Seizure: info needed

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longbow62

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Hello I am not epileptic that I know of. I have an aunt on my mothers side and a cousin on my fathers side with epilepsy though. Recently I have gotten into meditation/trance strictly as a mind altering relaxation device. I have always been able to zone out pretty easily. I would not call them absences. I am just able to slip into total focus on on something until everything else is pretty much blocked out.

So when I started to try meditation I would get many of the classic symptoms of going into a trance. Waves of tingling sensations flowing from head to toe, body heaviness, slight euphoria, etc.. Then one day I had a weird feeling and found if I focused on the feeling hard enough really weird stuff stared to happen. Things like the tingling sensations became much stronger and slowly a total euphoria would envelope me to the point of uncontrolled sexual arousal. Then a feeling like my body is slowly swelling becoming full of air. My muscles would start to twitch and my body/limbs would start moving on there own slowly stiffening until voluntary movement of any part of my body is almost impossible. My face feels like a balloon with my eyes and lips bulging due to the strain. There is no pain at all, but I do make grunting noises do to the strain. Just like I am straining with every fiber of my body. It then slowly subsides pretty quickly like the air is being let out of me. I will have a few involuntary jerks and if I try to move an arm or leg to soon and it makes me jerk. I feel totally normal again after maybe a minute or two. I never feel as this is happening I am about to lose consciousness although things do get very fuzzy and sounds become muffled. Duration of the event varies leading up to total euphoria before the actual muscle contractions start. The actual full on jerking/shaking contractions where I cannot control any part of my body only last about ten to fifteen seconds.

In researching what might have happened I stumbled on the photosensitive seizure warning stuff and decided to see if that would cause anything like what was happening when I was trying to meditate. I found that if I watch a flashing strobe video I start feeling something almost immediately. The thing is even though I feel something it can take five to ten minutes with the feelings slowly building to the euphoria then everything becomes a blur and the same total body muscle contractions start.

I have never watched someone having a seizure and understand there are many different types and triggers. I am wondering what exactly is happening to me. I am to the point I can get myself very relaxed and stare at something until I start seeing flashes and auras around it. Then the feeling in my head starts and if I concentrate on it all the symptoms will happen building to the seizure event or whatever it is. There is as of now nothing in the form of after effects after these events other than neck soreness I guess from the strain.

I am looking for input from people who actually have seizures as to what might be happening to me. I am wondering how dangerous these things are? Should they be avoided? They are almost like a drug because they are so pleasant. Nothing is scary about them or painful, even the part where my muscles are in contraction feels good. Thanks.
 
! ! ! ! Welcome to CWE ! ! ! !

longbow62,
Flashing lights or strobe lights are a very common triggers that lead to seizures. If you have purposely looked into flashing lights and had reactions as a result, this means that they are a trigger for you. You should make sure that you don't look directly at them. If they are triggering you now looking at them could cause more sensitivity in your brain to them and lead to other types of reactions.
If you are getting these 'feelings' after looking at flashing lights you are probably having a light seizure. This is why the convulsions start.
You need to see a neurologist or epileptologist(neurologist who specializes in Epilepsy) and have some test done. The tests should get you some answers to the many questions you may have right now! Make sure you write everything down that you experience when you have these problems. This way you will have a list to use to tell the doctor what happens w/o forgetting anything in the presence of the doctor.
There are many more people on CWE that will have advice for you. Each of these people has experience and the knowledge that you need to figure out what to do.
Seeing a neurologist or epileptologist will provide you with the ability to have tests done that are needed to get to the cause of your problem.
You can also find videos of a person having a seizure on the Internet. Just Google 'video of person having an Epileptic Seizure'.

GOOD LUCK,
acshuman:twocents:
 
Hi, Longbow67, I hear what you are saying. I have E now for a decade after a TBI. (Traumatic brain injury) from 10 years before that. All this info you probably do not need just to say I relate to your sensations. Odd too that I have had seizures during meditation! People at the Buddhist Temple told me I just fall over and seize in the middle of meditation. It seems to be related to when I get int to a deep, mental relaxations. I do not know why. It was hard to go back because of embarrassment. But I do it now. I am still looking for remote triggers that may be part of it.
 
Hey longbow62, welcome to CWE!

Aside from the fifteen or so seconds of muscle jerking, are you able to interrupt or stop the sensations at any point? If so, that would suggest that they are not epileptic in origin.
 
Thanks for the replies and links to things. Yes I think I could stop it as long as I did so by a certain point. I think if I got up I could shake it off. Which is a good point I had not thought about. The weird thing is it seems to be when I am relaxing that I have any odd sensations to begin with. If I am busy doing something or doing something physical I never notice the funny feelings. By funny feelings I mean at times when I am just sitting I have notices odd sensations on my face ranging from tingling to uncontrolled slight muscle contractions.
 
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