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Seizures? Nerve Damage? or something else?
Thu, 07/01/2004 - 15:29Topic: Family & Friends
Im not exactly sure what I have. If its seizures, nerve damage or something completely different. I figured I would try and post on here and see if someone could give me some guidance. Im 24 and have no medical insurance, I do plan on going to a doctor and getting referred to a neurologist but im trying to wait till i get insurance before i do that. Here is some background on what i think the problem is. from age 18-22 i was a heavy crystal meth user and pot smoker. On 2 occasions I overdosed on meth, the side effects of an OD are psychosis, paranoia and the one if found most odd was that i couldnt control my eyes, they would move independently of each other on their own. I quit doing meth but continued smoking pot. Every time i smoked though i felt like a small electrical storm was happening in my brain followed by severe tingling and sometimes jerking motions of my limbs. I quit smoking pot because this was absolutely one of the most horrible feelings ever and would last for hours. After i quit i never had these up until about 6 months ago i took some unisoms to help me go to sleep one night and it gave me the same feeling of tingling and jerking of the limbs, and that feeling at the base of my skull. I went to my doctor (since i had insurance at the time) and he diagnosed it as a panic attack, prescribed me xanax and sent me on my way. The more i read on panic attacks the more i can see that this is not one. On top of this I have this feeling now every day. Sometimes on top of the feeling in my head and the jerking of the limbs and tingling, i also experience repeated physical movements such as pacing the floor or constantly putting my hand up to my face. Where my symptoms differ from what i keep reading is in how long they last they never last under and hour its always an hour or more. The xanax do temporarily take them away but after they wear off they are just as bad or worse than they were before. Recently I have also started experiencing sleep paralysis, impotence and pretty bad insomnia. Do you think these are seizures, that it is in any way related to epilepsy or that it is extreme nerve damage or something i havent even considered? Any help would be appreciated because im about to go crazy.
RE: Seizures? Nerve Damage? or something else?
Submitted by mexican_fire on Thu, 2004-07-01 - 15:29
I have some interesting news for you.First of all, it does sound like a Complex Partial seizure to me, but repeated episodes that follow closely after the first one? That is called Parial Status Epilepticus. which would be why they seem to last longer than they should.It is not a necessarily good situation to be in, you should have someone take you the next time it happens.From my medic training, and being an EMT, We see more calls related to some type of drug OD, or seizure activity. They are te two msot common types of calls we go on, other than stuff related to heart attacks.You mentioned that you took Zanax that your flake of a doc gave you--Benzodiazapines are not something that should be given to people with seizuer disorders of any kind, because they lower the seizure threshold and make having seizures even easier, and they are an addictive drug. NOT good!Also I have read on here from people who take things like SSRIs, and TCA anti-depressants. DANGEROUS combo. Don't let anyone try to give it to you. They don't mix with each other, and can actually cause harm to you, your brain, and liver.I had to give up my Paxil and Remeron for drug treatment for my epilepsy.The sleep-aid that you took is an OTC drug that has Benadryl or known by the name on the box--diphenhydramine. Anti-histamines are advised to be used with EXTREME caution and preferably not at all in people who have seizures, because they are an INSTANT trigger. Also, about your drug habits years earlier--that in itself can cause you to have seizures. Now your threshold for it, is SO low, that everything seems to be triggering them off.Some more triggers are--missed medication, lack of sleep, drug abuse (includes cocaine, PCP. amphetamines, heroin, various narcotics of any kind), withdrawl from drugs, alcohol abuse, caffeine(avoid it all together), OTC drugs(anti-histamines, pseudophedrine, and PPA) common to many sleep, diet, allergy, and cold medicines, herbal rememdies, menses, flashing lights or patterns, nutrition, hyperventilation, stress of any kind, illnesses, fevers, colds, infections, and any other illnesses.Here are the symptoms of a Complex Partial Seizure.It starts with an Aura and that has manyy faces as well. You sound like you are having motor auras which produce funny feelings like the tingling down your arm and with that feeling in your skull, then a blank stare and then lose touch with the surroundings.That is often followed by chewing movements of the mouth, or picking at the clothes or face, or mumbling, or performing simple unorganized acts over and over again. This last one happens in almost everyone having this type of seizure, but the other symptoms can vary from person to person.Sometimes people wander around during a seizure, as an example, I went out to the living room at 2 am a month ago, and had one in there, actually it started in my sleep. I walked into the living room, in the dark, without my glasses on. Two things I never do. I can't see without my glasses, and I am still afraid of the dark to an extent. I was doing some rather interesting things, and by the time my mom found me, I was trapped in a space behind and between something. Some people will leave their houses and be found wandering in traffic, or others will go up and down steps repeatedly, not even aware of what they are doing.In Frontal Lobe seizures, people will try to undress, or become very agitated, or scream, or run around like a fool, or make flailing motions with their arms, or lie on their back and make the bicycle motions upside down with their legs in the air.Other symptoms can include running in fear of something non existant, or crying, or laughing, or saying the same phrase over and over again.People's actions and movements are typically unorganized, confused (like them), and unfocused during a Complex Partial Seizure.When someone is having a Complex Partial seizure, they are not aware of anything they are doing or what is going on around them. They will not be able to converse normally with another person, nor will they be able to follow instructions, obey police commands (which accounts for so many people being thrown in the backs of cop cars, because the cop thinks they are baligerant, not wanting to respond to them in the way they should), recognize dangers like heat, water, fire, heights, or anything else that could threaten them. Most people may be able to follow simple requests that are made in a calm friendly voiceI hope it helps.Nancy