Question - After a seizure.

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Most of you know I don't have epilepsy but, a close friend of mine does. I can't go into details here but, he is an abuse survivor.

After a seizure, especially a tonic-clonic. he can't handle being touched for sometimes hours to as long as a day or two.

Does anyone else experience that? Do you think it's more of an epilepsy or abuse related reaction?
 
Blue

I think its more physiological and a little help on his part may be required, its more than likely abuse related. This is something he has to put right.
 
It's is probably due to the abuse. But the seizures could be due to abuse, also.
 
They are, I can't go into exactly how except that the root of his seizures are due to a scar on his brain that was caused by the abuse. That's why I asked the question, the two are so tied up together, it's hard to sort sometimes.
 
Blue said:
They are, I can't go into exactly how except that the root of his seizures are due to a scar on his brain that was caused by the abuse. That's why I asked the question, the two are so tied up together, it's hard to sort sometimes.
Click to expand...

My seizures started out of the blue when I was 22 years old. Often I was asked if I'd had a head injury, meningitis, encephalitis or any other head trauma. I didn't have any. But then my epileptologist did ask if there was any form of abuse when I was growing up. The emotional stress and trauma can change the brain and cause seizures. But if your friend has scarring on the brain, then no wonder he is suffering from seizures and PTSD. Is he in therapy?
 
He isn't now but was for years, until a really bad experience with a therapist. I think that's one reason he's leaning on me a lot after his bout of status on the 17th. I'm an abuse survivor as well and, I get it. ( out of it over 20 years, so I'm pretty okay on that front.)

He says the status was just stress, but, the way it happened was different than normal for him, so I'm thinking triggered the first seizure and stress fueled it from there. I might be wrong.
 
one thing I know about my post-tonic-clonic phases is that I have a very helpless and vulnerable feeling due to the confusion, pain and sleepiness among other things - and it's hard knowing very few people would be able to relate to what I've gone through

surviving abuse may compound these effects exponentially
 
Yes I do...I was also abused as a child...I wonder...as E isn't in my family.
 
I'm sorry about your friend, I can do strange things after seizures like wanting to just get up and leave the hospital or just sitting in the bathroom for hours, but I'm in a very unconscious state at these times, and that is all tied up in my epilepsy I am like a zombie, it will seem that I am talking to people but I still want to go off and do odd things that "aren't me"
Though it is possible the seizures awaken that vulnerability in him, but I am not a doctor nor a therapist, so it could be just a reaction post seizure that many people do get but it also could be stimulated from the abuse suffered previously...I am sorry I could not be of more help.
 

I love you for being concerned and trying to learn about your friend's condition - it's hard to go through
 
Yeah it can be hard, but, in this case, it's about blooming time somebody stuck by him.

Scary, sometime painful to deal with but, I can be there and, I can learn.
 
Blue

It never gets easy and there is always something new to learn even for me.
 
I've had times where I wouldn't let anyone touch me after. I would feel trapped and vulnerable. I would imagine that his psychological background, in combination with the post-seizure haze would be extremely confusing. Also, remember that, especially if he ever gets violent or verbally aggressive :)
 
You are a great friend to stick with him like that. I know I am not a very pleasant person before and after a seizure. But when the smoke clears having someone there for you means a lot.

As for being touched. I often don't like being touched after a seizure, not sure why. Probably the confusion of what just happened, I don't know.
 
ditto the not being touched - scary as hell
it's bad enough magically appearing in some sort of center of attention mental-sludge-world - worse yet having the corrupted thing attacking me
 
you can feel vunerable when you had seziour all out of your control so it likely his abuse got influence
 
I know that I am highly volatile before; after, I feel like I've been hit by a big truck. He may also not want to be touched out of irritability. It's also difficult because you return to consciousness slowly, wonder where you are, what's going on, what's dripping from my mouth. I got so moody after a recent tonic-clonic @ my mom when she came into the ER. All I wanted to do was sleep. The MD really doesn't help either (+ more aggravation). I feel so crummy afterward with muscle aches. I have muscles hurt I didn't even kno I had! I'm also deeply depressed for 2-3 days afterward as well.

You're a very good friend! I'm glad that your friend has you to help out. :)
 
I had a time about two years ago it sounds like the same kind of s**t happened to me postictal and agitated as hell in the ER
I'm still not sure what happened but think it might have put me into some sort of psychosis during some cluster seizure period, some sort of kepprage too
I still recall it all as choppy nightmare and not really sure what happened
the best thing for me after seizure is comfy and dark and silence
Amen

Chelsea said:
I know that I am highly volatile before; after, I feel like I've been hit by a big truck. He may also not want to be touched out of irritability. It's also difficult because you return to consciousness slowly, wonder where you are, what's going on, what's dripping from my mouth. I got so moody after a recent tonic-clonic @ my mom when she came into the ER. All I wanted to do was sleep. The MD really doesn't help either (+ more aggravation). I feel so crummy afterward with muscle aches. I have muscles hurt I didn't even kno I had! I'm also deeply depressed for 2-3 days afterward as well.

You're a very good friend! I'm glad that your friend has you to help out. :)
Click to expand...

:agree:
 
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