Is this a Seizure?

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cocktaildizeaz

cocktaildizeaz

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I think I just had a seizure, more than I've thought in the past year. I am still not sure if my spells are seizures, but I'm beginning to think they may be. I know my spells have been increasing in frequency and tonight I got a really nauseating feeling, felt like something was churning in my stomach (if you've ever been pregnant, it's the feeling you get when the baby is kicking), then the bad left sided head pain, and bam, my left eye stayed wide open and my right eye went shut and I couldn't control it. My husband said my eyes went really really glossy before it happened and started to roll a little during the spell, with my left arm twitching. My left leg twitched too. I could hear everything around me and I was able to understand but I couldn't communicate well at all. Now does that sound like a seizure?? OH, and another weird thing was I was giddy afterward. I know my husband was looking at me funny because he was genuinely terrified of the whole ordeal while I was looking at him wanting to laugh. I kept thinking to myself, why the hell do I think this is so funny!

Here's what my spells usually look like:

(Keep in mind this is all on the left side of my body only)
-Temple pain, usually throbbing
-Eye pain, usually throbbing (connected with left temple pain)
-Eye Fatigue, feels tired and gets small
-Whites of eyes turn yellow or pink (goes away as soon as episode is over)
-Arm pain, shooting or stabing usually
-Leg pain, shooting or stabbling, sometimes throbbing
(Basically my entire left side has pain)
-Slurred Speech
-Unable to think properly, can't get words out
-Extreme dizziness, head bobs around
-I am able to hear and understand everything
-Sometimes it feels as if someone has picked up my left side and dropped it down, if that make any sense. I feel the left side of my body lift up and then back down and it happens very quickly and only once.
 
the whites of your eyes going yellow and pink could signify too much copper in your blood and the liver is unable to proccess it, resulting in seizures. This is known as Wilson's disease, if I remember correctly.
 
"The main sites of copper accumulation are the liver and the brain, and consequently liver disease and neuropsychiatric symptoms are the main features that lead to diagnosis.[1] Patients with liver problems tend to come to medical attention earlier, generally as children or teenagers, than those with neurological and psychiatric symptoms, who tend to be in their twenties or older. Some are identified only because relatives have been diagnosed with Wilson's disease; many of these patients, when tested, turn out to have been experiencing symptoms of the condition but haven't received a diagnosis

About half the patients with Wilson's have neurological or psychiatric problems. Most patients initially have mild cognitive deterioration and clumsiness, as well as changes in behavior. Specific neurological symptoms then follow, often in the form of parkinsonism (increased rigidity and slowing of routine movements) with or without a typical hand tremor, ataxia (lack of coordination) or dystonia (twisting and repetitive movements of part of the body). Seizures and migraine appear to be more common in Wilson's disease.[1]

Psychiatric problems due to Wilson's disease may include behavioral changes, depression, anxiety and psychosis." from wikipedia
 
Hi cocktaildizeaz,
welcome to the forum!

The fact that your spells are all happening on the left side of your body implies that the seizure-like activity is originating on the right side of your brain. It could be seizures, but it could also be something else neurological in origin (or liver-related as Rae suggests above), so you should definitely get checked out by your doctor ASAP.

Best,
Nakamova
 
I was in a bad car accident in 2004 and these spells have been happening ever since. I have since been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Reynaud's Disease, and was diagnosed with Epilepsy in 2005 but after a week long EEG, the doctor suggested pseudoseizures. I then saw a psychologist who told me I was not having pseudoseizures and needed to be re-evaluted. He stated to me that just because one weeks worth of EEGs were normal does not mean they should have stopped treating me. Before the week long EEG, I did have an abnormal EEG that suggested seizures, which is why he diagnosed me in the first place. After unsuccessful attempts at medications he sent me to the study. The doctors at the university then felt I did not have epilepsy and my neurologist completely dropped me. I have since had more EEGs with other doctors and did have a borderline abnormal EEG, which led to a 3-day EEG monitoring at home. Because I had no seizure activity then, that doc dropped me. So I've had bad experience with the neurologists I have seen. I am very frustrated and very worried. I get the spells closer together and more frequent over the last year, they started out as once a month and have progressed to once or twice a day. The seizure I had the day before yesterday was not the same as the spells. It was different. As I stated in my originating post, I got a really nauseating feeling, felt like something was churning in my stomach (if you've ever been pregnant, it's the feeling you get when the baby is kicking), then the bad left sided head pain, and bam, my left eye stayed wide open and my right eye went shut and I couldn't control it. My husband said my eyes went really really glossy before it happened and started to roll a little during the spell, with my left arm twitching. My left leg twitched too. I could hear everything around me and I was able to understand but I couldn't communicate well at all. I had never had nausea before this seizure, so that was new to me.
 
Is there

something that is triggering these seizures?? Have you kept an E journal to try to find the triggers? If not, you should. It will help the doctors track things down and find patterns as to the cause. What about food allergies?

Have you considered a change in diet--using the LGIT, MAD or GARD diets? Or using neurofeedback?

And KEEP LOOKING for a new neuro. There has to be one out there that you can get along with.

Take care.

Meetz
:rock:
 
If they believe that they are not Epileptic seizures, then they might be episodes caused by something else within the body. If after all of the EEGs and testing, they are probably right that it may not be Epilepsy at all. I would ask your doctor to refer you to another neurologist if possible to get another opinion and tell them the troubles you have been having so far with other doctors, your new symptoms and that they are interupting your life.
Sounds sto me like simple partial seizures- meaning they don't cause any L.O.C and usually is something like twitching, odd feeling on one side or the other or in a specific body part- and you're able to remember it. But I've never heard of simple partial seizures that involve pain that you can remember. But maybe another neurologist can do additional testing?

I hope you have a better time in the future with doctors

Take care
Crystal
 
Have any of your doctors done an MRI?
 
The spells I have I usually do have pain, but the seizure I had a night ago didn't involve any pain. I did some research on Simple Partial Seizures and it seems to be really close to what I experienced. I'm starting to think I'm having seizures and maybe the spells are something else. The spells I have are triggered by lack of sleep, stress, not eating, and physical activity (such as showers, shopping, exercising).

As for MRI's, yes I've had several, as well as MRAs and EKGs. I really think they need to do a stress test on me, especially since I get tired way to easily after physical activity and it causes the spells.
 
This sounds very similar to the simple partials my friend has. The majority of her seizures are simple partials. From the way your post was worded it seems as if this is the first of this type you have had. If so you really need to alert your doctor. It makes a huge difference in the way they will treat whether or not you are having grand mals, complex partials or simple partials or what you were having before. Good luck with everything.

Jordan
 
You're right, it was the first time I've had one of those. It scared the crap out of me, haha. I'm not used to not having control over my own body, but I knew I'd be okay. I have an appt with the neurologist on Wednesday, crossing my fingers!!
 
You could try going to hte ER when it happens... though I dont know how long your spells last ? If they last along time ... go to ER straight away.. they might run an EEG or get Neurology down.. worth a try...

My first EEG showed only slight abnormality ad so I i could not get a concrete diagnosis... I let the E go on .. it got worse... so bad...I was in status epilepticus... I got an EEG done while I was having seizures...so the diagnosis is concrete.

It might also be worth going to ER when it happens so then they can run tests and rule out all those other things (if it is epilepsy) by doing blood work etc. When I had the first on-going seizures that would not stop in March they did all that...I had no idea what was happening and why they wouldnt just stop the seizure.. but they had to do all those other tests first ... (or wanted to) before I finally got Ativan and it stopped it.
 
BTW i have simple partials and when i have a simple partial my right side jerks ... (its my left temporal lobe thats affected) its extremly uncomfortable, I also get nausea and a strange feeling in my stomach before it starts.. and weakness. I have had way more simple partial than complex partial seizures.

But you do need to get to the botto of it ASAP its just a shame its hard to diagnose ad EEGs can only pick up the seizure while its happening... infact.. if its deep in the brain it wont even pick that up at all.

I wish you all the best, and please keep us updated
 
I will definitely keep everyone informed. I go for my second sleep study on Tuesday night (I had my first this past Sunday). So I'll probably add Sleep Apnea to my list of things, hahaha. Those things are the worst!!
 
Good luck! I hope you get some answers soon.
 
So I've had a couple more episodes today. Don't know if they are seizures, but I felt really nauseated before, I became slow, my eyes started to shutter, my left eye was less resistant than my right eye, the right eye wanted to shut closed. I fought it was completely aware. It lasted less than a minute, but now my whole left side is very weak and my left hand is shaking a lot. No pain until a little after the episode was over. My husband is scared, worried. He cried today watching me, I think I am more worried about him than myself.
 
I went to my very first neurologist I went to see back in 2004/05 to let him to know that these episodes are still ongoing and that my psychologist did not believe I was having pseudoseizures. After listening to me he agreed that something else must be going on. He wasn't convinced of traditional seizures, but he thought that maybe I was having a rare type of seizure that he may not know about. He has referred me to a epileptologist here in San Antonio, TX and to have a video EEG that is around my period, since that is the worst time for my episodes. I'm super excited, glad to see he believes me now!!! He also said he didn't believe they were migraines, so that was nice to hear, especially since every other neurologist tried to pass me off with complicated migraines. Now we're just waiting for "that time of the month." Nice, right!!!
 
Well that sounds promising! I hope the epileptologist and the vEEG get you some answers, and a good treatment plan.
 
Sounds like a Complex Partial seizure to me. I have these and yes, I do feel giddy after them sometimes. It is the strangest feeling ever. I would tell my doctor ASAP especially, if the seizures have changed or it is breaking through any meds. Take care. You are not alone with these feelings with seizures.

tam bam
 
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