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PNES- NON EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

Wed, 11/12/2008 - 17:45
  Hello there. I just wanted to know if there is anyone that is living with pnes... My sister has been told she has this and it is very confusing. I have done some research on this condition..but would like to hear from anyone who has this.  I just have some questions about his condition.. right now my sister is in the hospital and i amjust trying to gain a better understanding for her and us.. Thank you..edie

Comments

Re: PNES- NON EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

Submitted by diana-gaidheal on Thu, 2008-11-13 - 02:37

I'm sorry, but what is PNES?

Diana

I'm sorry, but what is PNES?

Diana

Re: PNES- NON EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

Submitted by dragon7s on Fri, 2009-01-23 - 01:12

I've just learned that my 23 yr. old son was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and actually is afflicted with PNES (Psychogenic NonEpileptic Seizures).

 We were in fact lucky that his regular Dr. was on vacation and he happened to see another Dr. that was willing to delve in deeper as to the cause of my son's seizures.

He's scheduled to see a psychiatrist tomorrow and we are anxious to see what comes of it.

My son has spent years on heavy med's to try to control his seizures but has had to be admitted several times to the emergency room because his seizures weren't responding to the med's.

Hopefully he will now get the proper kind of help that he needs and can move on in his life to bigger and better things.

I'll keep you posted on how it's going.  

I've just learned that my 23 yr. old son was misdiagnosed with epilepsy and actually is afflicted with PNES (Psychogenic NonEpileptic Seizures).

 We were in fact lucky that his regular Dr. was on vacation and he happened to see another Dr. that was willing to delve in deeper as to the cause of my son's seizures.

He's scheduled to see a psychiatrist tomorrow and we are anxious to see what comes of it.

My son has spent years on heavy med's to try to control his seizures but has had to be admitted several times to the emergency room because his seizures weren't responding to the med's.

Hopefully he will now get the proper kind of help that he needs and can move on in his life to bigger and better things.

I'll keep you posted on how it's going.  

Re: PNES- NON EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Sat, 2009-01-24 - 01:11
For me, just about the opposite occurred. For the first thirty years of my life, all the signs and symptoms of partial and partial complex epilepsy were blamed on psychological/character problems. When tinctures of opium didn't alleviate some of my physical symptoms, I was even told that I "willed" myself to be sick. Once epilepsy is instead labeled as a psychological problem, it is nearly impossible to discard and break free from whatever DSM-IV code happens to be pasted upon the individual with epilepsy. I broke free from this psychological trap by avoiding most all doctors until, unfortunately for me, my epilepsy progressed into major life-threatening tonic-clonics (the doctor has to be really besieged and careless to label these as psychogenic). AEDs now moderately control my secondary tonic-clonics. I don't like being labeled as having epilepsy, so I blame many of my signs and symptoms of partials on migraines now, and this also avoids many aspects of my concerns with "toxic psychiatry," since my partials don't respond well to AEDs. My partials being intractable to medication can be viewed as a lone clue to non-eplileptic seizures, but many diagnostic clues must be weighed and judged; diagnostic traps must also be avoided, and frustrations/economics should have no influence, but frequently do in the medical sciences. Postictal Changes in Serum Prolactin elevation levels are virtually 100% for generalized tonic-clonic seizures, above 80% for Complex partial seizures, somewhat between 10-20% for simple partial seizures, none for absence, myoclonic, akinetic seizures, none for status epilepticus, and none for Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures. These levels, which psychotropic drugs mess up, with tongue biting, falling and/or incontinece, eye/eye-lid response are often used to differentiate between true epileptic seizures and non-epileptic seizures. True and intractable epilepsy invalidates most all psychiatric/psychological testing, and frustrated psychological professionals can even end up erroneously assigning Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy as the reason for "purported" seizures. Two of my favorite books on epilepsy is "The Epilepsies" by C P Panayiotopoulos, copyright 2005, ISBN 1-904218-34-2; and, "Imitators of Epilepsy" by Kaplan and Fisher, copyright 2005, ISBN 1-888799-83-8.

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