Help I think a seizure has mentally disturbed me.

[Adam30]

I really hope someone out there can help me.

Bascially I have had eplipsey my whole life and suffered with partical seizures. I have always been well controled but had a grand mal 7 years ago. My medication was changed and things returned to normal. But recently my aura's returned so I went back to my gp who put me on Sodium Valporate as well as the Lamtogine I was already taking. And it worked. I felt great. The best I have felt in years. So I stupidly started eating my old favorite foods laced in msg from takeaways that used to kick me off as I felt it would be ok. And on the sunday I was under terrible pressure which might not have helped. But last monday night I had a grand mal seizure. I remember waking up and throwing myself around before waking up in the morning with a bitten tongue and the mother of all headaches.

But this is where everything changed. I now no longer feel like me. The world feels different. The feeling I have for things has gone. Like women I have been intrested in I now have no feelings for. I still recognise they are attractive but dont have any feelings for them. What the hell has happened? Has the seizure turned me gay? This is beyond frustrating trying to explain what I mean here. Like I have had periods where I feel down and dont enjoy things I should i.e football, F1 ect but I have still felt normal. Still felt like me, even though am not enjoying myself. But this time everything feels weird. Has my mind been locked away forever?

I really am terrfied that I will never be the same again and get my feelings back. Especially for women.

Thanks for taking time to read this.

 

[cazbar]

Adam, do you have a psychiatrist in your treating team? What you're experiencing sounds like anhedonia - from Wikipedia:

In psychology and psychiatry, anhedonia ( /ˌænhiˈdoʊniə/ an-hee-doh-nee-ə; Greek: ἀν- an-, "without" + ἡδονή hēdonē, "pleasure") is defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. exercise, hobbies, sexual activities or social interactions. While earlier definitions of anhedonia emphasized pleasurable experience, more recent models have highlighted the need to consider different aspects of enjoyable behavior, such as motivation or desire to engage in an activity ("motivational anhedonia"), as compared to the level of enjoyment of the activity itself ("consummatory anhedonia") [1].
Anhedonia can be a characteristic of mental disorders including mood disorders, schizoaffective disorder, schizoid personality disorder and schizophrenia. For example, clients affected with schizophrenia often describe themselves as feeling emotionally empty.[2]
Mood disturbances are commonly observed in many psychiatric disorders. Disturbing mood changes may occur resultant to stressful life events and they are not uncommon during times of physical illness.[3]

I work for psychiatrists, and we get patients in all the time with it as one of their major symptoms. It's usually associated with mood disorders, and there are established links between mood disorders and epilepsy, so it may just be a matter of adjusting your medication. Hopefully it's just a postictal thing that will get better with time, like postictal depression, but it's definitely worth seeing your neurologist and a psychiatrist.

I really hope things start to perk up for you xx

 

[Fedup]

Adam

I think I know what you mean, I have grown up with epilepsy but 2 yrs ago my meds got changed and among other thing I lost interest in everything even getting up, I love gardening especially my roses but I did not care as it turned out it was the new meds they put me on so it might be no harm to talk to your GP about this and anything else that is not normal for you, this might sound crazy but this is just one thing that happened when they put me on new meds

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Adam30 --

Give yourself a little time to recover from the seizure. Sometimes the big ones can really do a number on us, and it can take a while before you feel back to normal. My last one was a doozy, and I think it took at least a month before I shook off the after-effects.

If it seems that the feelings of apathy/indifference aren't going away, definitely let your docs know -- it may well be something having to do with your meds, and some adjusting may make things right again. In the meantime, you know what to do -- be proactive with your health, and stay away from the foods that mess with your brain.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[Endless]

Adam,

Have you called your neurologist and told him about your seizure? It's important to do that now, not wait until your next appointment. And while you are telling him, also tell him about your feelings. It might be the seizures, or it might be caused by your medications. Your neurologist will figure it out.

Nakamova is right. A strong seizure can change the way our brains work for awhile.

 

[julie wishes]

Im sorry this has happened Adam. Everyone has some good ideas. Im here with another. Do you think you hit your head? I only ask because I got a concussion and that is exactly how i've felt while recovering from it. Just a thought.

I agree, call your doc and let him know. If it is a concussion there are a few precautions to take like limiting TV, loud noise etc. Good luck hun and I bet you pull through just fine. A tincture of time