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Seizures During Sleep
Wed, 02/11/2009 - 22:16
Hi, I'm new to this site. I have most of my seizures in my sleep or in the morning after waking up.. my last one being two days ago. It seems that either illicit drugs, alcohol or lack of sleep bring most of my seizures on, and I'm working on getting them under control by giving up these things rather than taking my medication, I find the medication Valpro has some bad side effects.
I think my last seizure was a big one becauseI have been a scattered mess since then, I've slept for two days straight now and I have yet to leave the house. I can't think straight so if this doesn't make any sense I hope u understand why. My whole body is aching and my memory is slowly returning.
Anyways I'm almost 25 and I was diagnosed about 2 1/2 years ago.. does anybody else experience sleep related seizures?.. I truly believe if I can get enough sleep I will get my epiliepsy under control.
Thanks for any of your comments.
Comments
Re: Seizures During Sleep
Submitted by George R on Thu, 2010-01-28 - 08:01
SOUNDS LIKE ME
Hi Audemjay -- Yes, definitely. Your son's seizure types and their usual time of occurence seem very close to my own, and he and I are on the same two medicines. I've come to see over the years that mine occur most often when my body is most relaxed. In my sleep, around 4:00 or 5:00 am. I'm relatively thin, and I know that if I've had dinner around 7:00 pm the preceding night, my blood sugar level is very down by early the next morning. This always seems to "inspire" my neurological system to bring on a seizure.I've gotten into the habit of having a low-calorie snack (such as vanilla pudding, a slice of cheese, even a glass of milk) just before going to bed at 11:00 PM. Even during the day I see that if I get too hungry, I'll begin to feel weak, get confused, dizzy. And this can bring on my seizures. But...it took me years to get that realistic about my own bodily needs.
SOUNDS LIKE ME
Hi Audemjay -- Yes, definitely. Your son's seizure types and their usual time of occurence seem very close to my own, and he and I are on the same two medicines. I've come to see over the years that mine occur most often when my body is most relaxed. In my sleep, around 4:00 or 5:00 am. I'm relatively thin, and I know that if I've had dinner around 7:00 pm the preceding night, my blood sugar level is very down by early the next morning. This always seems to "inspire" my neurological system to bring on a seizure.I've gotten into the habit of having a low-calorie snack (such as vanilla pudding, a slice of cheese, even a glass of milk) just before going to bed at 11:00 PM. Even during the day I see that if I get too hungry, I'll begin to feel weak, get confused, dizzy. And this can bring on my seizures. But...it took me years to get that realistic about my own bodily needs.
Re: Seizures During Sleep
Submitted by audemjay on Sat, 2010-01-30 - 04:00
Thanks for sharing, George. I haven't talked with anyone who has similar seizures to the ones my son experiences. He also has "twinkling" in his head during the day if he hasn't eaten or if sounds are too loud, but I'm grateful that he hasn't had a single full blown seizure during the day at school since he started public school last year in 3rd gr.
We are heading to the one week mark when he usually has his seizure, so I think I'll try to give him something before I go to bed around 11:30 to see if it might change the cycle. Hunger is definitely a trigger for him and low blood sugar in the middle of the night makes sense. I know you've been having seizures for several decades...gosh that's a long time! If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when they started? How have they changed? Have you ever had surgery? My husband and I have a lot of questions and people living with epilepsy seem to be able to offer more assistance in some ways than the neurologists.
Thanks for sharing, George. I haven't talked with anyone who has similar seizures to the ones my son experiences. He also has "twinkling" in his head during the day if he hasn't eaten or if sounds are too loud, but I'm grateful that he hasn't had a single full blown seizure during the day at school since he started public school last year in 3rd gr.
We are heading to the one week mark when he usually has his seizure, so I think I'll try to give him something before I go to bed around 11:30 to see if it might change the cycle. Hunger is definitely a trigger for him and low blood sugar in the middle of the night makes sense. I know you've been having seizures for several decades...gosh that's a long time! If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when they started? How have they changed? Have you ever had surgery? My husband and I have a lot of questions and people living with epilepsy seem to be able to offer more assistance in some ways than the neurologists.
Re: Seizures During Sleep
Submitted by audemjay on Thu, 2010-01-28 - 00:58
Thank you for your comments. My son is 10 and he's had nighttime seizures (complex partial) for the past 2 years. His nocturnal seizures have always puzzled me, but after reading all of these comments, I see that he's not alone! That is actually quite encouraging. The doctors have never really addressed it. He awakens with a seizure at almost the same time (4 a.m.) almost exactly a week apart. I wonder if the drugs he's on now (Keppra and Depakote) are causing them to be more regular than they have been in the past? Since they seem to be related to blood sugar levels, I also wonder if it would help to wake him up beforehand on those nights and feed him some peanut butter and crackers or a protein drink. I'm up for trying anything. Not that his seizures are so bad or debilitating, I just want to do the best we can to keep them from affecting him differently than they do now. It seems that you have learned how to manage your epilepsy and move forward in a healthy way. Thanks for sharing. It gives me hope that if my son doesn't grow out of this condition, this doesn't have to control his life!