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mcnuttjason

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Thought i would introduce myself as i search through information and what not.

I am 33 years old and up till recently have never had seizures, or any other serious medical issues. About a month ago I apparently bit my tongue in my sleep. Went to the Doc and he didn't even think anything of it. prescribed a steroid to boost my healing. About a week later i woke my wife while having a seizure. I went to the Doc again, this time was set up for an MRI and referred to a neurologist.

After his appoint that came to nothing conclusive. He set up for an EEG and EKG. Before those appointments I had 2 more seizures on consecutive nights. After the second I nearly bit off my tongue, so my wife called 911. The ER Doc Prescribed Keppra at 1000MG per day. They also said that i had high blood pressure, but I half tied that to post seizure issue.

The neurologist says the EEG showed a Epileptic spike, but not enough information to diagnose me with epilepsy.

Where i am confused is most information I find says people start real young at most in their teens. and I am not a teen. My brother in law thinks it was something to do with the Whey Protein that i have been taking while weightlifting(that i have taken before). The Doc does not see the connection but cannot diagnose me with anything.

I have set up with the family Doc for a physical and to discuss with her my options. I am just trying to sort out the information and not become overwhelmed or misinformed. Any guidance will be more then appreciated.
 
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Hi mcnuttjason,

Welcome to CWE! If you are having seizures in your sleep you may want to go in for a sleep study and e.e.g. at the same time. I had this done and my Dr. found I was having seizures in my sleep about 1-2 hrs. before I would wake up in the morning. I was put on the drug vimpat and that ended this type of seizure. The name of the seizure is "myocolonic seizures" Everyone is different but when I started Keppra the drug increased my seizures and gave me a hot temper.
My advice to you is to have your family Dr. refer you to see an Epileptologist which is a Dr. who specializes in Epilepsy, you can usually find these Drs. at a large hospital or a university hospital.
Before I had brain surgery certain colors would trigger seizures for me this is known as being "photosensitive" which means certain colors can sometime trigger a seizure for a person.
In regards to age many people start having seizures when they are young but over the yrs. that I have had epilepsy I've also learned that older people are getting epilepsy also.
My Dr. told me to cut back on the protein and eat foods high and fat but low in carbs and starch. Everyone is different. I do know that anything with NutraSweet will trigger seizures for me because the NutraSweet causes more electrical activity in my brain. I learned about this from my Epileptologist when I started having more seizures and then I told him I was drinking diet soda and I was told all about what it can do to a person. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
Thanks for the input Sue. I just have high hopes that its something that i am doing wrong and not something that is wrong with me. This issue kinda puts my career i was working toward and my degree to waste...
 
Hi mcnuttjason,
Welcome to CWE.

Epilepsy (unprovoked, recurrent seizures) can strike any age, anytime.

As far as the whey protein goes, there is a very remote possibility it could trigger seizures if you are hyper sensitive to either glutamate or one of the artificial sweeteners.

I use whey protein daily and have no problems with it causing seizures.
 
Hi, mcnuttjason and welcome to CWE!

The unfortunate thing about epilepsy is that more often than not, the reason for one developing it is unknown. It can strike anyone at any age.

I agree with Sue that requesting a referral to an epileptologist to help in the diagnostic process would be helpful. It would be very worthwhile that this type of neurologist also be the one to supervise any video EEG that may be recommended as sometimes results are not easy to interpret.

An alternative to a video EEG that may help in the meantime is an ambulatory EEG. For this you would wear the EEG leads for 24 hours (and therefore during your sleep when your seizures have occurred). The hope is that a seizure will occur during this particular night, but if the Keppra is working a seizure may not occur. An epileptologist can help you discontinue the keppra prior to the ambulatory EEG if you have started taking it.

I hope you get some answers from the specialists very soon!
 
Hi mcnuttjason, welcome!

About 30% of epilepsy cases are children younger 18 years of age -- so there's plenty of epilepsy that shows up in the post-teen years. :) My seizures showed up when I was 35.

Some protein powders contain amino acids (like glutamic acid) that can mimic the neurotransmitters that excite the brain. So check the label, and consider skipping the whey protein for a while to see how you feel.

best,
Nakamova
 
I started having seizures and diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 27, 13 years ago, and they have no clue what caused it. Other than stress and lack of sleep I really don't have anything that triggers a seizure but I'll have them any time even if these things aren't going on. I have them when I'm awake and asleep and I'll chew the inside of my mouth.

I hope you get some answers about what's going on soon too.
 
Hello.my e was diagnosed when in my 30s but looking back I proberly had it longer lots of things fell into place once got diagnosed.I would advice you don't entirely rely on eeg mine have been normal abnormal back and forwards.my daughter was acutely fitting when had eeg and it came back normal it mystery.
I think the sleeping one is good think to have done.I sort of agree with your doc on the whey.Stop the whey see what happens.did you ask what your BP was
 
mcnuttjason,

A sleep EEG at a sleep clinic sounds like a great idea.
You may have some sort of sleep disorder which is causing a lack of oxygen to your brain causing night time seizures that you may not be aware of.
IN The meantime, Some other symptoms to help ldentify the diagnoses besides biting your tongue or inside of your mouth are: lack of energy in the morning and feel tired and lethargic, headache, grouchy and short tempered, aching joints.

Randy
 
! ! ! ! Welcome to cwe ! ! ! !

Jason,
The sleep study is a very good idea. Like many people have said, Epilepsy can start at any age! Another thing that can show up at any age is Sleep Apnea. I have learned from research that there have been people who have actually begun having seizures as result of having Sleep Apnea! This is because a person who has Sleep Apnea stops breathing because their airway becomes blocked. This denial of oxygen to the brain has been found to cause seizures for some people, but NOT all people. This means if you get a Sleep Study done they can check for Sleep Apnea at the same times as checking for Myoclonic Seizures!
Finding the cause and finding a strong treatment plan can take what feels like 'too long', but taking this much time is part of dealing with seizures. :ponder:

Hope You Get Good Results,
acshuman
 
acshuman,

I speak from experience, I've had chronic Sleep Apnea since 2007.
I was snoring so bad that I was waking up the family and waking up in a sweat and feeling tired and all the symptoms that I mentioned above.

I've noticed a HUGE difference in my sleep since using my CPAP machine.
My sleep study showed that I was having up to 55 seizures during an 8 hour period.

Now - no more night seizures, snoring or night sweats.

Randy
 
Sleep Apnea Here Too!

Randy,
I don't know if I was having seizures as a result of my Sleep Apnea. They didn't see any evidence of this during my sleep studies(more than 1).
I totally agree with you as to the way a CPAP machine has helped me sleep much better and as a result I am able to do more during the time I am awake!
Sleep Apnea and E may not be automatically connected, but the results of Sleep Apnea may lead to E in different ways!
Anyone who wakes up in the middle of the night may be experiencing Sleep Apnea. The blockage of a person's airway causes that person to suddenly wake up in a startled state. This may happen any time that person tries to sleep! A CPAP machine is one way to counter Sleep Apnea. I have found that sleeping in a reclining chair helped me also. Because of this I now have an adjustable bed so I can raise the head of the bed into the position a person sits in when sitting in a reclining chair.
Sleep Apnea affects more people each year than E does!


acshuman
 
Hi, mcnuttjason. My seizures are caused by a closed injury.
I hope you get the help you need.
 
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