Is this epilepsy?

[Lloyd]

Hi,
I have recently met a guy who is 24 years old. He has been having "attacks" as he calls them since he was 8. Doctors haven't found anything physically wrong with him, and therefore he has come to the very, VERY firm conclusion that it is demon attack.
His attacks are not conventional. During his attacks he sometimes screams terribly, like someone's attacking him, sometimes he screams "Demons, Demons!" and then he falls and convulses. He really hurts himself when he convulses and often repeatedly on the same places. Sometimes he will bite himself on his arms when he convulses, although this has grown less as he has grown older.

After he has convulsed sometimes he will stand up and run, just run... Sometimes he trys to do something else strange. Like once her tryed to take a leak in a pot plant after an attack. All during this time he is completely "out of it". He says sometimes he comes to while he's running and doesn't know where he is, or he's in somebodies house chatting to someone.

He is also like extremely religious. He doen't take his medication regularly because he says you can't get pills for demons. He says he can feel an attack coming on, and when he prays really hard it sometimes goes away. Previous doctors have said he has Conversion Disorder, but I don't know. They still supply him with Degranol (Carbamazepine). His parents say, that when he takes his pills, the attacks are less. They also say that Tegretol worked best, but can't get the state to provide it. His parents don't believe it is a demon attack. He never stays long enough in hospital for them to find out what he exactly has. He books himself out when he doesn't like the tests anymore. He doesn't feel the Doctors can help him. He sounds a bit crazy, but he is actually quite a nice guy.

Is this epilepsy? Or is this a psycological problem, or both? Any Advice, comments, insights?

Thanks,
Lloyd

 

[Meetz1064]

Frankly

Tegretol and Carbamazepine ARE both AED's. I'm going to give you some links to check out to help you out a bit. Please read through them. It honestly sounds as if he is having seizures. When you say convulsing, that means to me that he IS having a seizure. How long do these convulsions last?

And, just so you know, many people believe that people with E(pilepsy) ARE possessed by the DEMONS or by the DEVIL, which is quite ridiculous. It is simply an abnormal discharge of electricity inside the brain, causing a thunderstorm of sorts. At least that's the way that I explain it to people that just don't get, or don't WANT to understand the scientific end of things.......

OK, back to the links. First, is the Epilepsy 101 thread. Then, I will give you links to Epilepsy.com--regarding types of seizures. It will take some time to read through them, but please do. It will help you make more sense of what you're seeing with your friend. And to try to understand him better--which I MUST commend you for. Not many people do take the time to do that. Most people just go running, truthfully. You're a pretty decent guy. Also check out seizure first aid.

Now, some of his issues MAY be psychological. BUT, if his problems were better on the meds, and his parents know this, then my guess would be that he's got E.

EPILEPSY 101

TYPES OF SEIZURES

First Aid for Seizures

You talk about how your friend just stands up and runs....does it seem as if he knows he's doing it? It sounds like an automatism.....something like a lip-smacking or finger-snapping...that a lot of E patients will do during a seizure and not know it.

Hope the links help.

BTW, welcome to CWE. It's nice to meet ya. Check out all the nooks and crannies here. There's lots of info to be had, I promise. Even a Padded Room to vent in, when needed.

Your friend is lucky to have you.

Take care.

Meetz
:rock:

 

[drarvindr]

Yes , it does sound like epilepsy and :agree: with Meetz. Check out the links. have a frank talk with your friend.If he doesn't see sense and take some therapy ( it doesn't have to be meds. alternative therapies are useful as well and you may consider them if he is hostile towards the concept of pills) , then he could get brain damage from the scarring caused by the repeated seizures on his brain- and brain damage is incurable. Once your brain cells die , that's it. They don't regenerate. It could be conversion disorder but it sounds more like epilepsy. His religious beliefs are merely trying to rationalise the seizures as "possessions". Tegretol and C'zepine are both useful AEDs and they seem to have worked on him. Try to talk to him openly about this issue. You are a very good friend to him. Hope he gets better soon

 

[RobinN]

Hi Lloyd - welcome
It was suggested that my daughters seizures were also possibly a conversion disorder at one point. She had more weird side effects when on medication. Now she is not on meds at all. Her seizures now are more the classic tonic clonic variety. Her clarity of thought is better, and we are reducing the episodes with nutritional changes, vitamins and minerals that support brain health and neurofeedback.

At the time we were getting mixed messages, I decided it really didn't matter what the episodes were called, she needed to heal. I took the approach to do this from the inside out. My daughter was fine until she was 14, so I have worked very hard to raise her seizure threshold. The best way I have done this is to keep a journal. I do it on a calendar, and I can occasionally target what is likely the trigger of a particular event.

Your friend needs to know that he is not possessed. He will appreciate your help I am sure. Perhaps by adding in some alternative therapies he won't be so dependant on the drugs.

 

[Bernard]

Hi Lloyd, welcome to the forum. :hello:

It's pretty rare for someone to get up and run around after having a tonic clonic seizure (one where the person falls to the ground and has total body convulsions). Everything else you described sounds consistent with complex partial seizures.

Screaming before the seizure starts is likely an indication that he may be experiencing auras or simple partial seizures just prior to the complex partials (ie. he is consciously aware that a seizure is imminent).

Most people with epilepsy don't have anything physically wrong with them (at least as far as doctors know what to look for with MRIs). Many people with epilepsy have great difficulty getting an EEG test to record seizure activity in the brain. Clear tests don't rule it out - they just mean that nothing was found during the window of time the test took place.

The threads in the epilepsy 101 link Meetz gave you are well worth reading. If you can get him interested, have him look through the http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f22/proactive-prescription-epilepsy-1254/ thread in particular.

I think it's great that you took it upon yourself to seek some answers/help for him. Cheers. :mrt:

 

[skillefer]

Hello...

Hi Lloyd! Welcome to CWE. From what you reported, it sounds like your friend is having seizures. They need to take their meds as prescribed.

Also, as a priest, the description you gave does not sound like a demonic attack or possession.

Your friend needs to take their meds as prescribed, because if they don't their seizures can become worse over time.

 

[Lloyd]

Thank you for all your comments! Sorry took so long to reply, just had a crazy week. Read through all the links, thanks!

Here are more details on the guy:
He says he has a couple of seconds before a physical attack when he gets this strange, “foreign feeling”. He is unable to describe it. The best way he describe it is like “waters of death flowing into his head” He calls it a “evil force” He describes it as growing, growing, and if he prays quickly enough “God will Fight it and it will go away” During this time he also says his heart starts to beat unlike anything he has experienced, like it wants to jump out of his chest. He says he has about 10 of these attacks a day, but fights them off. He has one physical attack about every week.

The longest he period he has never had an attack was 2 months long. When he is emotionally down he says he is more susceptible to these attacks. He says the attacks have personality because it happens during times when it can cause disunity, like at church, or other times when he is trying to do good. If he comes to a place where he has had an attack he feels this strange feeling start building up again.

When these convulsions happen, he screams all the time. He kicks, etc and rolls around damaging all sides of his body. When he was younger he used to bite his arms, wrists and hands during an attack. Although he doesn’t do that anymore. His attacks started when he was 8 years old and he had 3 attacks a day, and 2 at night. Now he says when he is sleepy due to side effects of drugs, or due to tiredness, he is more susceptible.

Other things: He is super religious, painfully so. He uses big words that don’t have quite the right meaning, but I understand what he’s trying to say. He sort of soliloquies quite a bit, when you talk to him about his attacks. His father used to dabble and still does in spiritualistic type of things. He has never had a girlfriend, has decided to stay single his whole life, like a eunuch type of thing. Not like your normal 24 year old!

Anymore comments or questions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Lloyd

 

[Bernard]

... He says he has a couple of seconds before a physical attack when he gets this strange, “foreign feeling”. He is unable to describe it.

That would be the aura I mentioned earlier. Auras are simple partial seizures. They do not impair consciousness and often precede secondary, generalized seizures such as complex partials or tonic clonics.

... When he is emotionally down he says he is more susceptible to these attacks.

It is common for people to experience more seizure activity when they are stressed (either depressed *or* excited).

... He is super religious, painfully so. ...

I'm sure it colors the way he interprets his experiences. Hopefully, he doesn't have a psychological need to feel "special" to the point of shutting out help.

 

[ziggidypoo]

:clap:Welcome:clap:,

the advice given here is tops,

and you are a part of a group who truly cares

and will do all that they can to support your friend

and show you how to help him/her.

Glad you joined this great support group.

Bernard is tops with links to information.

(Thanks Bernard and Stacy for giving all of us a place to find help and support !!):clap: