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New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?

Thu, 05/22/2008 - 23:46

Hi, New here: A little background 1st:
I had my 1st seizure about a few weeks ago. My husband called 911 when he woke up to hear me making sounds and struggling. He said I was jerking, eyes rolled back, moving everywhere, not responding, no clue he was there. I didn't respond to 4 paramedics, an ambulance ride. When I came around I didn't know where I was and my tongue was bit up. I couldn't hardly talk. My blood sugar was very low and I had a headache on the left side of my head. I did not know where I was which caused hyperventilation. With not one around, not memory of what happened. My husband was still at home waiting to come and have someone stay with the kids. Once we were all settled and my husband could get there and tell what happened, I got the full work up. MRI, EEG you name it they did it. I stayed at the hospital for 2 days. My EEG spiked and I had a seizure with that. So Complex Partial Seizure left frontal lobe with secondary generalization. I did a sleep study, results soon. On Depakote, no driving for 6 months. I have had simple partial seizures after the hospital visit.
My son has seizures as well and on Depakote/Tegretol. He had a stroke at birth so they say my seizure and his seizures are not related. His is due to brain injury at birth. The Dr. feels that I am under stress...well yea stay at home mom to a boy that had a stroke, not to mention other stuff. The Dr. said stress triggers seizures. They said I could be having tiny seizures in my sleep then the big one the other day.
Questions:
Many of my friends are asking me if adult onset seizures are common? I forgot to ask the Dr.
Will this be the last big one? Or more to come? If I have another one the 6 month driving starts over so did some of you not drive for a year?
I am depakote and they will raise it up to the right dose for me gradually. I am bit overweight anyway....I heard it makes you gain??
If my sleep study comes back saying I have sleep apnea which caused the seizure, won't a cpap machine help and I really don't have a seizure disorder??
Thanks for reading!

 

Comments

Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?

Submitted by Disneymom on Thu, 2009-01-01 - 21:31

DonnaC74,

I began having seizures 2 years ago, 80% of the time I am aware I am having one.  I can not control what my body does.  My thoughts are usually there, but I can't stop what is happening.  I have been able to speak during minor ones, but most of the time I can not. I do let out a moan/cry from the squeezing that is occuring to my insides, that I have no control over.  I have had seizures while sleeping and have woken up to find myself uncontrollably jerking and am to tired to stay awake, but remember the next morning that I have had one, mostly because I am sore from the muscles tightening.  As far as I know there are only a couple of types of seizures that people are unaware they are having them.  I'd bring it up to your doctor. 

Disneymom

DonnaC74,

I began having seizures 2 years ago, 80% of the time I am aware I am having one.  I can not control what my body does.  My thoughts are usually there, but I can't stop what is happening.  I have been able to speak during minor ones, but most of the time I can not. I do let out a moan/cry from the squeezing that is occuring to my insides, that I have no control over.  I have had seizures while sleeping and have woken up to find myself uncontrollably jerking and am to tired to stay awake, but remember the next morning that I have had one, mostly because I am sore from the muscles tightening.  As far as I know there are only a couple of types of seizures that people are unaware they are having them.  I'd bring it up to your doctor. 

Disneymom

Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?

Submitted by Lovebug on Sat, 2009-03-28 - 21:07
I have to reply to you because I am a nurse also and was always taught that there is no way you could be concious and aware of a seizure happening but I am going to tell you that I laid on my couch and can swear to you I felt one of my seizures but could not respond to it.  I was in extreme pain.  It started like excruciating shocks coming out of my brain and through my body.  My husband said it looked like just my regular ugly grand mal seizures but I bawled afterward because I was terrified.  I never experienced a sensation like that and never want to again.  I hate epilepsy as it is but this is not getting any better.

Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?

Submitted by aussie357 on Mon, 2009-05-25 - 12:27

OMG! I am so happy you posted. I have been having seizures since Feb 09. New Adult Onset, yet to be diagnosed. I am so tired of hearing from Doctors who are unfamiliar whith the various types of seizures that because I remember parts of the seizure or sometimes continue to function while an arm is twitching or my brain is buzzing or I'm having weird surging sensations through my body that it is not epilepsy and is psychogenic. I don't buy that because life is wonderful! (except for this)

I was initially diagnosed with narcolepsy, but all testing was negative so the label Idiopathic hypersomnia was applied. The neurologist told me that temporal lobe epilepsy is often misdiagnosed as narcolepsy...then he tells me he doesn't know what is going on.

All my tests so far have been normal but from what I am reading, that seems to happen a lot with temporal lobe epilepsy.

I am tired of waking during the night to the smell of burning and thinking my house or barn is on fire!

Kinda of long winded...rick mercer rant, but thanks, I feel much better now.

OMG! I am so happy you posted. I have been having seizures since Feb 09. New Adult Onset, yet to be diagnosed. I am so tired of hearing from Doctors who are unfamiliar whith the various types of seizures that because I remember parts of the seizure or sometimes continue to function while an arm is twitching or my brain is buzzing or I'm having weird surging sensations through my body that it is not epilepsy and is psychogenic. I don't buy that because life is wonderful! (except for this)

I was initially diagnosed with narcolepsy, but all testing was negative so the label Idiopathic hypersomnia was applied. The neurologist told me that temporal lobe epilepsy is often misdiagnosed as narcolepsy...then he tells me he doesn't know what is going on.

All my tests so far have been normal but from what I am reading, that seems to happen a lot with temporal lobe epilepsy.

I am tired of waking during the night to the smell of burning and thinking my house or barn is on fire!

Kinda of long winded...rick mercer rant, but thanks, I feel much better now.

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