My Wife

[chad]

My wife has had simple partial seizures for about 4 years, they seem to cluster around her menstral cycle and she has been able to reduce her meds and had been lucky coping with it.

She just started having grand mall siezures last night, I think they have been triggered by us selling our business a franchised motorcycle dealership, her recently losing her job, ,,
so a lot of stress
she's not sleeping enough
just finished her menstral cycle
she had reduced her meds topamax
Last night she had some alchohol

so about everything that could be wrong,, [but it seemed to be under control until early this am]

I hope we can with some meds reduce her stress and increase her sleep.
get her back on track with her meds and diet..


I have not had to deal with these types of seizures and I have been reading on them. would you please give me advice on what I should do while she is in the middle of one. I put her on her side, and keep her in bed.
I worry that i cant tell shes breathing,,,,,, how could i do cpr if i cant keep her mouth open [is that something i should worry about]
I am reading everything i can, any advice would be appreciated.
thanks
chad.

 

[epileric]

Welcome Chad

Sorry to hear what your wife is going through. I know my stressful times are frequently made more stressful by seizures.

Seizure around ones menstrual cycle aren't too unusual judging by this site. You might want to do a search using the search bar at the top for menstrual cycle or catamenial epilepsy.

As far as controlling stress goes, I don't think that can be done with anti-epileptic drugs. I also feel it's much more productive to deal with stress using other means such as regular physical activity or workouts, breathing exercises or some eastern practices like yoga, meditation or shiatsu (among others). Check out this thread & see if she likes any of these options http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f21/favourite-stress-busters-8787/. There are also other things to check out like Neurofeedback http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f32/neurofeedback-rebeccas-story-2733/ & Cognitive behavioural therapy http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f32/cognitive-behavioural-documentation-6412/

When she's having a seizure don't try to give CPR! Even once the seizure is over let her catch her breath on her own. You're right to keep her on her side but don't do things like hold her down, try to open her mouth or anything to physically challenge what the body needs to do to get through the convulsion. Only if a seizure continues for more than 5 minutes should you then call 911. That would mean that she has entered status epilepticus ("status" for short).

 

[Endless]

Hi, Chad.

What a tremendous amount of stress both of you are under. I'm so sorry. And sorry your wife's seizures are back.

I agree with all the advice given by Eric.

I'd also like to add one question. Has she called her neurologist yet? I'm guessing he'll want to adjust her medication. The sooner the better.

Please take care.

 

[sandi]

So Sorry, Yes it probably is the stress of everything. Hopefully it will all pass soon .

 

[Minkels]

Hi Chad...sorry to hear about all of the stress going on in you and your wife's life right now. Eric gave you some great advice on how to handle grand mal seizures, and everything that you mention (stress, reducing medications, lack of sleep, being around her menstrual cycle) are all pretty common seizure triggers. I just developed seizures myself back in June of this year and am starting to see a pattern with mine as well; about 80% of them have been right around "that time" of month.

Like the others have said, please get your wife to a reputable neurologist since she probably needs her medication adjusted.

Losing a job is very stressful; I went through almost a year of hell of that last year when my company went overseas without warning. It was especially disheartening since I have a solid work history, 2 master's degrees, and a lot of experience. I know exactly how your wife feels, and it's going to take a long time for her to get some of her confidence back. I didn't sleep well, eat well, and drank more than I probably should have in the first few months after losing my job.

You are definitely doing your part by reading all you can and learning more about your wife's condition and asking what you can do to help her during a seizure.

I'm glad you joined this community and that you want to help support your wife through all of this. There are a lot of great people on here and a lot of good information. I hope that things get better for you and your wife.

 

[skillefer]

Hi Chad! Welcome to CWE. Sorry to hear about the change to Grand Mal seizures. They can be quite scary to watch.
The best thing to do if you ever see anyone having a grand mal is to lay them on their side (it keeps the airway clear) and try to make sure they don't bash their head on anything (you can try slipping a pillow under their head or cushioning their head with anything else soft..). don't be surprised if you hear choking noises or if the person stops breathing for a few seconds...
Don't try to prop their mouth open...the body is on auto pilot and they will most likely try to bite down even harder, so do NOT put anything in the mouth. People have been known to bite through fingers, and even shatter their own teeth...it's best to just let the mouth alone.
Don't be surprised if you see blood coming out of their mouth. They have probably bitten their tongue. Painful, but not deadly. The blood, which is not really that much, when mixed with saliva can look like alot.
Just stay with the person until the seizure is done. If it goes past 5 minutes in length..or if they immediately go into a second seizure, you want to call an ambulance. Several seizures in a row is very dangerous. Hope this helped.