Recovery after seizure, help!

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AshleyS16

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Hey guys,

So I'm new to this site and new to seizures. So new that my neurologist hasn't given me a proper diagnosis yet. So I've been having mostly nocturnal seizures for about a year, where I'll wake up moaning uncontrollably in my sleep and only remember when I wake up in the morning feeling sick, disoriented and with scratches on my body and a bitten, bleeding tongue.

So this past Thursday, I had the worst experience yet where I think I had about two or three (from what i can remember) in the same night and I woke up so sick and exhausted that I had to call in sick and I basically slept the entire day. The next day however (Friday) I ended up going to work, but if I'm being honest I don't remember anything about that day. From then until today (Monday) has been a complete blur of confusion, feeling weak, dizzy, sick and almost like Im having an out of body experience. I have trouble remembering the littlest details about anything and I feel like I'm watching my life from someone else's eyes.

My question is, has anyone experienced this after a seizure? How long does it normally take for you to feel "yourself" again? This is the first time I've ever felt like this and it's really starting to freak me out.

Thanks !
 
Depends on the seizure, sometimes I'm fine and sometimes it would take about 24 hours to feel myself again.
Are you on any medication?
 
Hi Ashley,
Welcome to CWE.

Sometimes after a seizure I am fine in a few minutes, sometimes it takes a few days and sometimes it can take a month or so or until I have a stronger seizure and get a good brain reset.

This feeling could be depersonalization/ derealisation, a common side effect of temporal lobe epilepsy.
 
Hi Ashley,
Welcome to CWE! Often after I would have a seizure it would take me a few minutes to come around and realize what has happened this happens more when I have a complex partial and when I had absence status seizures. When I was having the absence status seizures I would be out of it for 30 min. to 3 hrs. but I found out it was the drug, Neurontin that was causing this and once I got of the drug I was fine.
You may want to go in for a sleep study like I did and my neuro found I was having seizures in my sleep but once I was put on vimpat that stopped. Also you may want to ask the neuro if you could be admitted so they can do a video e.e.g. on you and at the same time observe you and see more detail of what's going on.
I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
After every grand mal it is the same for me. It takes me hours to gain body control enough to stand and to regain focus to think straight. I am sore for at least 3 days requiring me take medication like percacete (cant spell) and get help to stand and sit.

For 3 days I lose memory of whatever I do. My wife and I go to a movie on day 2 so I can watch it again for the first time. We try to have fun, grant morbid but fun for us.
 
I don't recall what type of seizure they are but I used to auditory/vocal type seizure, mostly loud talking and moaning / loud noises. I also had a lot of what I believe were absence seizures and then my clonic tonic. I don't remember anything leading up or even the after effects. The worst for memory was after my tonic clonic. My wife told me after I asked her the story for probably the 100th time that she thought I was going to be brain dead afterwards. I don't remember the ambulance ride, time in the hospital or even going home. I think I lost at least a three to five days immediate memory around the seizure and my memory has been suspect ever since.

I at least know some of the issues with being told about lesion from MRIs and neuropsychologist assessments.

Where are you from and how is your medical and family support system like?

Gilles
 
After a grand mal seizure it takes my daughter about 2 days to recover physically - and the cognitive and emotional effects can last even longer. When she has had more than one within 24 hours the recovery can take 3-5 days. So if you actually had 3 tonic-clonic seizures in one night I am not at all surprised that you are still feeling the effects of that.

Are you on medication yet? It sounds like you need to get into see your neurologist ASAP to get a firm diagnosis and a better treatment plan.
 
I'm not on medication yet this is all very new to me and I had never ever experienced exhaustion and confusion like this before. I do have s neurologist appointment coming up very soon to get the results of s test that I've just taken and I'm really hoping he's got some kind of treatment plan for me but I was honestly feeling like I was never going to feel normal again and it was seriously messing with my school and work. It makes me feel a little better to know that this is "normal." I've woken up feeling better than I have these last three or four days so I'm hoping it lasts :)
 
Kgartner said:
After a grand mal seizure it takes my daughter about 2 days to recover physically - and the cognitive and emotional effects can last even longer. When she has had more than one within 24 hours the recovery can take 3-5 days. So if you actually had 3 tonic-clonic seizures in one night I am not at all surprised that you are still feeling the effects of that.

Are you on medication yet? It sounds like you need to get into see your neurologist ASAP to get a firm diagnosis and a better treatment plan.
Click to expand...
My tonic clonic seizure was about14 years ago. My wife said it was basically in and out continously with little research over time in between. I've had a few minor issues here and there since but no more tonic clonic seizures. I believe I may have had another absence episode but never told anybody, actually happened while driving. There are bits and pieces of my growing up years that I don't remember well either. Because of the lesions that they found on my right temporal lobe and not knowing the triggers I'm on lamotrigine for the rest of my life. My neurologist said some doctors may have taken me of medication but he said the risk wasn't worth it if the medication isn't affecting me much.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
I hate auto correct, "research " instead of "recovery"!

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
gnault said:
I don't recall what type of seizure they are but I used to auditory/vocal type seizure, mostly loud talking and moaning / loud noises. I also had a lot of what I believe were absence seizures and then my clonic tonic. I don't remember anything leading up or even the after effects. The worst for memory was after my tonic clonic. My wife told me after I asked her the story for probably the 100th time that she thought I was going to be brain dead afterwards. I don't remember the ambulance ride, time in the hospital or even going home. I think I lost at least a three to five days immediate memory around the seizure and my memory has been suspect ever since.

I at least know some of the issues with being told about lesion from MRIs and neuropsychologist assessments.

Where are you from and how is your medical and family support system like?

Gilles
Click to expand...
I'm from Ontario, Canada. I have a really great family support system and medical availability. My neurologist is working hard to figure out what's causing these, including booking a sleep study and I just did a test where I stayed up all night and then went in for testing so I'm waiting for the results on that. This is all very new to me
 
I am originally from Vermilion Bay which is in North western Ontario. Hope it all goes well. Sleep deprived and normally EEGs are a bit of a shot in the dark, you just hope they catch something when they do it.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
Thank you so much :) like I said I've never felt like this before and the depersonalization and confusion really freaked me out so I was really hoping I could get some sort of "reassurance" if you know what I mean
 
Hey Ashley,

I think sometimes the more intense the seizure, the longer the recovery time. And if you're already tired or sick when you have the seizure, that can also extend the seizure "hangover". There have been times after a tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure when I've been fine within an hour or two, and others where it's taken me several days to shake the confusion. Make sure that you are doing your best to hydrate and eat properly after a seizure -- that can help with the recovery process.

Cheers!
Nak
 
There have been times after a seizure, especially when I first started having them, I'd have a headache that lasted for hours, forget things that happened any were from a few minutes to a few days and might sleep for as long as 3 days. I've had epilepsy now for 13 years and the seizures and after effects have gotten better, if that's the right way to put it. The memory loss isn't that bad and I may not have to sleep as long but the headaches are there most of the time. There have been times though when I've come out of a seizure perfectly fine and be able to go on just like normal.

As others have said it usually depends on how bad the seizure is will depend on how long it will take before you start to feel better.
 
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