Walking during a seizure

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

valeriedl

VIP
Moderator
Benefactor
Supporter
Messages
5,979
Reaction score
989
Points
268
I started a post about this but I described it as 'sleep walking' (which is what my husband calls it), but it's that I get up during a seizure and start to walk around the house doing things, not actually sleep walking. So I figured I'd start a new post describing it as the way I ment to. Here it is -

Sometimes during a seizure I'll get up and start walking around the house doing things.

One night I went into my husband's bedroom 4 times during the night turning on the light 'looking' for something before he realized I was having a seizure.

The other night I got off the couch and went into the bedroom and started going through my cubbord picking out clothes to wear to the dr (I didn't even have a appt anytime soon). We both started laughing about the clothes I'd picked out to wear - Tight black jeans and a tight t-shirt. Wonder what the dr would have thought if I'd showed up in that?

I've done other things like this where during a seizure I'll get up and start doing something walking around the house. My husband has to follow me around trying to get me to sit down and stay in one place, but I usually never do it until I start to come out of the seizure.

Does anyone else do this too?

Thanks!
 
I used to sometimes walk around during a seizure. Usually when I've had an aura I would need to go to the toilet so I would walk to the toilet while having the aura. Usually last thing I remember is having the aura & heading to the toilet then I would remember being in another room but not remembering why I went in there.

I have had partial had seizures where I would be out walking & would feel the aura come on. Sometimes I would stop until the seizure went but other times I would continue to walk & ignore it. One time I was walking to my voluntary work when I had an aura, I ended up walking up & down all these streets which I didn't usually go in trying to remember where I was. By the time I found a street I recognised I was coming out of the seizure.
 
Last edited:
I started a post about this but I described it as 'sleep walking' (which is what my husband calls it), but it's that I get up during a seizure and start to walk around the house doing things, not actually sleep walking. So I figured I'd start a new post describing it as the way I ment to. Here it is -

Sometimes during a seizure I'll get up and start walking around the house doing things.

One night I went into my husband's bedroom 4 times during the night turning on the light 'looking' for something before he realized I was having a seizure.

The other night I got off the couch and went into the bedroom and started going through my cubbord picking out clothes to wear to the dr (I didn't even have a appt anytime soon). We both started laughing about the clothes I'd picked out to wear - Tight black jeans and a tight t-shirt. Wonder what the dr would have thought if I'd showed up in that?

I've done other things like this where during a seizure I'll get up and start doing something walking around the house. My husband has to follow me around trying to get me to sit down and stay in one place, but I usually never do it until I start to come out of the seizure.

Does anyone else do this too?

Thanks!


This sounds similar to what I experience. The difference is it'll start before an actual seizure. I'll have an aura, then I'll get up walking toward my bedroom assuming I can stop it:ponder:, after that I don't remember anything else. The thing is when i've come to, I'll noticed that i've put on my pajamas(no matter what time of the day it is), pinned up my hair for bed, and sometimes remove my contact lenses perfectly putting them in their case. It usually takes me a few minutes to realize that i've had a seizure, and i'll always assume it's in the middle of the night, when it might only be only around 7 O'Clock in the evening.
 
Sorry I missed your first post, seizures have made my postings sparse. I laughed my ass off reading your and cqs comments.

I have alot of nocturnals so I have the bedroom arranged so I am close to our masterbath. I can't tell you how many times I've "come too" sitting on the toilet!

Mom says as a child I was forever sleep walking thru the house. It was a 2 story with a basement and a garage on a highway!

Before that, 6 and younger, we lived down the street from my grandparents. Apparently in the middle of the night I would walk to my grandparents in my nightgown. :p

Fortunately, in this house, thus far (5 months) I've only ended up in the bathroom. But my husband found me in our apt twice in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Both times I'd fallen, hit the counter/microwave and was laying on the floor out cold and bleeding.

I think having the seizure dog helps cause he does things to steer me in the right direction. He's scared of the bathroom cause he doesn't like taking showers but when in seizure mode he follows me in. Good puppie. :)
 
when im about to have sezure i also start walking around.... ppl keep telling me i need to sit down but i cant control it! i just start walking and usually away from ppl and up the stairs :o
 
This sounds similar to what I experience. The difference is it'll start before an actual seizure. I'll have an aura, then I'll get up walking toward my bedroom assuming I can stop it:ponder:, after that I don't remember anything else. The thing is when i've come to, I'll noticed that i've put on my pajamas(no matter what time of the day it is), pinned up my hair for bed, and sometimes remove my contact lenses perfectly putting them in their case. It usually takes me a few minutes to realize that i've had a seizure, and i'll always assume it's in the middle of the night, when it might only be only around 7 O'Clock in the evening.

How on earth do you take your contacts out while having a seizure????? I can barely do it when I'm 'normal', plus I even drop them on the floor 5 times before they make it into the case!


I loaded the dishwasher once during a seizure too. Everything was put in there wrong and all the silver ware was placed in perferct lines on the drawers instead of in the silverware holders. I'd thought my husband did it and thanked him for his help but to please just let me do it because he didn't load it right. He just looked at me and said "I don't touch that thing I know how picky you are about where the things go. That's your job and I just let you do it" - That's when we realized that I'd had a seizure and done it.
 
I am glad you have posted about this. I walk during seizures. I have walked outside a number of times, which is extremely scary. I have walked near major roads. Generally I walk around inside and then sit down or stare, but walking appears first.

It is not good as I fear walking somewhere bad as in front of a car and having no idea that I am doing this.

I have a med that works, but I have to take it quick before the walking starts. I too walk near fridge and toilet, wander around and around the house. It is always the first sign I am doing these things
 
My husband's have become dangerous

My husband has these "Sleep Walking" seizures too. And that is just how I described them when his seizures evolved into these. At first, they were minor; he would change the tv channel or get up to get a cup of ice or something. Then it got to the point where he'd try to "fix" something that I think somewhere in his subconscious he remembered working on (even if it happened six weeks ago).

Recently, however, that has changed. We were heading to a concert a few weeks ago and he just had the time to say "aura" before he began to try to open the car doors up while I'm going 70mph. I just got over onto the shoulder and was slowing down as he got the door opened. He then spend the next 20 minutes playing chicken on the interstate during rush hour traffic. Needless to say, that was the most scariest day of our marriage. When I tried to get him to come back to me he'd laugh and would keep walking. He'd even look directly at the oncoming traffic before crossing as they barrelled toward him.

This was the second time that he'd been in the middle of the street in about a month. The first time had been in our small town but now I'm concerned about driving with him. Does anyone know if a Jeep dealer will put on a child safety lock on the front passenger side door?
 
Wow jadedphoenix, i'm not sure if they will, but i would definitely be calling the dealership to figure something out-so scary! I hope you can find some way to keep him safe in the car for both of you. Good Luck!
 
Hi Jadedphoenix,
Welcome to CWE. That would have been a really scarey experience for you.
Are the doors in your car automatic locking? Would you be able to lock the doors from inside while you are driving?
 
Walking

I too have played "chicken" on the freeway. It was horrible experience and scared me to death. Up to that point the Drs were in charge of my meds, now I have taken total control of situation because, wandering around the house into the kitchen is ok, but not a freeway. It was actually the same thing, I just happened to be close to that area at the time. I now check out where I am in relation to things and make no hesitation as to taking these meds. Also, before I was changing med regularly, now I am on one med and will stay on this and not "experiment" with different meds that just make it worse.


I am also watching my sleep. I found that sleeping regularly and evenly helps. I have also reduced night time outings ie not staying out and saying no to things that are going to make me avoid sleep ie plane flights. Just in an attempt to reduce this. I had been noticing irregular sleep was a contributor.
ie getting up at 2am and not sleeping any further - I also stopped having afternoon sleeps ie midday seista as this disturbed the night sleep.

I am taking clonazepam, on onset of the uncontrollable walking around the house. At that point I take 1.5mg normally of clonazepam and then that sedates me to the point where I sleep. I prefer this to walking. This is only happening on rare ocassion for me though. If I was doing this every day, this is not a solution for this as the med side effect would make it not worth it.

I have brain injury in occiptal/pariental lobe area - smaller from bike accident.

After the walking I will hullicante for a bit and then blank out, generally coming to fine. If I take the med, I avoid all the dangerous walking, wallking on roads issue etc and just go to bed.

I reduced the stress in my life, stopped working and such. However, initally I thought it long term stress, now I know, it is if I get one of these things, just going outside ie too shop can do this, and I must take the med and sleep. I cannot put it off and think it will be ok, because ultimately, I will get to a point where I am hullicanting and walking on rds within a short while. I have enough time to get the meds only generally I will get 1 hr warning - but know sometimes in the morning or midday - I will get these at night or when I am sleepy generally. I will not feel ok and then in 5 mins get it - I will have long warning which makes this med suitable.

I tried for this also tompamax, valproate, lamictal (unfortuantely allergic to this) and phenobarb. Valproate stopped working after a year or so and I got concerned with the weight gain and eating as side effect, so shifted to tompoamax which had personality issues (anger and then crying for hrs). Phenobarb made me super depressed and I came off of that one after three weeks - that was obvious it was not med for me but had amazing sleeping.

Now I am just on clonazepam, adhoc. If this fails, of which I may fail to take it because of lack of warning, they are suggesting either Keppra, Tegretol, or Clomazabam. They want me on this already but I'm no longer experimenting, if the current med actually works. If it is not broke, Im not going to try to fix it better.

I have been told this may go away, it is not subsiding and I gave up on that pure fantasy a while ago.

I feel much happier as I have a good response to these things now and a plan in action for this situation rather than just continually having them.

Thanks. :banana:
 
When I was younger I used to wander around during my CPS. I would get a feeling like I was gonna be sick. I would head to the closest bathroom. But I would never get sick. My CPS lasted for about five minutes. When I was in Grammar School & High School this was a sight to see. But it was also very dangerous. Often I would be different floors and be climbing up and downstairs during my CPS. Each time I would be heading to the bathroom or nurses office. But I never got there because my CPS never lasted that long. I never fell (knock wood) during my walks around. Somehow I held onto the railings every time. Even though my brain put me in danger, it also knew enough to keep me safe.
 
Back
Top Bottom