New to this and fairly freaked out

[jhagman31]

Hi all-

I am a healthy 41yr old male with no history of head trauma and no family history of seizure activity. I had my first seizures just a few days ago. After a very long hard day of work and a week's worth of dealing with a sick infant, I went to bed exhausted. I woke up a few hours later with paramedics in the bedroom with me, my wife explaining that she thought I'd had a seizure. After being taken to the hospital, tested and almost released, I had another full on seizure that apparently required several people to hold me down.

I guess those weren't really my first because my wife had been describing my odd sleep behavior to me for the last month or so. I'd shoot up out of bed and moan loudly, smack my lips a lot, act very confused and then go back to sleep. I never remembered any of these episodes.

Anyway, I was transferred to another hospital after that second big seizure where I spent a few days recovering and being tested. All of the tests, CTs, MRIs, blood tests, EEGs, came back normal.

I'm not real sure what to make of all of this. From what I've read, since I've had more than one seizure, I officially have Epilepsy and am likely to have more seizures if I don't take the meds they've prescribed me.

It's been a week since the first big seizure. My body is still sore as hell and I'm really quite scared. I'm not sure what the future holds for me or my family now. My worst nightmare would be to not be able to provide for or to be of any danger to my wife and young children.

Is there any hope that this will not happen again? Or am I assured a lifetime of drugs with side effects?

Thanks - J

 

[RobinN]

Please understand that the term Epilepsy is only a label for someone having two or more seizures. Seizures are a symptom or a result of something off kilter in your body. There are many reasons that this can occur.

For my daughter, after many drugs, and many years of searching... we found that improving her nutrition, working with neurofeedback, adding vitamin and mineral supplements all helped her raise her seizure threshold. She remains seizure free for more than two years now. For once in 8 years I have stopped counting the weeks.

Good that you can rule out head trauma, but may I make a suggestion. Before you choose to take any meds, please read as much of the library articles as you can. I wish I knew then what I know now. I would have refused the meds. They made my daughters life H*ll and thus mine too. Her seizures increased, and I have proof of that. **however, I don't want to say this happens to everyone. Yet the side effects are provable. Keeping a journal is a much needed activity when you are trying to pin point the cause. For many they can't point to one thing, but there is a huge brain-gut connection, and when you improve overall health, you reduce the likelihood of a seizures occurring.

You might even be able to admit how you are abusing your system, and the possible ways you can improve it. Some folks don't want to make those changes, and thus choose the meds.

I am not a doctor, nor do I admit I have the answers. I just see that quality of life improves when you eliminate the negative behaviors.

Good luck - I know for a fact that there is hope.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi jhagman31, welcome to CWE!

New onset seizures are pretty scary -- not least because there are so many unknowns. Unfortunately, no-one can predict if/when you will have another seizure. It does sound like you've been having what are called Complex Partial seizures prior to the recent tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures. Because of this history, and since there seems to have been an escalation, it's important to find a way to put on the brakes and prevent your brain from getting in the habit of seizing.

There are several treatment approaches, but by far the most common one is medication. Keep in mind that there are many different meds to try, and everyone reacts to medication differently. It's quite possible that you will find one that provides seizure control with minimal to no side effects. For many of us, meds are the best answer. It's also possible that after 1 to 5 years seizure-free on meds, your doctors would suggest a trial medication taper -- so you're not necessarily looking at a "lifetime of meds with side effects."

As Robin indicates above, medications aren't the answer for everybody. If you can identify and avoid your seizure triggers it's possible that you might lower the chance of having additional seizures in the future. Identifying triggers can require that you become your own science experiment -- you have to look very closely at all the factors that may have made you vulnerable to seizures. Fatigue is the #1 seizure trigger, and that's likely to be a contributing factor in your case. Nutritional factors could be important, as in the case of Robin's daughter. All sorts of foods, additives and drugs can be triggers. Illness and infection can be triggering. Basically anything that can stress your system, physically, physiologically, or emotionally.

Since your EEG was normal, your doctors may give you the option of forgoing meds. If this is the case, I urge you to take steps to be proactive with your overall health. Be especially conservative and moderate in your habits -- things that weren't stressful before may be more problematic now. And let your doctors know promptly if you have any additional symptoms. Because of the serious nature of a tonic-clonic seizure, err on the side of caution -- for your safety and for that of others.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[Cint]

Hi jhagman31,

Having seizures is very frightening to all involved. Mine started when I was 23 years old, just out of college. They were CP's and slowly went into TC's. So I agree with Nakamova that since they started out as CP's and seemed to escalate, it is important to stop the seizures. Make sure you get your rest, eat healthy now and take your meds if the neuro prescribes any. There are different medications for different types of seizures, so don't be hestitant to speak up to your dr. about side effects of any of the meds.

http://www.epilepsy.com/101/101_epilepsy

 

[marty]

Gday .
E came to me at around 40 aswell , i went through stages where i hated E , bad depression ect , from my experiance what has worked for me is that i try to help myself to get better however i don`t stress/worry myself that i have E , the stress/worry will not make you have less siezures , however it could make you have more ! if you yourself can`t fix the siezures by worrying why worry about it !!!! you still can get out and have a great life , E makes it harder but doesn`t stop us from having a great life ! it`s ourselves by the way we think , i now think " bugger epilepsy " E`s no going to stop me from having a great life , other people have done it and we can too , i wish you all the best mate .

AND HAVE A GREAT DAY