Question for the ladies...

[Autumn Breeze]

Have any of you ever had your period interrupted due to seizures?

According to my notes, I was spotting in the 7th and 8th. Then on the 9th,10th, and 11th it was medium and light. Then I had a small seizure on the 12th.

It could have been a normal but light perior, but when I came to from the seizures this past Saturday I was bleeding again, pretty significantly too.

Have any of you ladies experienced this before?

 

[Carpentergirl]

hi there...i'm VERY new here...it's interesting that you post this....I have noticed the same thing myself for about a year now...it doesn't happen every month...but it seems like it takes forever for my period to get here and to be gone...it seems like I will spot on and off for a day or two...and then nothing for another day or two....an then my period will finally come and stay for a good 5 days...so that's about 9 days of dealing with that..lol and then usually the next month its a light period...almost like it's 'lopsided"...I always wonder if ever has anything to do with our medications...I take 400 mg of Topamax and 50 mg of lamotragine daily...i'm also almost 40 years old so it's very possible that I could be starting menopause! lol anway..I saw your post and I just wanted you to know that you are not alone!

 

[daviscy60]

Interesting thread. Have you ever thought that maybe your hormones could be the cause of your seizure activity? Mine all started months after starting BC pills. At that time and much after that I always noticed that if I had a seizure it was usually a week to the day of starting. Asked neuro at that time (early 1980's) if it could have anything to do with it and was told no. Later in 1995 found out thru a medical dictionary that there was such a thing. Really annoying knowing all the money he was being paid and all they want to do is pop another pill in your mouth that will control them and make your life miserable rather than finding the cause.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

I've tried to keep good track of everything. It's about even when during my cycle they happen.

 

[Cint]

At that time and much after that I always noticed that if I had a seizure it was usually a week to the day of starting. Asked neuro at that time (early 1980's) if it could have anything to do with it and was told no. Later in 1995 found out thru a medical dictionary that there was such a thing.

Same here. My seizures started in 1980, when I was on my period. I did ask once I noticed the pattern and back then the docs said there was NO connection. Fast forward a decade and that's when the neuros all began thinking onder:, hmmm, maybe there IS a connection?! DUH?!!! LISTEN to your patients!!

There is definitely a connection between hormones and seizures for a lot of women. For some women they are catamenial seizures. The seizures only happen at that time of the month. And for some, the seizures/epilepsy do interfere with the menstrual cycle because of the changes in the progesterone and estrogen. Check out this website for info:

http://www.epilepsy.com/information/women/all-women/hormones-and-epilepsy

 

[Carpentergirl]

i didn't start having seizures until I had my daughter..at the age of 26....and it was pretty much immedieatelely after she was born..my family jokes about how she pretty much sucked the life out of me...lol...my whole personality changed after her...my body changed....everything...its been very frustrating to not know the cause of it...to not have anything show up on ANY tests....scans...etc...and only be able to keep them at bay somewhat...who knows how much medicine I will be on by the time i'm 50...(another ten years from now) ....

 

[Cint]

i didn't start having seizures until I had my daughter..at the age of 26....and it was pretty much immedieatelely after she was born..my family jokes about how she pretty much sucked the life out of me...lol...my whole personality changed after her...my body changed....everything...its been very frustrating to not know the cause of it

I didn't start having seizures until I was 23 years old. I had just married. After my 2nd child was born is when they went really crazy. Initially, they said the seizures were idiopathic, then later they said mine were due to hormonal changes.

and only be able to keep them at bay somewhat...who knows how much medicine I will be on by the time i'm 50...(another ten years from now) ....

Who knew? After trying 10-12 meds, brain surgery and now the VNS, I'm still taking three AEDs and I'm 50 something. I'll be on drugs 'til I die.

 

[Carpentergirl]

I have no doubt that I will be on drugs till the day I day...I just have that "gut feeling"....it's been a whole week now since my last seizure and I'm still trying to get back to normal........maybe I will luck out and it will go away with menopause!! lol

 

[valeriedl]

Are any of you on any type of birth control? I took depo provera and didn't have a period so I know that didn't effect when I'd have my seizures in any way.

I had a hysterectomy a few years ago and it's pretty weird because now most of my seizures have been happening around the end and beginning of the month. Before I got it my seizures were spread out all through the month more evenly. I still have them at other times of the month too but it's not like it was before the hysterectomy.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

That is weird. No, I haven't been on hormonal birth control since 2003.

I'm 32.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

I hate only having a phone to type on lol. When I get to use the computer I try to come back to visit my posts....


I have looked into catamenial epilepsy several times, and my cycles and seizures don't match up enough for me to fully consider that connection just YET.

I am confident that my hormones play a role, because I spent several years using Natural Family Planning to keep from getting pregnant. Then I used it to get pregnant. So, I know my cycles pretty well. I do know that I have cycles when I do not ovulate. I haven't been taking my temperature so I don't know anymore when that is happening. I should probably start doing temping but it's SO tedious. I have enough tedious little things in my life, I was glad to stop that one when my husband got a vasectomy, I don't really want to start it back up again.


My seizures are pretty spread out, but I am working on a chart if anyone has any interest in seeing my seizures charted with my cycles.

 

[Carpentergirl]

my seizures are very unpredictable..i can go 18 months...and then I will go spurts of 6 months at a time....I haven't been on birth control for about 15 years...I was taking ortho cyclen..and got pregnant on accident by mixing a z-pack antibiotic while on birth control...lol..my boyfriend lovingly calls me "goof" because of the everyday "off" things I do on a daily basis...lol...hang in there...

 

[Nakamova]

You might find this interesting reading:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2818554/
It compiles some the of current studies related to hormones and epilepsy.

Both epilepsy and the meds that treat it can mess with your hormones, and the hormones can mess with the epilepsy meds, so it can be complicated to figure out what is causing what. Generally speaking, the studies indicate that women with epilepsy are at a greater risk for a variety of reproductive disorders (including irregular periods) regardless of whether they are on meds or not. And any time there's a shift in hormones -- puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause -- there can potentially be a shift in seizure patterns as well.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

Really?! 18 months! That makes me feel a lot better. I was at just over 20 months. Like 20 months and 6 days.