Some questions! (new)

[joeyrory]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the whole seizure thing and have some questions, would love to hear some of your thoughts.

• Are migraines linked to epilepsy? I've had migraines for years but they've been more frequent recently and I have them after seizures
• I've been trying to think of things that may have caused my seizures. I had several head injuries that caused concussion as a child and would often hallucinate/have weird expereinces and sensations, often with a gap in memory when I had a fever. I also sleepwalked as a child. Is any of this relevent?
• How likely is it that my complex partials will develop into TCs?

Thanks!

 

[Fedup]

joeyrory

Are migraines linked to epilepsy? I've had migraines for years but they've been more frequent recently and I have them after seizures

Yes is the simple answer, migraines can be linked to seizures. After a seizure I get a headache, a bad headache, there are others the same and these can easily turn to migraine.

I've been trying to think of things that may have caused my seizures. I had several head injuries that caused concussion as a child and would often hallucinate/have weird experiences and sensations, often with a gap in memory when I had a fever. I also sleepwalked as a child. Is any of this relevant?

Yes all of this is relevant to the on set of seizures.

How likely is it that my complex partials will develop into tonic clonic seizures?

This is a hard question to answer, yes it is possible but not a definite.

 

[George__]

Hello!
:woot:

 

[Cint]

Hi and welcome joey,

I have E and I, too suffer from migraines. My seizures started when I was 22 years old and things for me got worse:

• Are migraines linked to epilepsy? I've had migraines for years but they've been more frequent recently and I have them after seizures

• 
  
  I also suffer from migraines. Sometimes I have bad headache after a seizure, but it depends on the severity of the seizure. I do get migraines at other times, too, where I see those squiggly lines right before the headache sets in. I didn't have migraines until I started having seizures. Epilepsy and migraines are like cousins, so yes, they are related.
  
  

  [*]I've been trying to think of things that may have caused my seizures. I had several head injuries that caused concussion as a child and would often hallucinate/have weird expereinces and sensations, often with a gap in memory when I had a fever. I also sleepwalked as a child. Is any of this relevant?

  
  These could have been reasons for seizures. Often times, tho, they don't know "why". Like I said, my seizures started when I was 22 years of age, out of the blue, no head injury, no encephalitis, no meningitis, etc. But if you were having those hallucinations, it does sound like some seizure activity.
  
  

  [*]How likely is it that my complex partials will develop into TCs?

  
  It varies for each person. My seizures started out as Complex partials, but before getting the right diagnosis, they graduated to TCs.
  
  From
  http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-seizures/tonic-clonic-seizures
  

  Who is at risk for tonic-clonic seizures?
  
  They affect both children and adults. For children who have had a single tonic-clonic seizure, the risk that they will have more seizures depends on many factors.
  
  The risk that an individual will have more seizures depends on factors such as whether his or her EEG shows any epilepsy waves, or whether the doctor finds any abnormalities on a neurological exam. Among children with no epilepsy waves and a normal exam, about 70% of those who have had tonic-clonic seizures will stay seizure-free without medication. The comparable number is less than 30% for children with epilepsy waves and an abnormal exam. All these figures are more favorable than those for partial seizures.

 

[masterjen]

Hi!
I also have headaches and sometimes migraines associated with seizures. I had 6 weeks of migraines occurring 3-4 times per week before my first seizure 5 years ago. Now I typically have a headache which may progress into a migraine following a seizure. My seizures are nocturnal and/or upon waking so these headaches/migraines sometimes wake me at night or start first thing in the morning.

Also of note is that I also had odd hallucinations when sick as a child. I'm not - and the doctors are not - sure how relevant this is to my seizures now since I did not have any of these hallucinations any more or other potentially seizure-related issues once I hit my mid-teens.

 

[valeriedl]

After almost all my seizures I do have a very bad headache/migraine. It will take hours for it to go away.

Head trauma can defiantly be something that can cause seizures. I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 27, that's when I had my first seizure. They have no idea what caused it.

If I black out during a seizure, have a complex partial or grand mal, I don't remember anything that happened during it. There are times too that I may not remember anything that happened hours or days before the seizure.

Hallucinating, have weird experiences and sensations are often things that happen to me when I have a simple partial seizure. A good bit of the time my simple partials will lead into a complex partial.

During many of my seizures I like to get up and walk around, I don't remember anything that I did during that time. My husband will try to get me to sit or lay down but I won't so he just keeps an eye on me to make sure I don't hurt myself. I'm not saying that the sleep walking you did as a child could have been epilepsy related or not.

The types of seizures that you will have I don't think anyone can really answer. There are people who only have simple partials or complex partials or grand mals. Some people can have two types or all three types.

 

[joeyrory]

Thanks everyone!

Thanks for your replies!

I had a complex partial (I think...) yesterday and have a gap of about 1-2 hours. After that I had a bad headache and a migraine the day before. I got two 'auras' later that day but they didn't turn into a bigger one like usual?

I'm worried I'm having seizures in the night as two days in a row I've woken up with either a bitten side of my tongue or inside of my cheek :S.

 

[masterjen]

I can't say you don't have any seizures at night, but some people are jaw grinders or jaw clenchers without even knowing it and sometimes the side of the tongue or cheek can get caught by the teeth when the jaw is moving. Ask your dentist about getting him/her to make you a custom-fit mouth guard. I found this has helped me tremendously.

 

[joeyrory]

I can't say you don't have any seizures at night, but some people are jaw grinders or jaw clenchers without even knowing it and sometimes the side of the tongue or cheek can get caught by the teeth when the jaw is moving. Ask your dentist about getting him/her to make you a custom-fit mouth guard. I found this has helped me tremendously.

Thanks masterjen! I'll ask him, someone has told me before I'm a jaw grinder so hopefully it's just that. I think I'm getting paranoid about every little thing now!