New Here - Husband is having seizures

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dlranere

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Hi everyone,

I found this forum after days of searching the internet to try and figure out what has been happening to my husband.

Years ago, he was working a very stressful job, he didn't sleep or eat right. He started having what I called "episodes" where he would basically look like he was standing up sleeping but with a blank stare on his face. A few times he would fall, a couple times from a chair like he leaned back too far and then once in our bathroom, like he was sleepwalking and then passed out. They went away when he got another job.

Cut to a few days ago, he works at night and got up to go to work and I heard my 9 year old screaming "Daddy, Daddy" and when I looked I saw him staggering and swaying with that blank look on his face. He doesn't respond to anything while he is in this episode, and sort of mutters or grunts. He usually clenches his fist and then pops back to life so to speak but remembers nothing. He is also sweating afterwards.

He went to work and I made him text me all night to let me know he was ok, he drives to all the location he works at. He came home, seemed fine and had another one, this time his arms were in the air, his face was blank, he has drool, which I never seen him do before and he was saying the F word over and over - then snapped out of it. He promised to make a Doctor appointment in the morning since he refused me calling an ambulance or called 911.

The next morning I woke up to hearing him fall on the floor, he had another one. This time he went to the er and they ran tests on his heart, and brain and basically said everything looked fine. He has an appointment for a physical next Friday and to get a neurologist appointment.

He has no history of brain injuries or anything like that, but he is under alot of stress, doesn't drink enough water and is stressed alot. Could these be triggers? Since then I have been a nervous wreck and am constantly following him around in case he has another one, and I can't get the sound of my 9 year old screaming out of me head :(

Any help is appreciated - does this sound familiar to anyone here?

Thank for reading my small novel.
 
Hi dlranere, welcome to CWE!

What you describe sounds like Complex Partial Seizures. They are a bit like sleepwalking -- the person is semi-conscious but with impaired awareness, and little-to-no memory of what occurs. You can read more about them here: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/seizures/partialseizures/complexpartial/index.cfm

Seizures can occur without a specific brain trauma or injury. We all have different seizure "thresholds". For some of us they are lower than others, and it takes less to push us "over the threshold." Fatigue, low blood sugar, and dehydration are all common seizure triggers, so I think you're right about what may be triggering your husband.

It's also the case that untreated seizures can sometimes progress. As the brain gets into the habit of seizing, it's more likely to seize in the future. For this reason, it's very important that your husband see a neurologist to discuss treatment. The neurologist should be made aware of any episodes from the past as well as the more recent symptoms. If your husband has an EEG test done, it may show the presence of abnormal brainwaves, but if doesn't that won't necessarily rule out a seizure disorder. Some kinds of seizures (like Complex Partials) can be harder to pick up on the test.

I know this may be tough, but your husband should not be driving at this point -- it's not safe for him, and it's not safe for others on the road.
 
Thanks so much for the response. He has an appointment with his Doctor this coming Friday and will need to get a referral through him, that's how it work here, unfortunately. I would love for him to just go directly to a neurologist but what can you do.

I agree with the driving, the ER doctors didn't say anything about it so he is going by them. I will have to drill that into his head that he shouldn't be, but not sure how that will work with his job. He is already stressed about losing his job to cut backs and this would surely make him more stressed, and I definitely think stress is a trigger, so a vicious circle starts :(
 
I agree about your husband not driving. If these are occuring that often, I would be very concerned that he might have one while driving. I hope you get the answers you need.
 
momof3boys said:
I agree about your husband not driving. If these are occuring that often, I would be very concerned that he might have one while driving. I hope you get the answers you need.
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Just to be clearer, they happened 2 days ago, 3 in 24 hours and none since then. He was super tired, dehydrated and stressed also. The last time was about 3 years ago. STILL, the driving bothers me greatly.
 
Ive been having seizures since sunday... my neuro first said he thinks its from a virus, which high doubted because i havnt been sick lately... but then thursday night they went from being simple partial seizures to complex partial seizures... I have to wait til monday to hear back since he wasnt in the office on friday when I got ahold of his nurse. but I havnt been driving since then. But since your husband's seizures happened two days ago, and he did have three in a day, i would be very concerned with his driving. I have had epilepsy all my life, and had very good control with two anti seizure medications for years with no seizures, sometimes seizures can just pop up, and with that in mind, they might while he is driving too.
 
You said virus and it makes me wonder if him being sick recently could have triggered it too? He has had a sinus infection/head cold this past week. The Doc's did ask about sickness, but they really didn't give any insight whatsoever, which is frustrating.
 
If he's vulnerable to seizures, fever or infection can be triggering, especially in combination with other stressors like fatigue. Fevers are known to lower the seizure threshold.
 
Yeah it kind of confused me when my nurse said to me on tuesday that the seizures that I had started to have sunday night, into monday and on monday night were caused my a virus? I got a flu shot in early november and to my suprise, with all this flu stuff going around, I havnt been ill at all. Im normally the first one in the family to get sick. Especially since Im the one that is the stay at home parent... the kids are in school, and my husband has a nice high immune system... so it didnt sit right with me that she said that. But then a day went by and I had a complex partial seizure on thursday night. I knew something wasnt right. I hope that when you go in they can give you more answers. Im just waiting to hear back from my neuro on monday. For now, Im still having auras and my last seizure was last night.
 
I know what you mean, I am a stay at home parent but we also homeschool. So hubby is the one that brings in the germs. ;) We were all sick really bad 2 weeks ago and his came back. I just got over the nasty coughing fits. I'm sorry you are going through the seizures, being on the other end and witnessing them is frightening enough, I am so stressed and can't sleep because of the worry of it happening again. Hope you start feeling better soon!
 
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