Seizure Triggers

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

Blood Sugar is a sure fire trigger for a seizure, if you have diabetes, it can be a complication of the disease. I'm borderline diabetic but barely. The highest my glucose has ever been is 103 but most of the time it's under 100.

As for hypnosis, I'm sure there are ways to do it to do the opposite of stimulate, instead relax you, like a massage might.

I think my dehydration and kidney failure as well as the brain bleed and prevoius head traumas all played a role and since those can happen to me so easily, I'll always be at risk.

 

[KarenB]

solar & geomagnetic activity...can you explain that? Like earthquakes and solar storms?

And how do you keep track of it?

 

[RunningGirl85]

Angel, I am actually curious about the blood sugar thing. My few T/C seizures were always AFTER lunch, and my blood sugar was kind of high. I also tend to have a blood sugar level that sometimes floats around 100, even when I've had fasting blood tests. My mom and aunt also both have Type II diabetes, so I run and eat healthy, so it's kept things under control, but I've suspected blood sugar in the past as a possible cause. Especially with the timing...

 

[petero]

I wondered a similar thing - whether barometric pressure changes affect seizure frequency/trigger - and indeed
the NCBI has this info online
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17484759

"CONCLUSIONS:
Surprisingly, in patients with known epilepsy, increased seizure frequency occurred with changes in barometric pressure, particularly over 5.5 mBar range per day."

going up and down mountains... I don't know how much air pressure change that can cause, but it could be an element

Has anyone had seizures triggered by changings in altitude or changes in air pressure?

In May we were traveling through Montana, so going up and down mountains, and that seemed to trigger a couple seizures (at that point in time, he was only having about 1 seizure every 3 or 4 weeks).

Also, the other day, he has a very rare afternoon seizure (usually noctural seizures) as an afternoon storm was rolling in -- the temperature went from 100 to about 75, and I'm sure air pressure changed -- although Jon was inside in air conditioning.

 

[KarenB]

Thanks for sharing that link -- study is quite fascinating.

 

[PFunk]

I'm guessing your blood sugar is affecting your seizures -- there's a strong relationship. Have you had your blood glucose levels checked?

Thanks Karen

I figured it had something to do with my blood sugar. I usually am ravenous in the morning sometimes breaking into my lunch as early as 9:30… often. I’m relatively health (aside from you know what) weighing 165-170 at 6’-1”. I run a lot (it’s the only way to tire out our dog ) and my wife and I eat really healthy, whole grains, try to avoid anything processed. I actually went to the doctor last year because I thought I was losing too much weight (I was 160 then) but she assured me I was fine….. I know this is a problem most people want, but it scared the crap out of me.

I have no idea what my blood sugar usually is and my doc’s have never said anything about it. I had my thyroid tested and that came back normal. Oh and I’m on two meds to lower my blood pressure because my family has a history of hypertension. At age 23 (I’m 30 now) my doc wanted to put me on meds for it, but I said no and tried running for a year to have it not budge an inch. Then I finally conceded. My sis is on them as well and she’s younger than me. It’s because we are all stress balls in my family, just ask my wife But I don’t think any of that would play into the blood sugar issue, that I know of.

I have an appointment with my epileptologist in October and was planning to bring it up then.

The toughest thing is sometimes I don’t realize I’m hungry….. never thought that would be a problem!

 

[RunningGirl85]

Okay random question: has anyone found things like scary movies to trigger seizures? Or maybe it's just the suspense? I'm watching one now (sorta) and I am having all sorts of auras. I don't know that the movie is CAUSING it, but weird visual things seem to trigger mine (not flashing lights, but like I mentioned earlier, fire triggers them).

 

[KarenB]

P-Funk -- good that you have good eating habits and healthy weight. Actually, there was one study I read (and this is in relationship to children on the keto diet, but the same principles might apply to adults not on the diet) that indicated that children significantly overweight, and children underweight both had less seizure control.

When you see your epileptologist, you might want to discuss this with him -- see if it's worth having a blood sugar drawn.

At any rate, it seems that more frequent smaller meals -- or at least a healthy snack between meals -- is more healthy than going for long periods of time without eating -- apparently, even if blood sugar is not an issue - it's just easier on the body. And, with lower seizure threshholds -- the less stress on our body systems, the better. So...if you're ravenous before lunch -- go ahead and dig in!! Listen to your body.

********
Running Girl -- I think there's certainly a relationship between scary movies and seizures. The suspense and fear it and even the violence can disturb us psychologically, perhaps more than we realize, and that psychological stress might trigger seizures. I know that we have to be careful what we watch on TV, because what might seem harmless to my husband and I sometimes seems disturbing for our son, even when he's in the next room and playing with his toys. He sometimes begins to show signs of anxiety without even looking at the TV and sometimes goes into a seizure -- perhaps it's the music -- perhaps responding to our vibes -- who knows?

 

[RunningGirl85]

Karen, that's interesting. I don't usually watch scary movies, so I never noticed a link... I was all ready having some seizure activity yesterday starting in the morning, so the movie might have just triggered a stronger response (my partials were more intense than they'd been in the past couple of weeks).

 

[RobinN]

Rebecca's seizures tend to be due to blood sugar. Spike then drop too low. I learned that there is something called reactive seizures, and this is related to certain foods that cause this imbalance.
I have been told some very odd things by medical doctors regarding blood sugar and nutrition, so I think there is still a lot to be learned in this area. Perhaps we wouldn't have so many people with diabetes if they knew more about it. It is at epidemic levels

 

[Eli]

I rarely feel hungry. Growing up our meals were at the same time everyday, pretty structured. Mom says I was a picky, light eater. In high school I started working so I was doing my own thing. I drank alot of coffee, didn't care for fast food and loved salads and not because I wanted to lose weight!

I stopped the coffee binging years ago but even now eating is a chore. So for me I have to remind myself to eat throughout the day.

So triggers:
-low blood sugar cause of not eating regularly
-lack of quality sleep - (nocturnals and nightmares don't help)
-stress
-emotional chaos
-extended computer monitor usage (using the laptops help, but I can't sit in my office and code or work on projects for long without taking a lot of breaks) and I used to be a chic gamer no more - :crying:
-hormones
-lights at night - (car lights, building lights, etc)
-?sex? - yes i've seized during intimacies with my husband - now that's weird
-extended tv watching - can't watch anything that moves too quickly
-anxiety
-heat - anything above 70 starts to cause me problems
-alot of people and crowds
-my dads voice
-certain music
-alot of conflicting sounds/noises
(my head trauma caused the bones in my middle ear to dislocate (not the correct medical term) so I can't hear in one ear and sounds vibrate funky
-eating certain foods

Migraines and ringing in my ears are constants in my life.

 

[petero]

you could be talking about me almost verbatim
except definitely about being intimate with your husband
and except about quitting coffee
but about eating, yes

I rarely feel hungry. Growing up our meals were at the same time everyday, pretty structured. Mom says I was a picky, light eater. In high school I started working so I was doing my own thing. I drank alot of coffee, didn't care for fast food and loved salads and not because I wanted to lose weight!

I stopped the coffee binging years ago but even now eating is a chore. So for me I have to remind myself to eat throughout the day.

So triggers:
-low blood sugar cause of not eating regularly
-lack of quality sleep - (nocturnals and nightmares don't help)
-stress
-emotional chaos
-extended computer monitor usage (using the laptops help, but I can't sit in my office and code or work on projects for long without taking a lot of breaks) and I used to be a chic gamer no more - :crying:
-hormones
-lights at night - (car lights, building lights, etc)
-?sex? - yes i've seized during intimacies with my husband - now that's weird
-extended tv watching - can't watch anything that moves too quickly
-anxiety
-heat - anything above 70 starts to cause me problems
-alot of people and crowds
-my dads voice
-certain music
-alot of conflicting sounds/noises
(my head trauma caused the bones in my middle ear to dislocate (not the correct medical term) so I can't hear in one ear and sounds vibrate funky
-eating certain foods

Migraines and ringing in my ears are constants in my life.

 

[SassySarah]

-?sex? - yes i've seized during intimacies with my husband -
.

i could comment on so many of ur triggers I share but you seemed shocked by sex so I chose it. I have been triggered by it multiple times to the point my neuro said just stop for a while. It wasn't good. I also apparently have fibromyalgia a new diagnosis which may help explain my lack of desire between both issues. its not easy. As if these conditions don't issue enough marital challenges. I am so blessed he is understanding.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[RobinN]

Going gluten free and additive free has helped many with fibromyalgia symptoms. Nutritional changes might help the seizures too. Most likely are related.

 

[RunningGirl85]

You know I think breathing is a trigger for me. Not regular breathing and not all the time, but sometimes. For example, I've had several partials while I'm talking on the phone. Pretty sure I talk louder and breath more when I'm on the phone. I've also had several while running (though not recently since I've been on meds) and I had a couple while playing my flute the other day, which requires controlled breathing. Granted I was having several that day, but putting it in context with everything else it would make sense... I guess that's why they do the hyperventilation part of EEGs (though it never actually triggered a seizure when I did it).

So breathing, not sleeping enough, anything relating to fire/emergency stuff, scary movies (or maybe just the stress/anxiety that goes with them) and I'm starting to wonder about sleep as I've thought I've had partials while drifting off/in the middle of the night (though I can't be positive). Yep... I am learning that epilepsy is random!

Still trying to figure out if my eating habits have anything to do with anything ... I eat an overall healthy diet with lots of veggies and some fruits, and avoid most processed foods. I do eat a decent amount of carbs because I run, but I've cut back to mostly before long runs runs or after long runs for recovery purposes ... hmmmm

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[acpollard2010]

The meals only work for some people as we all know its case by caae basis.breathing is a must in ur nose out ur mouth sometimes I cluster b/c of it never heard of scary movies thing but lack of sleep big trigger im not a big believer in the diets unless u choose to live that lifestyle I dont im never hungry so I eat wats here.

 

[KarenB]

Sleep?

Why is it that more seizures occur at night?

Jonathan can have tonic clonics every two hours throughout the night then be perfectly fine throughout the day.

It would seem the reverse -- with more noise, lights, stress, and other triggers during the day, why don't most epileptics have most of their seizures in day time?

 

[acpollard2010]

Only thing I can thk is your body is worn out and tired and pills I thk arent given at right times I mean by that nuero isnt scheduling them maybe they should be given at 6 instead of 8

 

[KarenB]

So they have time to take effect before falling asleep? I guess it depends on how quickly a certain med is absorbed. But I think you have something there. In the last 2 nights -- since going back on meds (after almost a 1 year hiatus), he'll have a seizure early in the night -- around 11:30 or 12:30, but then be fine the rest of the night. If he's not on meds, he'll continue to have seizures all night. So...maybe he needs his meds a little earlier -- at supper time.

 

[acpollard2010]

My dr has me take them 10 and 10 have seizures right after my mornin dose and now havin noc seizures which excuse my language scares da hell out of me b/c mine are so severe if I dont wake up or my wifes not here to wake me scared of sudep