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Physiologjcal or psychological?

Sun, 04/09/2017 - 12:06
Hi. I'm a 25yo female and I had my first seizure about two months ago. It was a full-blown tonic clonic. I blacked out and became unresponsive for several moments before I collapsed and began shaking. When I came to, I was unaware the seizure had happened and was confused as to why an abmulance had come. Hospital tests (blood work and head CT) were normal. Since the initial event I've had three close calls successfully controlled with lorazepam. I can recognize the aura--it's like a monster panic attack with palpitations, vision/hearing changes, sheer terror, and the feeling that my head is floating away from my body. Any time this happens, I sit down on the floor, take my medication, focus on my breath, and talk to myself in an effort to stay conscious. I have a history of PTSD and panic attacks, but the seizures are new. They began when I was taking bupriprion, which is known to occasionally cause seizures, but I've been off that medication for a month and I'm still having auras/close calls. I know having your first seizure can permanently lower your seizure threshold and I suspect the first one was at least partially caused by the bupriprion, but I'm unsure whether I now have a physical condition or if my close calls have been psych-related since sometimes bad panic attacks can trigger seizures. On the one hand, I had my first seizure at work on a really hectic day and two of my three close calls have been at the same place under the same conditions. The one close call that happened outside of that environment occurred when I stepped into my late grandmother's home for the first time after she passed. Stress is clearly a trigger, which points to a psychological cause. On the other hand, before my first seizure I had some moderate, dull, spasm-y pain in my upper right abdomen. I immediately thought I could have a liver issue but my blood work is totally normal on that count. I've had these pains intermittently ever since and every time I have a close call, I've had that pain in the past 24 hours. But, I don't get a seizure every time I feel the pain--maybe half the time. I'm worried this could point to something physical and systemic. Eclampsia came to mind but all my pregnancy tests have been negative. Paraneoplastic syndrome also comes to mind, but I'm not enough of a hypochondriac to immediately suspect cancer, especially since I'm young and I take care of myself. I've also considered serotonin storm, but since I've been off the bupriprion that seems less and less likely. Anyways, anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? Am I missing something? Any info is much appreciated.

Comments

bupriprion, which is known to

Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2017-04-09 - 16:01
bupriprion, which is known to occasionally cause seizures   If you researched it then you would know that it was taken off shelves and reworked. Yes it can still cause seizures in seizure prone people. Which is the reason my GP would not prescribe it for me.I had some moderate, dull, spasm-y pain in my upper right abdomen  << your first seizure  I've had these pains intermittently ever since and every time I have a close call, I've had that pain in the past 24 hours  <<< ever sinceYou posted you have auras. Well for some people auras are warnings that they MIGHT have a seizure. Which also means they don't always have them. Those pains may also be auras since each persons auras are different. An aura is basically a seizure too. Personally I have had 1 aura in the 50+ years I have had epilepsy. Which was a numb feeling in my right hand. It wasn't an aura since focal seizures can start in one part of the brain and that part controls the other side of the body. The scar tissue that caused my epilepsy is in the left lobes of my brain.A seizure is an electrical impulse hitting the brain wrong causing a chain reaction. What can cause an electrical impulse to hit wrong?Am I missing something?  <<<< YUP research will show you that PTSD can and has caused some people to get epilepsy. A brain injury can cause scar tissue. A concussion where the person blacks out for a few seconds cause the scar tissue that caused my epilepsy. So yes even a car accident where the person hit their head hard can cause epilepsy. It makes no difference if you are young or old, Healthy or not. Anybody at any age can get epilepsy.This site has a lot of information. It has triggers but not all triggers are on the list. Treatment needs to be started as soon as the person has had seizures. Medications are created to stop seizures. A medication that works for one person may not for the next. Like each person is different it takes different medications and dosages for each person. One person may take a low dosage of the medication where as I will require the highest dosage the manufacturer will allow. I have been that way all my life. Physiological or psychological  <<< or could it be both

Sounds like both. And without

Submitted by Mloaolm on Wed, 2017-05-10 - 18:58
Sounds like both. And without having an EEG on you can't tell which one it is. If you are responding to seizure meds then you have epilepsy, but that doesn't mean every seizure will be epileptic. Sounds like you might need a two pronged plan of attack. AEDs and psychological maintenance. 

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