Seizure activity or not? Hard to tell...

[darcness]

I'm concerned with something that happened with my wife this morning. It wasn't too abnormal, but it was a bit concerning to me.

She's been on 1000mg of Depakote (500/500 am/pm) for the last couple of months. At first the SE were terrible. She would sleep for 2 days straight, then be up for 2 nights straight. Her sleep pattern was all over and she would often times be nodding off to sleep at various times through out the day. I know the Depakote causes drowsiness so I attributed it to that.

The last couple weeks have been much better. She's been getting sleep at night, and been alert and awake while she's actually up. She still sleeps quite a bit, but I haven't seen her nod off to sleep in at least a week or so.

Well last night was kind of a bad night. She hadn't slept well in a couple nights and I was getting concerned. We got into an argument that made her emotional. We ended up talking it out, but it still caused her some stress.

This morning I went to wake her up to take her meds and she was acting like she was sedated. She could barely keep her eyes open and fell asleep a couple times while I was trying to get her to take her meds. Then, I went off to work and her sister came over. She was supposed to do physical therapy today but her sister simply couldn't get her to get out of bed. She also was saying that "Today isn't my appointment" to her sister. That's really what concerned me the most. The lethargy has become commonplace and I'm used to it. But the inherent loss of time/date makes me think it could be something more.

There's been other times over the past month or so where she will be having a normal conversation and then all of the sudden blurt out some non-sensical thing to whoever she's talking to. She usually realizes this and corrects herself, but I'm concerned this could be seizure activity too.

Lastly, just the other night right after she fell asleep she was having pretty back jerking spasms. These seem to be new only since she started taking the Depakote. I know one of the SE's is tremors, but what exactly constitutes a tremor? Once she's deeply asleep, the jerking stops. It just happens when she's first falling asleep. I know I get the same jerks many times when I'm falling asleep, but never as much as she does. Could the Depakote be exacerbating these?

I'm keeping a log of all of this stuff so if I feel the need to talk to her doctor and fill him in, I can.

I just feel kind of helpless at times. Wondering if it's a seizure, the meds, or a combination of the 2. It seemed things were going very well for the last week or so, so I really felt that she was getting used to the meds and maybe the strange behavior was just a SE. Now I'm not so sure.

E is so confusing...

Just as a side note, she did change from Zoloft to Lexapro about 3 weeks ago. Anyone who's taken AD's knows how the start up period can be. I think this also could be contributing to the lethargy and some of the behavior issues. It also could be causing a disturbance in her sleep patterns.

 

[Meetz1064]

You DO

need to call the doctor and discuss this with him. Pronto. It could be a side effect of the combination of the Lexapro and the Depakote (www.drugs.com has a great checker for drug interactions). It could also be another form of seizures popping through.

 

[darcness]

Thanks Meetz. I will tell her to call the doc and see if he wants her to schedule an appointment or if she can just talk to him over the phone. I'd like to have an appointment so I can go in and talk with him, since she doesn't recall the events as well as I do, her being half asleep and all.

I did look up the reactions between Lexapro and Depakote and they should be fine to take together. She was taking Zoloft and it was doing all of nothing for her. I hope the Lexapro will be better. I know AD's suck for those with epilepsy but her anxiety is through the roof and she's been using benzos for that. She doesn't want to form a dependency to the benzo's so hence the trying of AD's.

It's all just a little much for me at times. E confuses the heck outta me. Now I feel like every little thing is a seizure and it drives me bonkers. I suppose it's time to talk to the doc and see what he has to say about all these happenings. I'm sure that will set my mind a bit more at ease if he at least knows about all of it.

 

[Meetz1064]

I can

understand the confusion, and the disappointment, if you will. E IS a pain in the arse, I agree. And, I understand your wife's desire not to be addicted to the benzo's. They're not an easy thing to come off of. Some people are never able to do so.

Perhaps it might help you to videotape some of her behaviors to show the doctor. Then, based on that, if you haven't already, get AT LEAST a 24 hour to 48 hour (or longer) EEG. If it's a VEEG (video) that would be even better.

Don't feel bad about being confused, either. I have just recently been diagnosed with my 3d and 4th types of seizures....and they are all nocturnal, all 4, and one of them you can't even see. So yes, E CAN be totally confusing.

 

[darcness]

Well I got home from work and the wife was still sleeping. I woke her up and she seemed just fine. I just don't understand it.

Oh well, I decided to just enjoy some time with her and we laid in bed and held each other close for a couple hours. It certainly felt good. We were joking around and she had a big smile on her face, so that put my thoughts at ease. I did suggest that she talk to her doctor about the twitching at night and the other things that have been going on.

She did have the jerks after she fell asleep again while we were cuddling in bed. It seems she has them most nights. Since she only has them we she first goes to sleep, she doesn't realize she's having them and I don't usually see them either (I'm a late night person).

I did wake her up tonight while she was jerking because she had her hand around my arm and actually squeezed it rather hard. She woke right up when I stirred and was perferctly normal. Is that a normal thing for some one having a nocturnal seizure, or would she not awake if she was having a seizure? Sorry, again, I'm new to all this so I have no idea.

 

[Nakamova]

The twitching at night sounds like myoclonic seizures, a form of epilepsy. If they are a new thing for your wife, they may be a sign that her meds aren't working properly and/or her seizure patterns are changing. They can also be a sign of other neurological things going on, so definitely get an assessment from your doctor.

 

[Meetz1064]

Nakamova is

right. The twitching is possibly myoclonic seizures. I have them, too, and sometimes a big falling sensation goes along with it. *eyeroll* Not my favorite. Yes, it's OK to have nocturnal seizures, as seizures DO morph at any given time. I didn't know until a couple of months ago that I had had seizures in the daytime years ago and mine morphed.....now mine are strictly nocturnal.

 

[darcness]

Thanks for the comments both of you. I feel much better after a good nights rest and a good cuddle/talk with the wife. She handles all this so well, I need to draw strength from her. Funny cuz I was always the strong one. I guess it's my turn to learn from her how to be strong this time.

She is going to call the doc and let them know what's going on. I'm going to have her set up an appointment so I can go in with her and talk to the doc too. I'll let you all know how things go. She's doing very well today. She slept for a good while and she's back to herself now. So relieved.

 

[RobinN]

Meds caused an increase in seizure activity in my daughter. Many different kinds, that I have never seen since she went off of the drugs.

 

[KellyD]

Good on you for trying to learn as much as you can to help your wife. Sometimes I think it is harder for the person who has to watch their loved one suffer the seizures than it is for the person having them. (not saying having seizures is easy either!). Your wife is very lucky to have you taking care of her. I hope things settle down for you both and you can get some answers.