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JaneP

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I've noticed something for quite a long time that I can't seem to find any logic behind. I've noticed that if I lay down on the floor when I start having a C/P seizure, I never black out & go into a full G/M. The times I've had T/C seizures is when I was sitting in a chair or walking somewhere or standing upright but never when I lay down on the floor -or even in bed at night.
Is there anyone else that experiences this? Could it be because more oxygen is getting to the brain when you lay down so it doesn't go all out haywire? That's the only semi-logical reason I can think of. Or, speaking from a holistic standpoint, could it be simply mind over matter....that because I'm laying at the lowest possible level I know instinctively I'm not going to fall & get hurt? Or perhaps just the action of hitting the floor gives the brain that final jolt to knock everything fully out of whack (if that makes sense the way I said it)?
I speak to someone on-line quite frequently who has more seizures & seizure types than me, but she told me the same thing: that if she lays down they don't progress as much. I figure if there's 2 of us that works for, there must be tons more people. Even my local E.F.A. chapter I just called this morning was lost. She said she never heard of that.
 
JaneP

Different things happen to all of us when a seizure strikes and you are always going to find that you will have something in common with someone else. You need to be careful not to read more into it than is there. Having said that it is interesting what you describe and say.
 
If low blood pressure is a contributing trigger for you, lying down would help, since it evens out blood pressure. It's even better if you can have your feet a little higher than your head -- the blood will rush from your feet to your head, keeping oxygen flowing to your brain.

Do you have a blood pressure monitor at home? It might be interesting to see if there's any correlation for you between blood pressure and your C/Ps.
 
Ahhhhh.......You mean there might be something to my theory about blood pressure & seizures? That's been going through my mind for a long time but I never heard any Dr. mention it.
 
Well, I certainly have an interest here to try laying down next time I have a seizure inbound; be it partial or possible grand mal, if I'm at home and my mind still has control in memory I will give it a try.
 
Hmmm..... interesting...... then why have I had seizures (CP & TC) even in middle of the night in my sleep while lying down? And I always had low blood pressure until 10 years ago, before Diabetes.
 
then why have I had seizures (complex partial & tonic clonic) even in middle of the night in my sleep while lying down?
Different triggers for different folks. Plus are your feet above your head/heart when you sleep? For most people they aren't.
 
In most cases, blood pressure problems (both low and high) and restricted blood flow would cause fainting rather than seizures, and doctors don't necessarily consider vascular issues as playing a role in epilepsy. But for some people who have lower seizure thresholds they can have a triggering role, alone or in combination with other factors.

I know that for me it can be a trigger when I raise my hands above my head, and/or have compression around my neck (as when carrying a kid on my shoulders). One of my MRIs indicated that I have a less efficient carotid artery, so it makes sense to me that impaired blood flow to the brain could be a factor.
 
so it makes sense to me that impaired blood flow to the brain could be a factor.

Impaired blood flow to the brain causing a seizure makes sense to me, also. So that is why the seizures still happen at night for some? And is that why SUDEP occurs? :ponder:
 
sometimes I might just get a sensation but it's not very often and mot of the time my seizures will hit in a moments notice for no reason.
 
So that is why the seizures still happen at night for some? And is that why Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy occurs?
Maybe. There are so many individual factors and poorly-understood issues with epilepsy. Scientists know that seizures that originate in different parts of the brain have a tendency to occur at certain time periods. So there is probably a link to circadian rhythms. But beyond that is still very much a mystery.

With SUDEP, the speculation is that there is some sort of cardiac-brain malfunction, perhaps an arrhythmia that follows or coincides with a t-c. See http://www.epilepsyaustralia.net/userData/docs/SUDEP- Is there a link between brain and heart.pdf for more info...
 
I've experimented with some of this and found that the more I move right after I feel my aura, the worse my seizures will be. I've also layed down on my bed when one had happen, but i felt awkward when i was laying down and having a seizure. Personally i like to sit up when they happen.

Once at work i felt one coming on and thought what if i get up and move around, well as soon as i got up and moved 2 steps i said to myself, self get the hell back in your chair quick. :) The head felt really weird and it seemed to make the seizure come on quicker and seemed stronger. After that I declared movement before my seizures to be a no no. I try and just sit up with left hand holding on the my right hand close to my body and try to control the movements as much as possible. I've noticed that when my right hand flials and the seizure is normal strength, i'll be able to control the flialings, but 2 times i couldn't hold onto my arm, thats when i had very intense seizures. Both those times were when I was on Lamotrigine, 2 very strong seizures 2 months apart.

Once i figured, what if i did breathing exercises right after my aura, well that did work either for me.

:piano: :pop:
 
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Not sure if this is of any help, but I had meningitis, secondary hydrocephalus as a baby. All my scans, X-rays & what-not say "....mild dilation of the right ventricle" (which is where the shunt -which I haven't pushed on since I was about 8 after my parents were told I "didn't need it anymore".) I've never gotten a severe headache which is the main thing that would happen they were told if it ever malfunctioned. Could that "ventricle dilation" (due, I'm guessing from too much fluid build up) contribute to this whole blood pressure/laying down theory? I knew that low blood flow could cause fainting/lightheadedness but never heard the seizure thing about it. I'm just trying to look at any possible thing I've never been told by any M.D. All they say all my life is "You had a seizure because your level of medication was too low". Sorry but something doesn't sound right there. Just as you don't get migraines because you have a lack of aspirin in your blood or heartburn because you don't have enough pink chalky liquid in you or cramps because your Midol level is too low, you don't have seizures because you have a lack of A.E. drugs in you. SOMETHING is going on that's CAUSING them. Instead of just covering up symptoms with drugs or cutting people open, in retrospect they should be doing & being taught more & have more research on how to fix the CAUSE.
 
SOMETHING is going on that's CAUSING them. Instead of just covering up symptoms with drugs or cutting people open, in retrospect they should be doing & being taught more & have more research on how to fix the CAUSE.

Well, there are neuroscientists doing this behind the scenes. Right now they just prescribe meds or cut up people because for most folks, that is what works. They do what works for the majority. But there is much research going on behind closed doors.

http://www.aesnet.org/files/dmfile/NINDSEpilepsyBenchmarks2009.pdf
 
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