How long is the standard recovery?

[Luckylukas]

Hey guys

I had been seizure free for about 15 months up until two weeks ago, i was pretty happy with myself during that time as well, i had my licence back after a year and was sticking to all the rules: no excessive drinking or any type of enhancements, i wouldn't stay up all night i always made sure i got enough sleep even if that meant frequent naps.

Unfortunately there was a very busy period at work where i was constantly running around, the pressure was on, i was in charge of instructing my employees with work and couldn't make it to the chemist in time to pick up my medication.
I wasn't very worried it would only be the two doses (evening and morning) that i would miss out on before i was going to leave work at lunch time to pick up my meds.
I made it until 12pm, i was feeling a little off (nauseous and dizzy) but i had never in the past had any real warning sign before a seizure and had missed a few doses without consequence before, so i decided to sit down for a bit to rest.

I had a grand mal and was taken to hospital, it was a real shock for me i had been working at the same place for 11 years and never had so much as a twitch.
But what really shocked me was the mental recovery time, the physical part i was used to, the sore limbs, bruised cheeks and busted lip was all i got away with this time.
I hate saying it seems a little harsh but 'dumb' is the only word i can think of to explain the way i have been feeling since the seizure. Words, names, numbers don't come to me as fast (or at all) my memory has always been very average i believe from previous grand mals, but over the 15 months seizure free my mental state had been in the best shape it has been in for a long time, i just hope this period of 'dumbness' doesn't last too long.

I recently heard about the scarring on the brain that occurs every time a seizure takes place and i'm worried about the consequences that may happen if i continue to have them, i think atm i'm at the point where people are starting to notice the occasional slur of words or obvious 'silly can't remember moments'.

I guess it's like getting up to level 10 then 'bam' back to zero.
Has anyone else had similar side effects lasting as long? And what would be the standard recovery for most people?

Cheers
Luke

 

[Tez_20]

Hi Luke,

Sorry to hear your seizures have started again even though you kept to doing everything correct but try and keep on top of your meds as that is important.

Sounds like work as put a lot of stress on to you mentally which won't help as your over tasking your brain and making it work harder and stress alone is very bad where epilepsy is concerned, that always needs to be a less problem.

I suffer from gand mal and my memory is up the wall plus i'm brain damaged on the right side but each time we have seizures cells can be killed off through the electricity going through the brain.

This info below on grand mal seizures and memory may help you also besides members replies


How can seizures cause memory problems?

Memory is a natural brain process that requires continuing attention and recording by parts of the brain. Seizures interfere with memory by interfering with attention or input of information. Confusion often follows a seizure, and during this foggy time new memory traces are not being laid down in the brain. Tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures in which you lose consciousness can interfere with normal brain processes and disrupt the registration phase of short-term memory. Sometimes longer term memories from the period prior to the seizure are lost as well, as these memories may have not yet being fully integrated into the brain's memory system. If a seizure is very severe and prolonged (status epilepticus) and you experience hypoxia (insufficient oxygen to the brain), this can cause secondary damage to your memory system.

 

[denverboz]

I bet you won't let that happen again. Hope you're contacting your neurologist or a neurologist nurse. They might want to check your levels or do an MRI. As for the memory issue you may be looking at months for full recovery. I've been seizure free for 9 months now, and it took me 4-5 months before I started noticing an improvement in my memory, but it has gotten significantly better. I myself have missed my scheduled dose a few times with no consequences ( fingers crossed). But my neurologist did warn me of the dangers of missing a dose, yet alone 2 doses. But it's best for you to talk to your neurologist, or his nurse. I suspect like most things, it may take longer or shorter for you. I'm thinking shorter since it was 15 months since last seizure. But what do I know. Good luck.