not myself today...could this be a new aura?

[marlena23]

I woke up this morning with a terrible migraine and its lasted the whole day. I've had an increase in migraines over the last two weeks but just chalked it up to being tired and stress, but today I've been in a terrible mood, getting mad at the littlest things. I tried napping thinking it would make things better but it actually made it worse. On top of it my fibro is really bad I'm achey and really tired so I don't know if this is a seizure coming on or just a fibro thing but the change in personality is something that alarms me cuz I wouldn't even want to be around me. I don't even know if any of this makes any sense. I'd appreciate any feed back.

 

[Nakamova]

I've found that for me moodiness is more related to the meds, or to general health stuff -- like being hungry (low blood sugar makes me cranky) or tired. It could be that your short fuse has to do with the cumulative effect of your migraines, fatigue and stress.

But it is also the case that some Simple Partials/Auras can take the form of "Unprovoked Emotions:: fear, pleasure, displeasure, depression, anger, elation, eroticism, etc. If this moodiness really feels strange, then you may be right about it being an aura.

 

[Endless]

Hi, Marlena,

I have fear seizures, and over time, it became really obvious to me what was a fear seizure and what wasn't. It's a different kind of feeling.

Bad moods - I sometimes have those before a seizure. It's a kind of doom or dread, and anything I touch, anybody I talk to when I'm like that, I screw it up. I don't realize it during the time that I'm that way, but when I finally have the seizure and the mood is gone I think to myself, "oh!"

When I read your post I also thought of your meds. Lamictal is usually a mood leveler, which evens out the lows and highs. Here's the package insert on the NIH's Daily Med site. Scroll down to read all the adverse reactions: http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=32038#nlm34084-4

zonisamide on the other hand does have psychological side effects. Again, scroll down.
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=4069#nlm34084-4

I've been on Trileptal, Keppra, and Topamax and the severity of the side effects on those got better and worse. It wasn't steady. So your mood swings could be the meds. On the other hand, on Gabapentin it was pretty steady, every day.

Side effects can happen when you first start taking a drug, or when you've been on it for 10 years.

I read in your profile that you have PNES in addition to Epilepsy - Fibromyalgia has been linked to PNES in many studies. There might be a relationship there for you, maybe not.

In his latest study, Benbadis and colleagues examined the relationship between chronic pain or fibromyalgia and psychogenic seizures. They designated two groups: (1) patients who had been diagnosed with fibrolyalgia or chronic pain, and (2) patients who had a seizure during their visit, either in the waiting room or in the examining room. Benbadis et al. derived their data from the records of all patients evaluated over 5 years in a single epilepsy clinic for refractory seizures as well as through EEG/video monitoring. In the first group they identified 28 patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and 8 with a diagnosis of chronic pain. After EEG/video monitoring 27 were diagnosed with PNES. In the second group they identified 13 patients who had a “seizure” during their clinic visit. after EEG/video monitoring, 10 were diagnosed with PNES. “These findings suggest that a history of fibromyalgia or chronic pain” and the occurrence of an episode during the visit both have a high predictive value (75% each) and a very high specificity (99%) for an eventual diagnosis of PNES,” said Benbadis. He speculates that the association between chronic pain and PNES may be “because chronic discomfort can cause psychological distress, which may result in PNES.” He also points out that another possibility is that “fibromyalgia and chronic pain are loosely made diagnoses that are largely psychogenic in themselves.”

http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1112967056

I found this kind of interesting. Topamax can treat both seizures and fibromyalgia, but I wouldn't wish Topamax on anybody:

http://epilepsy.emedtv.com/topamax/topamax-for-fibromyalgia.html

I really feel for you. I've heard that Fibromyalgia is very painful, and unrelenting. It makes life really hard. <<<<hugs>>>>

 

[marlena23]

Thank you for the info I greatly appreciate it. I'm desperately trying to get my insurance to authorize my psychologist to treat me for NEAD and I'm not completely convinced that its a correct diagnosis but I guess only time will tell.
I've been on lamictal for almost 3 years so to have a new side effect when I haven't changed the dosage since march seems a little weird. As for Zonisamide aka Zonegran I don't believe has any effect good or bad for me. I even asked my epileptologist if he was a placebo bcuz I don't feel any difference in my seizure activity.
The fibro I've been dealing with for years but only got a diagnosis in December when my primary thought I had gallstones turned out to be fibro. It's horrible, I am 30 and I feel like I'm 70 years old. The pain is so bad it wakes me up at night and I can't get treatment for it cuz the medication used triggers grand mals. The report is fascinating because for my NEAD I don't know how its possible I have these. I don't have a traumatic background and was not under stress or anxiety at the time they began which leads me to question the diagnosis.
Changes in personality have happened once before but was brought on by my concussion which happened due to a grand mal seizure. There just seems like there is no real cause for the anger I felt which is alarming cause I'm normally not a witchy person. Lol

 

[valeriedl]

For me two of the things that happen to me after I have a seizure are migraines and being tired. Are you having seizures with these things happening afterwards? Alot of times I won't know that I had a seizure unless there is someone there to see me have it, but I'll usually know that I had one if I'm by myself because of the migraines and being tired.

Alot of meds can also cause mood problems. Are you on Keppra? I am and the littlest thing will set me off. People call it Kepprage.

 

[Endless]

The concussion itself could be causing the mood problems. Even if something doesn't show up on an MRI there could still be lasting damage. Some is at the cellular level, and it can't be seen until there is an autopsy. As in, way too late for any of our uses. They usually diagnose problems by symptoms.

 

[marlena23]

It's hard for me to tell which are actual seizures and which are NEAD. So I'm not quite sure if I'm seizing like simple partials or not cuz the symptoms are the same. As of now I'm only on lamictal and Zonisamide. Which I'm told my levels are good and should NOT be having seizures. I've had a migraine for two days and nothing is working for the pain but this is not out of the norm for me. Also the fatigue is a side effect from the meds as well as a symptom of the fibro so its confusing even to me.
My concussion was in April '09. I do believe there is some sort of brain damage (I don't really like the term but can't describe it another way) that the mri didn't pick up on. I'm not the same person I used to be. The anger alarms me but I have no intention of having an autopsy performed any time soon. lol

 

[Endless]

Some people, even if the levels of their seizure meds are within range, still have seizures. Also, docs don't go by blood levels with Lamictal. They go by seizure relief. The usual dose, though, is up to 300mg. Some people are on more. I'm on 400.

Control of epilepsy is achieved with a single agent in most patients. However, seizures are refractory in approximately 20 percent of patients with generalized epilepsy and 35 percent of those with partial epilepsy.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/991101ap/tips/14.html

So who knows? Hard to figure out sometimes.

 

[Endless]

Marlena,

On what basis were you diagnosed with NEAD? Did they do a video EEG?

Just checking, because sometimes doctors don't do the needed tests and just jump to conclusions. Often focal seizures are diagnosed based on symptoms alone. Thirty to fourty percent of people with partial seizures have false negative eeg's.

http://smj.sma.org.sg/3005/3005e1.pdf



In the case of children: http://www.articles.complexchild.com/00020.pdf