Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
Left Temporal Lobe Dysrhythmia
Mon, 08/11/2014 - 13:17I am struggling with my recent diagnosis and am looking for some feedback.
For a very long time I have been on anti-depressants to help with depression and panic attacks. At the end of last year the panic attacks became worse and was taking ativan to help keep them at a manageable level. A couple of months ago I had a horrible attack that just wouldn't go away, numbness, tingling, feeling nauseous, dizzy. I ended up in emerge thinking I was having a heart attack. Thinking it was all depression/anxiety related my GP suggested I talk to a social worker to try to relieve some of my stress issues. Things didn't seem to be getting better, I started thinking there was a bigger issue, maybe MS or something else affecting my brain. I mentioned to my GP that I had occasionally experienced nocturnal incontinence but it only seemed to happen when my low back was causing me trouble, when I wasn’t using my CPAP and when I fell asleep flat on my back. Anyway her immediate thought was nocturnal seizures which prompted an EEG and MRI.
The MRI showed a small cyst in the left temporal lobe which was unchanged from my MRI in 2007. The EEG showed left temporal lobe dysrhythmia which has now led to a diagnosis of Epilepsy. I started on Lamotrigine, titrated up to 100mg/day and had another EEG. This one showed no improvement and actual travelling of the spikes toward another hemisphere. I am told that this is when bad seizures can occur. I am currently upping my dose of lamotrigine to 150mg/day and will have a repeat EEG in a few weeks.
Some of my questions are
- Does there have to be a certain level of lamotrigine in your system before it works? I was shocked when things got worse, I thought things would at least appear better with the dose I was on and would improve or stop with a higher dose.
- I have not had a seizure witnessed by anyone. I have never woken up disoriented, never bitten my tongue, no thrashing or falling from the bed. Is it just fluke that they found the dysrhythmia before having had a seizure?
- I know seizures can be triggered by lack of sleep and stress, both of which I have had for over six months now. Do these cause the dysrhythmia or is it present already and being worn down exasperates the problem? With less stress and sleep is it likely the dysrhythmia and chance of seizing would go away?
Long winded……I apologize. Thank you in advance for any words of wisdom and suggestions.
OK here goes The EEG is a
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2014-08-12 - 17:56
OK here goes The EEG is a brain wave test. It shows the electrical activity comming out of the brain,SO they saww something and found activity in the left lobe of your brain. OK Each person and their dosage is different. Just like each seizure is different to each person having them. what is written about the type of seizure is general some people have a few things happen while others may have more things happening then those listed. Medications are different just as dosages are. What works fo r one person may not work for the next. In other words there is no one size fits all medication to treat epilepsy. Which is also why they have all kinds of medications and more are being created. Nocturnal seizures are basically seizures one has when asleep or napping. Some happen just before going to sleep others happen right after waking up. Not all seizures are convulsive so you wouldn't know if you had one. You are right about stress and lack of sleep being triggers in some people. There are other triggers too each person has them. I have never had a problem with lack of sleep. Since I was about 13 I have only gotten about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. As for stress it doesn't bother me that much either. But getting to hot to fast can and does trigger some of my seizures. the dysrhythmia I know of deals with the heart and mine was found on a EKG.. It is also called an irregular heart beat. It has changed in the last 15-20 years to Afib