What are the symptoms of seizures?

[deutsche elektronische]

Hi, I don't have epilepsy, but I have an autoimmune disease called sarcoidosis, which generally attacks the lungs, but sometimes it attacks the CNS and eyes and other systems.

Right before my diagnosis of sarcoid, I was beginning to have anxiety-like symptoms in addition to physical ones. My most unusual symptoms are visual, what I have are scotomas, visual snow, flashing lights or colored specks in my field of vision, blurry and double vision, and a slight decrease in vision.

During episodes like these, my muscles start tightening and sometimes my neck, arms and legs jerk just a little and my eyelids twitch. I also have numbness and strange sensations, like cold air is blowing on my face or another body part from an unknown source, my shoulders burn and buzz, as well as my feet, I get weird, uncomfortable ticklish sensations in my stomach and abdomen, or my abdominal muscles clench involuntarily, I feel dizzy and lightheaded, sometimes I feel faint, or have trouble breathing, or I smell things that aren't real, or I even feel nauseated.

Sometimes the symptoms are cognitive, where I feel confused, or I forget what I'm doing, and I get up and walk around for no reason. Other times, I have trouble understanding words briefly, or when talking I start stuttering or make a soft noise involuntarily.

These experiences are nothing like panic attacks or anxiety, but in some ways more akin to a bad psychedelic trip. My twitching eyelids annoy me the most, because I feel like people can see it, and you can.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi DE, welcome to CWE!

Most of the symptoms you describe could be migraine-related, and/or they could be simple partial seizures -- the two are close cousins. But the cognitive problems tend to tip the scales towards a simple partial diagnosis. It would be a good idea to check in with your doc or neurologist about doing an MRI or EEG to see what's going on. I'm sorry about the sarcoidosis. I hope the CNS issues turn out to be minor.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Thanks for the advice. I am afraid they might be simple partial seizures. I never knew much about seizures until recently, even though my mother has epilepsy, but she claims to have never had a seizure since I was born, so I never saw them or knew about it. Seizures are usually seen as the grand mal, or petit mal, not unusual neural activity that can affect you in strange ways without convulsions or becoming unconscious. I never knew you could have one while conscious and not know it happened or ignored it.

As far as testing goes, I had an EEG done over the winter, but the test came back negative. It was funny, because I was having a lot of muscle jerking and seeing scotomas during the strobe test. My symptoms have gotten significantly worse since then. Strangely enough, I have been put on Neurontin by my psychiatrist--not for seizures, but for anxiety. It seems to help a bit, but not greatly. However, it makes me feel relaxed when having strange sensations that are worrisome, which is nice. But my doctors have suggested seeing a Neurologist, but I can't get an appointment until fall at the hospital I go to. It's a long time to wait. Whatever it is, it's autoimmune related. I might not ever get a straight answer about having sarcoidosis. Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes sometimes.

Thanks

 

[Nakamova]

Simple partials don't always show up on EEGs unfortunately -- they often originate too deep in the brain to register.

Nevertheless, your symptoms are pretty suggestive that that's what's going on. Don't be afraid to be pushy about getting your appintment with the neurologist moved up. Call everyday and ask the receptionist if there are any cancellations. They'll get the idea.

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Is it possible to control seizures if you feel one coming? Say for example, you were feeling strange and it made you panic, if you tried to calm yourself down, would it be able to affect the intensity of a seizure?

 

[epileric]

I've been able to stop mine by controlling my breath or doing various things to focus on.

 

[deutsche elektronische]

That's exactly what I do when I have these episodes, I won't say they are seizures until a doctor diagnoses it, but when I do feel it coming on, I try to do breathing exercises or try to read something to keep focused.

 

[KeithH]

Ive had seizures for about 10 years now but out of 10 years ive had only a total of 6 or 8 give or take. I can feel them comming on, when I have seizures i have what is called an aura, mostly i feel dizzy and loose coordination. Most of the time i start to black out. recently though with this new med i dont. I try to calm myself down with breathing and getting myself comfortable sometimes it works sometimes it dosnt. You should go see the doctor and ask, its kind of dangerous if you do have one and your somplace that can cause you or someone harm. hope my experience helps you.

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Thanks for the advice. I have been paranoid about passing out, falling or having a petit mal in public, where I could get injured. I've started thinking about padding my bathroom in case I fall, or not leaving alone. I have a big commute to work, which involves taking many buses and trains to down town Chicago. The trains scare me the most, as I feel like I could fall off the platform. I need to get a neuro very badly. I have symptoms everyday.

 

[kirk267]

Suport for deutsche elektronische.

:hello:Yes I understand exactly about what you mean in regards to the fact that if you have a seizure in public it may be embarrassing to you be. Because I have actually had a Gran Mal seizure years ago right in the food court in the biggest mall in Winnipeg, Manitoba which I live in and there were alot of people no doubt that did not understand what was going on with me because most people are not educated in regards to assisting an individual that has a grand mal seizures in public or has epilepsy in general so most people just call 911 (emergency number) and let the paramedics assist the individual which in this case was me. I remember clearly that I was in the food court area in the mall when I was carrying my tray of food to a table to sit down and eat when suddenly a gran mal seizure happened and before I even knew what hit me and/or was going on I blacked out (loss consciousness)and when I regained consciousness I was strapped to a stretcher with the paramedics bringing me down the escalator to the main floor in order to get me out of the mall and into the ambulance and from there to a hospital emergency room.

Since I am now 30 years old and have alot of experience about how to prevent myself from having a seizure because I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 13 years old and that also was the same time period in which my younger brother Keith was also diagnosed with epilepsy and passed away from them at the young age of 21 years old which was approximately 8 years ago.

Basically what I have been doing to at the least gain more control over my seizure activity and when I have one i would have to say that this advice may help you deutsche elektronische to gain control over basically any type of seizure anyone may have is to try to remain calm and try to decrease as much stress as you can in your everyday life since for be the number one factor that leads to a seizure for me is too much stress in my life including but not limited to the lack of sleep I get at night because the more tired and/or exhausted I am the bigger the risk there is for me actually having a seizure which i now presently use basic relaxing coping techniques to relax and calm myself when I feel an aura coming which is a good indicator that a seizure may happen soon which when I do feel an aura I make sure I'm in a large open room such as my living room and sit or lay down on my sofa and if anybody is in the suite I inform them immediately that I feel like I may have a seizure at any time now than at the least someone can than assist me or you as quickly as possible and lay me on to my bed, sofa, and or even laying flat on the floor with him or her keeping there hand underneath my head so that if a seizure were to happen I would not be hitting my head on the floor and so that I don't fall over due to the fact that I am standing up because when a seizure happened when I was standing up in the past I remember the full weight of my body dropping helplessly to the ground like a large tree that has just been cut down and is now in free fall falling to the ground which could lead to brain damage due to the fact that my brain is under so much stress and my head is banging the floor so hard it could cause my brain to move around too much and could then lead to further injuries as a result of a seizure happening to me.

Also limit your use of drinking too much alcoholic beverages because too much alcohol could cause your medication that you are taking to control your seizures not to work.

I hope some of this advice was helpful to you deutsche elektronische and I wish you all the best in regards to getting at the least more control over your seizures so that you feel more secure and actually feel as though you have more control over you life in general.

From yours truly kirk267.:tup:

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Kirk. That was very helpful. I'm terribly sorry to hear of your brother though--I can't even imagine how painful that must have been.

But I think I need to take your advice on relieving my stress and getting good sleep every night to help control seizure activity. I can't seem to feel very well if I'm stressed out or not sleeping enough. Yesterday my muscles contracted so much they're sore today. I have even been wondering if events have been happening in my sleep that I don't know about.

I have been put on Neurontin (Gabapentin) for about two months now. The first three weeks I was on it I noticed an instant decrease in symptoms and some much needed stress relief, however that doesn't seem quite as significant anymore. I'm on 900mg daily right now, after starting on 600mg. My symptoms are becoming more severe right now and I don't know if that could be related to the Neurontin or not. I definitely noticed the abdominal muscle contractions and eyelid twitching as being a very recent symptom.

 

[kirk267]

Your welcome deutsche elektronische.

I'm also taking gabapentin but my neurologist told me that even though its used for epilepsy it's not very effective due to the fact that it is more times than not used for individuals that suffer from chronic pain such as people with arthritis because it is a very strong pain killer and from what I know it is also stronger then 100 mg pills of Tylenol 3's is in my opinion is quite a strong painkiller.

My plastic surgeon prescribed me gabapentin in order to relieve the chronic pain that was a result of my dominant left hand getting caught in a break press machine and I would have to say that it is quite effective for my chronic pain that comes all the time when I start doing my physio-exercises daily which is mandatory in order for me to keep my fingers working as best as possible.

After I had my injury to my hand my neurologist prescribed 350 mg of dilantin to take at bedtime but it is now decreased to 300 mg.

In regards to your eyes twitching it is possibly a result of too much stress because I remember when my seizures were not being controlled very well by my epilepsy medication that I was feeling very stressed out not only due to the fact that my seizures were not under control but also due to the fact htat my seizures basically happened all the time during the night and as a result I could not get a good nights sleep and I started to notice I was getting frustrated (stressed out)and in addition I just felt exhausted and that is also a main factor that could also cause a seizure which is lack of sleep or being extremely fatigue.

When you were wondering if events have been happening in your sleep that you don't know about it could be that your having absented minded seizures which are small seizures that I had in the past and I wasn't even aware i even had them. The way my neurologist found out that I was having absent minded seizures in the past was when I had an EEG and/or MRI scan which can detect even the smallest of seizure activity happening within your brain and when your neurologist gets the results from these scans he/she should be able to find out if you have been experiencing absent minded seizures or not.

What I do to relax myself before I go to bed is to read a good book or you could even try to go for s nice relaxing walk.

I hope at the least that some of this information was helpful to you deutsche elektronische and hang in there never give up on yourself because in my opinion when there is a will there is a way.

Take care and I'll talk to you soon!

 

[deutsche elektronische]

I had a seizure last night. I had been feeling sick for a few days, where my stomach muscles kept tensing up and hurting and making me have nausea and gagging. I called my doctor about it, and I'm waiting to hear back from her. I have been taking zofran for it, but it hasn't been enough to stop the unexplained nausea I have been having. I had a weird suspicion it was neurologically associated, but I couldn't prove it.

I started smoking pot to ease the nausea and stomach pain I started having, which is something I do on occasion with no problems, and all of a sudden I felt unusual, it felt sort of like a panic attack, but it kept getting worse.

I could feel vibrating all over my body, my stomach started hurting worse and I felt more nauseated(which is the opposite effect pot should have), I sat on the couch and told my boyfriend I felt really strange. I was afraid a seizure was coming, so I tried to calm down and think about something comforting and distracting. He sat with me and the room looked like it was vibrating, I started thinking strangely and had this weird depersonalization/derealization epiphany. Then everything became distorted; my vision and hearing. I could see rippling effect around the living room.

All of a sudden my body became rigid, I could see colored lights slightly, I felt like I couldn't breathe, my circulation felt like it was being cut off and I started jerking pretty bad. I told my boyfriend I thought I was having a seizure. I started feeling like I was going to pass out and stop breathing. My jerking got worse for a few minutes and I tried hard to calm down and finally it quit. I sat there for a while.

Strangely I felt euphoric. I kind of wanted to laugh it off and made myself think I didn't really have a seizure, that I had a bad panic attack and somatically made the shaking start. But that was not really the case. After all this I felt so tired I wanted to sleep. I didn't go to the hospital because I didn't black out. I took a long nap afterwards. Now I still feel jittery and having some muscle jerks. I feel wiped out and my memory of everything that happened is fuzzy. I remember feeling weird emotionally, going from sad and upset to inappropriately amused.

I'm really afraid now. My family will not believe me if I tell them, even though my mom has epilepsy. She once warned me about doing drugs or drinking and having possible seizures, but I never believed her. Then I found out epilepsy and seizure disorders are hereditary. I'm really mad at her right now and she wouldn't believe I had one unless my boyfriend confirmed it to my parents. The only support I have is my boyfriend, and even he seems slightly ambivalent about the episode being a seizure. I don't know what to do. Now worried about work. I'm employed at a museum, which is a busy and unsafe place for a seizure. Should I tell my boss? I almost want to buy a helmet to wear when I leave the house alone. What safety precautions should I take?

 

[Nakamova]

Any chance you can get that emergency meeting with the neurologist? It might give you some piece of mind, plus a medication that might might help control/prevent the seizures. If you have another seizure, consider going to the ER even if you don't lose consciousness -- that way you may be able to get some immediate help with medication, and get a diagnosis that your family will accept.

In the meantime, be as proactive as possible about your health. Even if it has helped in the past, marijuana may be problematic now. Try and stay away from triggers like alcohol and excessive caffeine. Be moderate and balanced in your sleep and diet, and do what you can to avoid stress. Keep track of how your are feeling and of any unusual episodes. The stomach stuff may have actually have been a form of seizure, or they may have contributed if you haven't been able to eat properly, or are having issues with malabsorption. There is a connection between gut issues and seizures, so if you think that may be going on in your case you may want to take a closer look at your diet. (and there's lots of info here at CWE about gut-brain issues if you have questions).

At this point it's your call as to whether you tell your boss about having a seizure disorder. How often are you having seizures, and how severe? Do you get any warning signs? Are they getting progressively worse? If you think the chances of having one at work are increasing, and you want your boss to know how to respond, then you should go ahead and let him know. If you drive, find alternatives. Avoid swimming alone. My take on the helmet is that it's probably not necessary -- the skull is pretty tough, probably tougher than other parts of your body. You can do what you can to cover up sharp edges and hard surfaces at home, but unless you can bubble-wrap the world there will always be the risk of some injury. I get tonic-clonic seizures without warning (though they're controlled by meds now). I've had at least 20, and while I've gotten plenty sore (back and tongue), and injured my shoulder (dislocation and torn labrum), my head has been basically okay. I live alone, shower alone (sadly), swim alone, etc. Those are my choices, and they may not be right for you -- but you should know that as scary as the prospect of having a seizure is, you don't have to let that fear control your life.

I hope you are starting to feel better from last night's seizure.

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Last night was the first seizure that was disabling. I have been having neurological activity daily. Usually I feel strange sensations briefly or have visual disturbances, eye twitching or feel nauseated, faint and dizzy. Occasionally, maybe once a week, I have myoclonic-like jerking that is pretty mild and never lasts more than an hour. Visual disturbances happen daily.

Do you think my GP would prescribe me antiseizure medication until I get an MRI, or do I need an MRI first? If it happens again I will definitely go to the hospital. I seem to be a frequent visitor.

 

[Nakamova]

Call your GP to find out. Be prepared with all the details of last night's seizure, and the other symptoms as well, and let him or her know what's going on. Be clear that things are getting worse.

I was put on an AED (Dilantin) after having a tonic-clonic seizure that put me in the ER -- but before having an MRI or a confirming EEG.

 

[kirk267]

advice to deutsche elektronische

Hi deutsche elektronische I read your most recent post and it definitely believe that you had possible at the least a petite mal seisure if not even possibly a grand mal seizure.

Some advice I would like to share with you is that yes alcohol when drinking it especially since your medication does not seem to be assisting you controlling your seizures it would be wise of you just temporary to not drink any alcohol because when my younger brother medication was not assisting him control his seizures it made the medications even less effective due to the fact that a lot of medications that are used presently to aid in controlling seizures alcohol will basic regardless of taking your medication will cancel out the assist the medication would have in regards to assisting you control your seizures.

I know for a fact that at the least the continuous grand mal seizures by younger brother Keith was having for the past 3 months before he past away about 8 years ago played a very serious role in taking my brothers life due to the result of having too many grand mal seizures and in addition having them every night. I also know that these gran mal seizures he was having was also a result of him drinking too much alcohol.

Gran mal seizures can take quite a tolll on your body when having them on a continuous basis which I have also experienced in the past not just physically but psychologically as well because when i was having gran mal seizures on a continuous basis I felt that I had know control over my body at all and in addition that just increased the stress in my life as a result. Also each time I had a gran mal seizure afterwards i felt exhausted which also increased the chances of be having another seizure because for me if I'm extremely exaustred that increases the risks of me having a seizure.

Also when I had a gran mal seizure the majority of the time I didn't know i even had one unless my family told me I had one or if it was in public when I regained conscious I was on a paramedic stretcher on the way to the emergency room in an ambulance because when I have a gran mal seizure I lose consciousness and that is the reason why I wasn't even aware I had one.

Also if you don't mine me asking when in your last message you mentioned that you were waiting to hear back from your doctor is this your family doctor your talking about or is it a neurologist that is a doctor that specializes in seizures?

Also in the mean time while waiting for your doctor to get back to you I would encourage you to keep track of what time you have all your seizures at and what do you feel previous to having a seizure and describe it in as much detail as you can this and these feeling of anxiety you are feeling after you have a seizure which will help your doctor have a better understanding about how and what part of the day your experiencing your seizure activity the most.

Maybe try to hang out with the people that understand you the most and maybe even think about establishing a support network which I believe could really help you (people you can talk to about seizures etc. and will take you seriously) because for me when I keep feelings of anxiety and/or things that are stressing me out and keeping it bottled up inside of me and I don't talk things out with someone that is supportive and cares about my well being i do feel that my anxiety and stress level rise and when it does that is when I say to myself it's time to vent out all these things that have been stressing me out lately and it really helps talking about it with my best friend dustin and getting it off my chest and out of my head.

Hang in there deutsche elektronische.

Until next time we talk I wish you all the best and take care of yourself deutsche elektronische!

 

[deutsche elektronische]

Well, I talked to one of my doctors about my seizure today, which happened to be my psychiatrist, and told him what happened. I tried as much as I could to describe to him every detail that I could remember from the seizure.

He seemed to think the episode was probably linked to my panic disorder/anxiety, which he thinks is pretty severe, then concluded that what I had was what he termed as a "pseudo-seizure", where it was most likely a mini-seizure induced by a panic attack--not a brain disorder or disease. His reasoning was that seizures usually make people become unconscious and don't remember much of what happened, and that didn't really happen in my case.

He told me not to worry too much about it, and that it was up to me if I wanted to see a neurologist or not, so he upped by Neurontin dose to help control my anxiety. I don't really know what to make of his diagnosis, as I feel he might be wrong and be making me think it's not as severe of a problem as it is. Plus, I've read material claiming that partial seizures are sometimes mistaken as being panic attacks. I truly don't know what to make of all this.

I keep having sensations every once in a while throughout the day that it's going to happen again. I'm starting to get scared that this will keep up. I've never had this before and have zero experience with it other than what happened the other day. I think I will just go ahead and see a neurologist and see what they say. There's no reason not to.

 

[momof3boys]

Im sorry to hear about your seizures happening. Im kind of in the same place when it comes to seizures.

I have had epilepsy since I was an infant. I was dx'd with epilepsy til I was 18months old, but since then Ive had complex partial seizures and grand mal seizures. In march of this year I got to have my first Video EEG and my neuro that Ive been seeing since November of 2010, tells me that the results indicate Im having panic or anxiety attacks. Even though my VEEG indicates I have epileptic spikes occuring. He just wanted me to have a grand mal and I wasnt able to have that. Instead, the nurses that were in the room when I was having them, said they looked like simple partial seizures. Something that was new to me. When it came to seizures, I was use to have complex partials and grand mals. I never remember what happened during the seizures, and when I was in the VEEG I was consious through out them all.

To this day, Ive been on two different medications since march, Im now on Keppra, again. My neuro still thinks they are not epileptic seizures at all... and from now on, I dont know what to do. Im just waiting to see him the end of this month.

I hope some answers lie ahead for you soon!

 

[BigWill]

If I were you I would definately see a neurologist right away and get some tests run. At the least an MRI and an EEG.