I think...

There is additionally quite a strong history in my family of both migraines and dyslexia; I have numerous family members who have one or both conditions, which suggests that some kind of genetic liability is floating around. Migraines seem to be associated with a greater risk of epilepsy from what I've heard (not terribly surprising given that they both affect the brain); while I've seen evidence that when a neurological basis has been found for dyslexia there are typically alterations in brain function such as reduced activation of Wernicke's area in the left temporal lobe, which may imply damage or unusual formation. If there are genes floating around in my heritage that cause things out of the ordinary to be happening in that area, I shouldn't be too surprised if I got a few myself, perhaps. :woot:

So, plenty of suggestive maybes, but not confirmation of anything in particular at this stage...
 
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Hi, I'm new to this whole forum thing, but yes. I mostly get seizures after being extremely sick. (Fever, Stomach Ache, etc. But thank god I don't get sick to often. I usually have one every 6 months to a year.
 
My seizures didn't start until after I came down with PCOS. My seizures always come at the same time of the month. I'm working on getting my hormones under control along with my insulin resistance. I am positive if I could get that to stop fluctuating, my seizures would stop.
 
We think the seizures I had as a baby may have been from the tetanus injection I had at 9 months old.

The seizures I've been having for the last 9 years are from scarring on the left side of my brain. The epitiologists & neurosurgeons beleive the scarring is from the seizures I had as a baby.
 
This stuff about the association between TLE and forceps delivery is interesting. I hadn't heard it before (specifically) but had rather suspected there was a link for a long time.

There were quite a lot of problems when I was born: I was born several weeks "late" and they induced the labour against my mother's wishes due to the lateness (hence, being her, she was probably behaving uncooperatively which wouldn't have helped).

I'm not sure why, incidentally, they think that the correct duration of gestation, a natural process which can be reasonably expected to vary between individuals (never mind the difficulty of finding the correct conception date to begin with), can be established by an arbitrary calendar count, and the simple fact of falling outside their narrow predetermined limits is automatically deemed reason enough for intervention without considering more pertinent factors such as ACTUAL health of mother and fetus. Perhaps in addition to the time spent teaching obstetricians to use surgical implements in medical schools, they could set some time aside for teaching them the correct employment of another very useful tool known as a bell curve, the use of which at present they appear to be entirely ignorant of... I suspect this would save a lot of quite unecessary birth traumas and subsequent health issues, and themselves a good deal of work. Anyway, better give that a rest. :)

I too was a forceps delivery, in case you hadn't guessed by now. Further complicating factors were the induction, my mother's non-cooperation (I think she was trying NOT to have me in order to prove them wrong by this point, she's stubborn as hell) the extreme length of the labour, and the fact that she had a damaged pelvis as a result of a road accident when she was young, which made all her deliveries (she had 7 children in total) extremely difficult to begin with. Apparently she only just survived the experience herself due to stress and heart failure, and I believe they had to resuccitate me to some extent (I was apparently not a very healthy colour by the time I finally popped out and had little or no pulse). Oxygen deprivation seems highly likely too in these circumstances.

Sounds similar to my experience. My mother was always head strong.
I remember my mother said something about my not breathing when I was born.
The doctor used forceps, and yanked me out.
I was barely 5 lbs, so I think I was actually premature instead of late like my mother insisted.
 
Being hospitalized many times for seizures and status I have heard many reasons what the cause of their szs are. I heard the forceps several times as a patient and a Neurodiagnostic Technician. Accidents, Cancers were other things I heard of and unknown causes.

I was of the unknown causes. About 3 years ago I had a MRI and it indicated a glioma, then clarified it as multiple Periventricular Nodular Heterotopias causing my seizures. I thought what was that. The Epileptologist simply discribed the cells while growing during gestation in 5th to 6th week of gestation did not seperate correctly, instead they tangled. Some patients it causes no problems other patients it causes seizures and other health problems.

I told him of problems when I was young and it correlated w./ the abnormality. The MRI machine where I was at slice very thinly and noted the cause of my seizures and noted why my seizures were hard to control.
 
"its genetic"

inspired by my therapists questioning about recent revival of the "night seizures" (although, due to damage to brain my bio-feedback and light sensitivity makes me a day sleeper haha) as s result of the fact that partial and complex seizures of the temporal lobe can occasionally be anticonvulsant resistant.

frustrated at my own ignorance of my 'condition' after more than 40 years of living with it, i began by researching brain function, & etc.

I WAS FORCEPS BIRTH. after drugs, episiotomy, and 36 hours of labour they wrenched me out and permanently damaged my moms body. she says my baby brother fell out after that. she never had more.

her grandmother had seizures. one of great grandmas kids had seizures too; the first one.

i propose that it is "genetic" to be 'epileptic' insomuch as it is genetic that certain women's body's are not shaped for stirrups-style delivery and the damage to the infant during birth - particular to temporal lobe is a result of the birth trauma. i myself have not given birth but my gyno told me i would deliver Caesarian if i ever did, because of my body. the risk of oxygen deprivation in birth canal would be too probable(long,narrow)

my research on forceps delivery found that in the male-dominated recent history of western medicine an obvious causal relationship exists when measuring comparitive stats indicating the distribution of incidents of epilepsy in forceps vs non-forceps delivery.

nobody wants to talk about this because the accountability is extroardinary and its a lawsuit bonanza.

when i told my mom of the hows and whys this all happenned, and that she could stop blaming herself, she was so relieved that after 43 years of witholding, she cried and raged at the young doctor who put "huge dents in my baby's head" and scarred her permanently, while he took praise for "saving everyone".

Caesarians are not new medicine. they cost more, though...

the irony of all this is that my step-brother's wife is a nurse. Guess who is chief neuroligist at the hospital she works at, the one where i was born?

you guessed it: dr brain damage himself.

talk about investing in your own future. is that creepy or what.:ponder:

small world...
 
I have a couple of ideas but no neurologist can be bothered to read up about a lump I was born with on my head, even though I have handed them a page from my medical notes, which has the one paragraph note highlighted.
Yet, an endocrinologist spend hours going through my medical notes, determined to get to the bottom of it, he came to the conclusion I would need to see a neurologist - problem is, they keep discharging me!

My sister is on a biology course at university, so has access to journals I don't, and the lump/lesion can cause seizures, particularly partials.

Another cause I'm wondering, is a genetic abnormality.
Before puberty, my feet shot up to size 12 (fortunately they haven't grown since), my ears do not fit my face frame in early photos (they look adult sized in them when I was a child), my head was too large, I had developmental delays. including speech.

There is nothing in my notes about a forceps birth, so doubt I am one. However, I did nearly choke to death for some reason when I was born. I was also allergic to breast milk. There are countless other abnormalities I can't remember right now, but never been tested for any genetic conditions.
 
I have a cyst somewhere around the Hippocampus and the Amygdala which is causing night seizures. According to the doctors cysts are formed during gestation and usually go away on their own, they know it's causing the seizures but, they can't explain why it took 23 years to cause problems. They also said that they are not uncommon but in most people they don't do anything - I actually have another cyst and arachnoid cyst that is not causing any problems. Just one of the many mysteries of Epilepsy I guess :dontknow:
 
Is it nice when they say things like that!
THey say we keep giving you medications and it appears its not helping but you lived w/ the abn. all your life your doing great! Have a great weekend!
 
doctors havent been able to find a cause , just sort of happened in my teens , but i would be thrilled if they could figure it out , maybe that would lead to a better way to treat ( or cure ? ) it , even if not i would at least know why i have to put up with the stinkin stuff !
 
doctors havent been able to find a cause , just sort of happened in my teens , but i would be thrilled if they could figure it out , maybe that would lead to a better way to treat ( or cure ? ) it , even if not i would at least know why i have to put up with the stinkin stuff !

If its not a tumor or a scar on the brain than the reason doesn't really matther.
The treatment is the same treatment when it comes to the reason you have epilepsy,only the type of epilepsy is important to know which aed's to give you.

I know the reason it started but it was almost unavoidable.Even if i din't drink soon or later it could began if i din't sleep enough which happens to everyone or played computer games.

In my case they say its only genetic altough no one in my family has JME,my mom sometimes drops stuff from her hand but i won't say its even remotly like a myoclonic jerk
 
gastric Bypass/electrolyte imbalance

My seizures began less than a month after my gastric bypass.There has never been a "written" corelation,but there is too much coincidence.I also had a pacemaker put in shortly after(probably because my heart was stopping during seizures)
I'm lucky to be alive.
 
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