Severe stress: triggering effect?

[mmd_at]

I have lived with epilepsy for almost precisely 20 years and had my seizures under control (well, at least that's what I thought but I will get to that later) for the last 10 years, with seizures only occurring when I was thoughtless enough to forget taking my medicine (400mg Lamictal and 2000mg Keppra per day). The medication has no side-effects on me and over time I have been exposed to all typically triggering effects such as sleep deprivation and/or alcohol etc. without anything having any effect on me.

An interesting aspect of my epilepsy-story is the fact that my sister has epilepsy too but other than that we do not have any history of epilepsy in the family. She had one seizure at the age of 16 (same age my epilepsy started) and was immediately put on Lamictal in light of my epilepsy. A few years later she stopped taking the meds as she never had another seizure (contrary to me). Fastforward 17 years (!) all of a sudden and entirely out of the blue she starts having seizures again. It was my initial wakening call that one can never, ever be entirely sure, no matter how many years without seizure.

Now to the part of me thinking that I have my epilepsy under control unless I forget to take my meds: Around two weeks ago I was exposed to severe stress, namely complete shut-down of one engine on a dual engine aircraft with 28 agonizing minutes single engine flight whereby I heard all communication between tower and pilot. The incident happened on a Thursday evening and Saturday morning I woke up completely disoriented, moaning for help and slowly realizing that I must have had a seizure (later confirmed by sore muscles etc.). Now I am wondering if I should simply attribute the seizure to the stress or get worried that I might have to increase the dosage of my meds which is obviously quite high already. I have not seen my doctor yet - guess I am somewhat in denial that it actually happened - and was wondering if anybody might have experienced a seizure after severe stress. Then again, why did the seizure happen on Saturday morning when the stressful situation occurred on Thursday night?

I'd be grateful to hear opinions of others.

 

[Crash]

Hi mmd at,
Im sure that sounds like a break through seizure induced by stress.If you look around the forum you will find that a lot off peoples seizures are caused by stress,mine included.In fact i was three and a half years seizure free,ended up with a lot of stress at work and then wham,a seizure out off the blue.

I don't think it would be a bad idea to see your doctor but your experience sounds a lot more stressful than average.What ever you decide good luck and all the best.

 

[j.j.]

Hi mmd at,
One of my triggers is stress and I had an occasion where I was involved in a road traffic incident on the Friday morning I wasn't hurt but it was Saturday before I had seizures and went into status and ended up in hospital. The Dr's suggested an increase in my medication but I decided to leave it the same and wait to see if it was the stress of the RTA that caused the sz. That was the case and my sz didn't carry on. j.j.

 

[Kaohana]

Definitely Stress

Stress is a huge factor for me. I had my first seizure at 16 and I'm 61. I've been seizure free for 14 years, but sometimes have auras if I'm totally stressed out. Good luck!

 

[alivenwell]

Stress is a known trigger. Stress management is the key to helping seizure control. If you are able to do so, take a good long walk, listen to relaxing music, or some other activity that helps you calm down.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

It seems to be hit or miss for me.

Sometimes I'm not feeling stressed at all. In fact I'll be feeling great and BAM.

However, when my uncle was taken off of life support, I was sufficiently stressed from that, I had both an aura and a TC that week. I'd never had an 'obvious' aura before that.

 

[Havok]

The length of time between the stressful event and the seizure can be explained by the fact that the effects of stress linger for quite awhile even if you aren't aware of it. I know you said sleep deprivation isn't a trigger for you, but the stress could have interrupted your sleep to some degree (small or large), which may have combined with the former to be enough to trigger the seizure. The idea that many small parts can combine to cause the seizure. All seizures with medication should be told to your doctor, who is there to determine the correct path to take.

As for my experience: Nearly all my seizures have been around periods of extreme stress, and other factors.

 

[Nakamova]

It could have been a breakthrough seizure due to the unusually stressful circumstances from a few days prior. The decision to increase your dose in response depends on how much of a "safety margin" you want should similar stressors occur. if you feel like this was a freak occurrence, and your current levels are otherwise doing the trick, then you could stay put and see how things go. Either way, it doesn't hurt to keep your doc in the loop, and make a note of the circumstances surrounding this seizure.

 

[Havok]

Nakamova made me think of a tip: A seizure diary is a good thing to do. Everyday write down if you're stressed, extra tired, anything. If you have a seizure, you can look back at the past couple days and see what may have triggered it.

 

[Sandie]

I have complex partials and stress is plays a huge part also heat and certain noises are my triggers. I have had a bad run for the last few day but I am on high stress level as I have a terminally ill mother. I absolutely agree with what Nakamova and Havok has to say on this one. I am off to the doc today to get my medication checked because I am still new to epilepsy and my stress levels are high at the moment. Take care and good luck.

 

[valeriedl]

Stress is a HUGE seizure trigger for me. I'm usually guarenteed to have a seizure when I get stressed over something.

If something happens that I'm stressed out about I'll have the seizure that day or within a few days.

 

[Squirreljo]

Hi mmd_at,

I'm currently reading "The Challenge of Epilepsy" by Sally Fletcher in the hope of finding some help for my partner who has epilepsy. She writes in the book about how she kept a dairy and noted that her seizures always happened two days after a stressful event.

Through a number of different complimetary/alternate therapies she has now been seizure and medication free for 15 years. Most importantly for me is the link between stress and seizures because most of the therapies she and others seem to use to help reduce seizures are methods that reduce stress.

 

[qtowngirl]

Most importantly for me is the link between stress and seizures because most of the therapies she and others seem to use to help reduce seizures are methods that reduce stress.

what are the methods? mind listing a few for us?

 

[Squirreljo]

Sure. she writes that she uses a combination of biofeedback methods, yoga, meditation, music and a healthy diet to give her body optimum chance to cope with stress. I am very keen for my partner to try biofeedback.