Simple Partials/Migraines?

[BRTN]

Hi

I've had epilepsy for about 7 years (mainly nocturnal), and recently I have been having (what I believe to be) simple partial seizures when I don't get a good nights sleep.

I am totally conscious and can remember everything when I have these episodes, however they occur for up to a couple of days with about 1 or 2 minutes in between them.

The main sensation I get is a feeling of falling in my stomach/abdominal area which completely debilitates me. If this happens while I am at work, I have to go home for the day as I simply can't concentrate due to the constant recurring sensation.

I understand the link between migraines and epilepsy and have recently been reading about abdominal migraines, however these are believed to affect children much more than adults, so I am unsure as this could be related at all?

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I'm currently taking Tegretol to control my epilepsy.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[lindsayschu2]

Do you have any other sensations along with this? The abdominal sensations I know can be a very common symptom of a simple partial. I do have similar symptoms, and have had a similar pattern--seizures at night, and then later, due to lack of sleep, simple partials clustering repeatedly during the day. Mine include a deja vu feeling, nausea that feels kind of like i was kicked in the stomach, and difficulty concentrating, and like you, they come over and over. Sometimes only seconds between, sometimes minutes, and they can last for many hours. I will often get these in clusters of three days in a row for some reason. Your pattern sounds very similar to mine indeed--have you spoken to your doctor about this? This sounds worth a call--you don't want repeated seizure activity going on unchecked. I recently had my meds upped to try to rein it in.

 

[N Sperlo]

Hey BRTN

I think the "falling" sensation can be a pretty common one. I would consider what I have experienced as a "sinking" or "anxious" feeling. Not very physical, but it could make me sick. Does that sound like what you are feeling? Is it the feeling that causes the need to go home or an anxiety that goes with it? Are there any other sensations involved? Mine would usually come with sensations similar to what lindsayschu2 has mentioned.

Even when something effects children more than adults, I never look at is as truly less likely.

Definitely worth a call to the doc.

 

[BRTN]

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies. I don't really get many other sensations aside from the typical deja-vue and nausea feelings; I'm often exhausted because of it too, and it can really disrupt my day.

I have spoken to my doctor and he has suggested to up my meds and I think for a while this helped, however the sensations seem to keep coming back. I am nearing the highest dose I should be taking of my Tegretol and there has been talk of adding clobozam (I think) after some footage of my sleep activity has been assessed.

I do suffer from anxiety - since developing epilepsy this has increased dramatically and have been having some cognitive behavioural therapy to help this.

lindsays2chu what medication are you currently using if you don't mind me asking? What you are experiencing does sound extremely familiar.

I appreciate you both for getting back to me, it's very hard to talk about this with family/friends who are not epilepsy sufferers!

 

[lindsayschu2]

BRTN yes, your story is very familiar here too--I get very exhausted from these clusters too, and a general unwell feeling for days after. I have been upping meds too and the night seizures are much less frequent. I was on Tegretol too, but a fairly low dose. He added Topamax rather than upping the Tegretol, which settled down the infrequent complex partials (and myclonics I had at night), but I still get the simple partials sometimes. But I was only on 100 mgs of that, too, and just upped that to 150 this weekend after an episode on Friday that made me go home from work. We will see if that stops the SPs, and if not, I think that will go up to 200. He said something about adding another med if not but I really don't want to go to 3. Taking things day by day here--if you are at the highest dose of Tegretol, then sometimes a new--or different--med is needed.