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Nervous and Scared about Epilepsy
Sun, 01/15/2012 - 13:22Hello..
I am writing to you all today because I am very nervous about something. It may seem funny, or stupid, or crazy, I don't know. But I feel like I can't ever find an answer that will ease my mind.
I am a Canadian 19 year-old female, in a competitive University program, with a happy loving family, boyfriend, friends, and life in general. I consider myself to be very, very happy and blessed. Being in my first year of University and going to many a party, I ended up contracting mononucleosis. I got it pretty badly, in fact I am still recovering now- I caught it this past November.
A number of things have happened since I got mono that have made me really worried. I want to just throw out there that I am naturally a huge worrier, to the point that I often worry myself sick. I just stress out way too much, I fully admit to that. I drive my family crazy with it sometimes.
When my mono was getting to it's absolute worst, after a ton of bed rest and prolonged anxiety due to missing so much school, I got up and walked around for a few minutes. Suddenly something felt off. I was dizzy, nauseous, lightheaded, and my vision and hearing started to fade. My parents sat me down and held me upright as I fainted. I woke up 30 seconds later and knew exactly what happened. I was very pale and had some very temporary ringing in my ears, but I knew where I was, who I was, what happened, didn't lose any bladder or bowel control, didn't bite my tongue and wasn't fatigued. But- my body did jerk for a few seconds while I was out. Nothing rhythmic, but temporarily before I woke up. I made a fast recovery and was able to walk around fine, but was still rushed to hospital for a suspected seizure. I was absolutely terrified.
When I got there, the ER doctor told me right off the bat it wasn't a seizure- that people who are held upright when they faint will jerk as their bodies second attempt to get blood back to the brain. He sent me to a neurologist just as a precaution, and he deemed the reason was dehydration after taking my blood pressure from sitting to standing. He was not at all concerned, told me this is an isolated incident, and sent me for an EEG just as another precaution. The nurse who was doing the EEG asked what happened to me and also reassured me it was absolutely not a seizure, and this test would verify. The results came back a few days later as normal.
That happened nearly 2 months ago now. With mono, I have had really bad headaches and kid of jolt feelings going through my body as I try to sleep. An internist saw how terrified I was of my symptoms and wanted to give me a CT scan to prove to me that there is nothing wrong with me. He also ordered a round of blood work. All of those tests came back completely clear.
I have had moments with my severe anxiety that seem like a panic attack, where I fear I will pass out again. It is overwhelming sometimes, but I have been getting so much better and so much less anxious, so most of my symptoms are abating.
I just feel like I can never get a clear answer about epilepsy and seizures. I worry that I have partial seizures without knowing it- I google things too much and sometimes I will get blurry vision (turns out I need glasses- got my eyes tested), or I feel dizzy and weak, have a little moment of nervousness/panic, get a tingly jolt in my body (('m particularly worried about that) or sometimes I will have a very brief heightened sense of smell. When these happen, I get terrified I'm having a seizure. Are these partial seizures, or am I being a hypochondriac?
Basically, what I want to know is, if my EEG, CT scan, blood-work are normal, and I have no history of any kind of seizure, is it possible for me to have epilepsy? Can people develop it out of the blue, or does there need to be some kind of disorder present?
Sorry if I sound so erratic, I just really need some answers.
God bless.
Re: Nervous and Scared about Epilepsy
Submitted by phylisfjohnson on Tue, 2012-01-17 - 14:48
Take a look at the "About Epilepsy" box above and I think you'll learn even more thamn you want to know! It's a terrific resource.
Also, according to this website:
"When considering a diagnosis of epilepsy, it is very important to distinguish it correctly from other disorders. Some people with high levels of anxiety can experience panic attacks, which are characterized by intense feelings of nervousness, fear, and the sudden appearance of bodily symptoms such as sweating, hyperventilation, accelerated heartbeat, and flushing of the skin. In some cases, panic attacks have been misdiagnosed as epilepsy, and epilepsy has even been misdiagnosed as panic attacks! Because these symptoms of anxiety can be present during a seizure, in many cases the two are hard to differentiate. In extreme cases, hyperventilation caused by anxiety can trigger a convulsion, which can further complicate the diagnosis. Also, because the panic attacks occur suddenly and without warning, they are extremely frightening; the person usually believes that they represent a serious medical condition. Because panic attacks and seizures can be so similar, it is important to use techniques such as MRI and EEG to differentiate between them."
My guess (and I'm not a doctor) is that you're you're having heightened panic attacks or Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures – (PNES)
The first type of non-epileptic seizures, as defined by the Epilepsy Foundation, is psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. They’re seizures caused by psychological trauma or conflict that impacts the patient’s state of mind.
The Epilepsy Foundation states that sexual or physical abuse is the leading cause of psychogenic seizures, where the abuse occurred during childhood or more recently: life changes, like death and divorce are another possible cause of a psychogenic seizures. This form of seizure often resembles a complex partial or tonic-clonic (grand-mal) seizure, with generalized convulsions, stiffening, jerking, falling, shaking and crying. Less often, a psychogenic seizure resembles a complex partial seizure, with a temporary loss of attention.
Interestingly, about 1 in 6 of these patients either already has epileptic seizures or has had them. So different treatment is needed for each disorder. Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are most often seen in adolescents and young adults, but they also can occur in children and the elderly. And they are three times more common in females!
Doctors have identified certain kinds of movements and patterns that seem to be more common in psychogenic seizures than in seizures caused by epilepsy. Some of these patterns do occur occasionally in epileptic seizures however, so having one of them does not necessarily mean that the seizure was non-epileptic.
Video-EEG monitoring is the most effective way of diagnosing non-epileptic seizures. The doctor may take steps to provoke a seizure and then ask a family member or friend of the patient to confirm that the event was the same as the usual kind.
Although there is trauma involved, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures do not necessarily indicate that the person has a serious psychiatric disorder. But the problem does need to be addressed and many patients need treatment.
Sometimes the episodes stop when the person learns that they are psychological. Some people have depression or anxiety disorders that can be helped by medication. Counseling for a limited time is often helpful. And the prognosis is good, with 60 to 70 percent of patients alleviated of seizure symptoms.
Another possible way of coping is to reduce your stress, take time out, go for a walk, try deep breathing (but NOT hyperventilating!) music, meditation, muscle relaxation or even biofeedback.
And above all…be kind to yourself.
Phylis Feiner Johnson
www.epilepsytalk.com
Take a look at the "About Epilepsy" box above and I think you'll learn even more thamn you want to know! It's a terrific resource.
Also, according to this website:
"When considering a diagnosis of epilepsy, it is very important to distinguish it correctly from other disorders. Some people with high levels of anxiety can experience panic attacks, which are characterized by intense feelings of nervousness, fear, and the sudden appearance of bodily symptoms such as sweating, hyperventilation, accelerated heartbeat, and flushing of the skin. In some cases, panic attacks have been misdiagnosed as epilepsy, and epilepsy has even been misdiagnosed as panic attacks! Because these symptoms of anxiety can be present during a seizure, in many cases the two are hard to differentiate. In extreme cases, hyperventilation caused by anxiety can trigger a convulsion, which can further complicate the diagnosis. Also, because the panic attacks occur suddenly and without warning, they are extremely frightening; the person usually believes that they represent a serious medical condition. Because panic attacks and seizures can be so similar, it is important to use techniques such as MRI and EEG to differentiate between them."
My guess (and I'm not a doctor) is that you're you're having heightened panic attacks or Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures – (PNES)
The first type of non-epileptic seizures, as defined by the Epilepsy Foundation, is psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. They’re seizures caused by psychological trauma or conflict that impacts the patient’s state of mind.
The Epilepsy Foundation states that sexual or physical abuse is the leading cause of psychogenic seizures, where the abuse occurred during childhood or more recently: life changes, like death and divorce are another possible cause of a psychogenic seizures. This form of seizure often resembles a complex partial or tonic-clonic (grand-mal) seizure, with generalized convulsions, stiffening, jerking, falling, shaking and crying. Less often, a psychogenic seizure resembles a complex partial seizure, with a temporary loss of attention.
Interestingly, about 1 in 6 of these patients either already has epileptic seizures or has had them. So different treatment is needed for each disorder. Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are most often seen in adolescents and young adults, but they also can occur in children and the elderly. And they are three times more common in females!
Doctors have identified certain kinds of movements and patterns that seem to be more common in psychogenic seizures than in seizures caused by epilepsy. Some of these patterns do occur occasionally in epileptic seizures however, so having one of them does not necessarily mean that the seizure was non-epileptic.
Video-EEG monitoring is the most effective way of diagnosing non-epileptic seizures. The doctor may take steps to provoke a seizure and then ask a family member or friend of the patient to confirm that the event was the same as the usual kind.
Although there is trauma involved, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures do not necessarily indicate that the person has a serious psychiatric disorder. But the problem does need to be addressed and many patients need treatment.
Sometimes the episodes stop when the person learns that they are psychological. Some people have depression or anxiety disorders that can be helped by medication. Counseling for a limited time is often helpful. And the prognosis is good, with 60 to 70 percent of patients alleviated of seizure symptoms.
Another possible way of coping is to reduce your stress, take time out, go for a walk, try deep breathing (but NOT hyperventilating!) music, meditation, muscle relaxation or even biofeedback.
And above all…be kind to yourself.
Phylis Feiner Johnson
www.epilepsytalk.com