looking for some answers

[jaws]

Hi. I'm new to the community, but was hoping that someone here might have some insight on a few questions. I was a Xanax and opiat addict for a couple of years. Most people I have talked to begin to have seizures in withdrawal but mine began when i was still an active user. Once the seizures started I got clean. Throughout the next couple of months I had a couple more seizures. Frustrated, I relapsed and had more seizures when I detoxed. I have been clean for 2 years but still continue to have seizures. My meds keep them under control for the most part but every now and again if I dont get lots of sleep, push my body too hard, or skip my meds I will have a sezuire. I also played football throughout highschool and college where I suffered multiple concussions. I have also taken some significant blows to the head due to the seizures. All that to say, does anyone know if the drug abuse could have caused me to be epileptic or possibly the concussions? Or is it all by chance that I became epileptic at 22. Ive never heard of any withdrawal seizures persisting after being clean for 2 years...

 

[DayDreamer]

The genesis of your epilepsy symptoms may be answered by all of what you say or even more. The link to the wikipedia discusses variable processes epilepsy are thought to occur in the "normal" brain. If you click on the kindling model link at the bottom of the page it would also explain how having seizures of any kind, not those of epilepsy, may lead to epilepsy.
I assume unless you could put yourself on display for all of science, you are not having withdrawl seizures after 2 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epileptogenesis

 

[jemsister]

I also find it unlikely that your seizures are at this point related to your previous addiction or withdrawal. They might be explained by the injuries, but epilepsy can strike randomly in any person at any age. An MRI and an EEG could help doctors possibly identify the cause, but most of the time, the cause for epilepsy is unknown. Do you have a family history of epilepsy?

Skipping meds usually results in seizures for me. The medication levels in your blood need to stay even and within the therapeutic range. Skipping doses can cause your levels to dip below the therapeutic range and thus cause breakthrough seizures.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi jaws, welcome to CWE!

There may have been more than one factor that led to the development of your seizure disorder. It's possible that your head injuries left you with a lowered seizure threshold (a predisposition for seizures), and it's also possible that your drug use acted as a secondary trigger to push you over that threshold. The "kindling" process the DayDreamer refers to is the way your brain can get in the habit of having seizures. Each additional seizure can make the next one more likely. It's a bit like wearing down a path that starts out as a barely-visible short-cut through a forest: As you travel that path, it gradually gets easier to find, wider, less overgrown. It stops being a shortcut and becomes the default highway instead.

You may never know the primary trigger for your seizures, but it sounds like you have identified some secondary ones in addition to drug use -- fatigue, over-exertion, and missing your meds. knowing that, you can help control your seizures by being proactive about your health. Get plenty of sleep, don't overwork, and whatever you do, don't skip your meds -- stopping them too abruptly can cause seizures even in folks that don't have a seizure disorder.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[LW6279]

The Zanax WD symtoms can last up to 5 yrs to be complete healed if you went into accute WD. You just need to watch your tiggers and keep away from those things. Sleep and keep calm as possible. Zanax WD recovery is not linenier healing the nervous system so it can reappear at anytime. But you have made it through the tuffest part and you are a stronger person for that. Be calm and know that this may go away after you heal the brain from the WD. Sense you have relapsed you know it is just a wave and just ride it out and all will be ok.

 

[jaws]

Thanks so much for the great info, everyone. LW, that interesting to learn that the WD symptoms can last that long. The only thing that I keep getting hung up is that my seizures didnt begin at withdrawal. They began at the height of my addiction. Most DRs i have spoken to have said that accute withdrawal is the cause but obviously i was not in withdrawal at the point mine began. Given the fact that my addiction was at its peak when my grand mals started i feel like there has to be some sort of connection?

 

[Cint]

I also find it unlikely that your seizures are at this point related to your previous addiction or withdrawal. They might be explained by the injuries, but epilepsy can strike randomly in any person at any age.

I don't find it unlikely that the Xanax withdrawal has anything to do with the seizures. My seizures started when I was 22 years old after a fun college party life, although I too, did have several falls and hit my head, so who knows?

Given the fact that my addiction was at its peak when my grand mals started i feel like there has to be some sort of connection?

:agree: Mine started right out of college after partying and the drugs and alcohol do mess with the the neurotransmitters in one's brain. My nephew, who is now a recovering alcoholic, did have a seizure when he went on a drinking binge after his wife left him. He ended up in the ER and had two more seizures that day. That was two years ago and he hasn't had any seizures since then or any drinks, either.

 

[Cint]

Skipping meds usually results in seizures for me. The medication levels in your blood need to stay even and within the therapeutic range. Skipping doses can cause your levels to dip below the therapeutic range and thus cause breakthrough seizures.

I've had plenty of breakthrough seizures without skipping meds and being within the therapeutic range of medications. So sometimes there is no rhyme or reason........................ onder:

 

[jemsister]

I didn't mean that the xanax withdrawal never caused the seizures, I meant that at this point if the seizures are still happening, it might be a cause other than the xanax now. I could be wrong about this, I just meant that the seizures he is having currently might be unrelated to the xanax.

I also didn't mean to imply that the only reason breakthrough seizures happen is due to skipping meds, I just mean that this can cause breakthroughs. I have seizures all the time when meds are in therapeutic range as well.

Sorry for the confusion!

 

[jemsister]

Thanks for your insight--wow, 5 years, I didn't realize it could take that long! I stand corrected.

 

[Cint]

All that to say, does anyone know if the drug abuse could have caused me to be epileptic or possibly the concussions? Or is it all by chance that I became epileptic at 22. Ive never heard of any withdrawal seizures persisting after being clean for 2 years...

Hey jaws,

Xanax is a benzo, as are some of the AED's. Here is more insight from the pros:http://www.drugs.com/pro/xanax.html#WARNINGS

Warnings

Dependence and Withdrawal Reactions, Including Seizures

Certain adverse clinical events, some life-threatening, are a direct consequence of physical dependence to Xanax. These include a spectrum of withdrawal symptoms; the most important is seizure.

Drug Abuse and Dependence

Physical and Psychological Dependence

Withdrawal symptoms similar in character to those noted with sedative/hypnotics and alcohol have occurred following discontinuance of benzodiazepines, including Xanax. The symptoms can range from mild dysphoria and insomnia to a major syndrome that may include abdominal and muscle cramps, vomiting, sweating, tremors and convulsions. Distinguishing between withdrawal emergent signs and symptoms and the recurrence of illness is often difficult in patients undergoing dose reduction. The long term strategy for treatment of these phenomena will vary with their cause and the therapeutic goal. When necessary, immediate management of withdrawal symptoms requires re-institution of treatment at doses of Xanax sufficient to suppress symptoms. There have been reports of failure of other benzodiazepines to fully suppress these withdrawal symptoms. These failures have been attributed to incomplete cross-tolerance but may also reflect the use of an inadequate dosing regimen of the substituted benzodiazepine or the effects of concomitant medications.

While it is difficult to distinguish withdrawal and recurrence for certain patients, the time course and the nature of the symptoms may be helpful. A withdrawal syndrome typically includes the occurrence of new symptoms, tends to appear toward the end of taper or shortly after discontinuation, and will decrease with time. In recurring panic disorder, symptoms similar to those observed before treatment may recur either early or late, and they will persist.

 

[Cint]

I didn't mean that the xanax withdrawal never caused the seizures, I meant that at this point if the seizures are still happening, it might be a cause other than the xanax now. I could be wrong about this, I just meant that the seizures he is having currently might be unrelated to the xanax.

I also didn't mean to imply that the only reason breakthrough seizures happen is due to skipping meds, I just mean that this can cause breakthroughs. I have seizures all the time when meds are in therapeutic range as well.

Sorry for the confusion!

I wasn't confused! I still have breakthrough seizures, even after BRAIN surgery and the VNS and trying many, many meds for seizures and depression!!

 

[jemsister]

I meant I'm sorry my post was confusing. Sorry. Have I made you angry in some way? =( If I did, it was unintentional.

 

[jemsister]

:embarrassed: I don't understand why you're upset with me.

 

[KMFLigon]

Jaws,
I too suffered from football concussions which caused me to have seizures. I am a FF/Paramedic and have treated several people with your condition. Taking your meds on time, getting sleep, and trying not to burn the candle at both ends is one way to prevent from having seizures. This is true in my experience. Lack of sleep and stress is what causes mine. I went for 5 years without having one and now three in the last 9 months due to changing meds. Hang in there.

 

[Meetz1064]

Hey there Jaws,

how's it going?

Welcome to CWE.

As you may have realized by now, there are multiple reasons that seizures can occur. Some people can be born, and not have them until they're in their 70s. Others are born, and have them within a short time of birth--in my case, when I was 13 months old.

Other people may find that their E shows up after trauma hapens to their head--whether it's a car accident, multiple concussions (or even one) or something similar.

Scars or lesions may also be responsible for seizures starting up--maybe due to another physical issue (MS for example). Withdrawal from drugs such as "party drugs" and the benzodiazepines like Xanax and Klonopin that Cint mentioned can also be a cause...especially if the withdrawal is done too quickly.

In other words, there really is NO rhyme or reason as to why E happens to someone.

There are MANY different types of E. None of them is more "important" than another. Yes, some are more injurious...and that part sucks.

Breakthroughs will happen....especially if hormones are in play, or you've forgotten your meds, but they CAN STILL HAPPEN anyway. My breakthroughs tend to happen when I've either gained too much weight, not slept enough or am going through a med change.

Hopefully I didn't yak your ear off too much. I'm good at that, so if I did, say so.

Enjoy the dinner party. I've got to go try to make a decent pot of coffee without burning it. HA. What a joke. Me make coffee *scratching head*....muttering to self........

Buckeye!!! Where are you? Time to make coffee!!!

Meetz

:rock: