hello, im new & confused:(

[brighteyesz]

Hello everyone
I dont really know what to say haha, I've been suffering with tonic clonic seizures for around two years, I have been hopsitalised several times for these seizures, I was put on lamotrigine & things died down a little which was good but it made me feel pretty rubbish & I ended up covered in bruises for no reason! So I stopped taking them (stupid I know) & about half a month to a month later my seizures were back & pretty bad which then led me to go back to my GP & tell him, he referred me to a neurologist & put me on epilim chrono 300 two twice daily, & over the past month I've had less seizures! Ok so today I saw my neurologist for the first time & explained what happens when I have a seizure etc etc. & because I said before a seizure I feel odd (sort of like im almost detached from the world) & because I said that my seizures are worse when im stressed (alongside when im tired or ill) she said I might be having non epileptic attacks? She said that a few things make it sound like its definitely epilepsy but because of me feeling odd beforehand & a trigger being stress she'd bet theyre non epileptic attacks? Im just so confused because on meds I have seizures so much less than without them? Anyone else had this issue? Im worried I'm going to be taken off my meds & get ill again
Sorry for the massive post by the way haha x

 

[KatieCoy83]

Welcome! Chat it up. That's what we're here for

Mine were diagnosed as panic attacks first time around. They put me on "happy pills" but that did zip. It wasn't til I had on in his clinic before I was sent for a eeg and MRI.

Might want to get a 2nd opinion. Go with your gut.

 

[qtowngirl]

Might want to get a 2nd opinion. Go with your gut.

welcome brighteyes, and katie couldn't be more right... 2nd opinion.
i would not trust a neuro who says these things - what you described are normal parts of a simple partial seizure (can fill you in more on those if you'd like). the problem with neuros is that epilepsy is not their specialty, that's an epileptologist, so alot of them have been found useless with what we go through. when i first explained my symptoms to mine he figured they were fainting and though made a note in my file he didn't say much else.
after the next grand mal (one of my worst ever) i dropped him and went to a specialist. best thing i've ever done.
maybe ask your doc for an epi referral.

 

[N Sperlo]

Hey Bright,

I understand things are confusing right now. Maybe I can help understand why a medicine used to fight epilepsy may help prevent non-epileptic seizures. The medicine blocks seizures from going past a certain point. If a person who is not epileptic took lamotrogine, for instance, it could still prevent them from passing a certain stage (i.e. an aura) of the seizure.

So, even if you are not epileptic an having seizures, it is possible that the medicine can help prevent seizures.

Good luck.

 

[brighteyesz]

Thank you all for your input its nice to talk to people who actually experience these things themselves! I think the most confusing part is just the fact that my meds really do seem to stop/reduce these seizures:/ does anyone else get the strange feeling before having a seizure? & surely it isnt weird that stress triggers seizures? ah I just dont know, so confused & lost..

 

[brighteyesz]

Hey Bright,

I understand things are confusing right now. Maybe I can help understand why a medicine used to fight epilepsy may help prevent non-epileptic seizures. The medicine blocks seizures from going past a certain point. If a person who is not epileptic took lamotrogine, for instance, it could still prevent them from passing a certain stage (i.e. an aura) of the seizure.

So, even if you are not epileptic an having seizures, it is possible that the medicine can help prevent seizures.

Good luck.

I might just be being silly but im not sure I understand, surely if these seizures are non epileptic & caused by stress then meds wouldn't touch them? but like I said I might just be being silly haha

 

[brighteyesz]

welcome brighteyes, and katie couldn't be more right... 2nd opinion.
i would not trust a neuro who says these things - what you described are normal parts of a simple partial seizure (can fill you in more on those if you'd like). the problem with neuros is that epilepsy is not their specialty, that's an epileptologist, so alot of them have been found useless with what we go through. when i first explained my symptoms to mine he figured they were fainting and though made a note in my file he didn't say much else.
after the next grand mal (one of my worst ever) i dropped him and went to a specialist. best thing i've ever done.
maybe ask your doc for an epi referral.

Hello! Thank you for posting I would appreciate it a lot of you did elaborate on these simple partial seizures? I'm so new to all these things its embarrassing! Sorry to hear you also went through the same sort of thing, but its nice to know you're more settled now! or so I'm assuming I think I will make a doctors appointment tomorrow, thank you x

 

[N Sperlo]

Well, think of it this way; If you are having seizures, weather they are caused by one thing or another, an anticonvulsant should still stop them if it is working properly.

I hope we're talking about the same thing. lol.

 

[brighteyesz]

Welcome! Chat it up. That's what we're here for

Mine were diagnosed as panic attacks first time around. They put me on "happy pills" but that did zip. It wasn't til I had on in his clinic before I was sent for a eeg and MRI.

Might want to get a 2nd opinion. Go with your gut.

Sorry to hear you went through that awh thats what I'm worried is going to happen, I just want to get on track & on these tablets I'm feeling better but if they think they're non epileptic then I will be taken off my meds & be back to square one! I think I will thank you!

 

[brighteyesz]

Well, think of it this way; If you are having seizures, weather they are caused by one thing or another, an anticonvulsant should still stop them if it is working properly.

I hope we're talking about the same thing. lol.

I'm probably being an idiot, I just thought that because epileptic seizures are due to brain signals and non epileptic ones are psychological/psychogenic then anti-epileptics wouldn't be any use against non epileptic seizures :L

 

[qtowngirl]

here is a full explanation on a very trustable med website (info/articles written by doctors):
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1184694-overview.

Psychogenic symptoms are, by definition, a psychiatric disease, and a mental health professional should manage them.

for the most part epilepsy medication and psychiatric are different, however a few have similarities b/c many psychiatric issues have to do with mood and depression, and so can epilepsy- in the sense that depression and stress are a seizure trigger for some.
case in point: one of my main ones is stress, and back in the day when i had the very first 'episode' as it was referred to, i took myself to a mental health psychiatrist. i was young (15) but was very in-tune with myself, and explained my life in detail. as something extremely stressful/scary took place in childhood he diagnosed me with ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and put me on zoloft. interestingly the sz amount lowered for awhile, still had some but not near as many. THEN.
had my first grand mal over 9 years later, then second one, and was diagnosed with epilepsy. found out all along (with loads of my own research) that it was never ptsd... the 'episodes' that started at 15 were simple partial seizures. in 2009 my physician requested a sit-down with the psychiatrist to go over my old file and compare what was really going on, and he refused.
unfortunately seizures and ptsd (common diagnosis by psychiatrists) are mistaken for each other alot, there are a few striking similarities which make it tough sometimes if there isn't sufficient seizure evidence. in no way am i trying to depict what your situation is, this is simply something i wish i'd known when it started. zoloft can help straighten out mood and emotion, and as that in-part worked for me, less seizures. tricky subject for many, can greatly depend on one's triggers.

re: learning more about partial categories. instead of posting the whole thing, check out the thread 'itchy' by AlexC from earlier this morn... the 4 categories are explained in there towards the bottom (motor, sensory, autonomic, and psychic).