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.

Insomnia and epilepsy

Sun, 05/28/2017 - 07:34
Hi, never done this before don't know if I'm doing this right. I'll make it short I had a grand mal seizure an hour after getting off of work thankfully sitting on the couch by my hubbie. My EEG was abnormal had my left frontal lobe lighting up during the whole test so it's not going away. It was my first and was started on keppra which literally made me into a psycho, over eating, crying, zonked out zombie. Needless to say my doc and I had a come to Jesus moment about changing my meds asap and now am on vimpat with no side effects at all it's a dream compared to keppra. Anywhoo ever since I can remember I have what I would clinically call insomnia but I'm not a doctor. The night of the big scary seizure (for my husband that is bc I don't remember anything), I had worked late at the hospital going on prob a week plus of no sleep. Now I know this is not why I have epilepsy but I certainly think it contributed and am scared that with continued lack of sleep I'm more at risk and I am finally back to driving. I've tried melatonin, ambien, friend tried Lunesta which like a lot of these meds lose their efficacy. Drinking tea or taking a shower is laughable but I've tried it as well as medication counseling even and I have a sound machine. I don't do caffeine or drink or take other meds that could be interfering with my sleep. So my question for anyone out there who has been in a similar situation is have you found any sleep meds prescription that have been helpful? If so please tell! I'm sick of being tired and so unproductive. I am having a sleep study to see if any seizure activity occurs at night but I doubt it. And even if so I need to start on something bc I also have an auto immune disease which gets flared up with stress which is obvi a result of not sleeping. Any advice is welcome, I am a newbie at this whole seizure thing but my parents are both doctors and mom is highly overprotective but also doesn't seem to believe or listen to my sleep problems which has been going on since atleast my teen years. Sorry for the lengthy "summary" thanks for anyone who reads and or responds, as a social worker I know the importance of support groups when struggling through similar situations it can be very empowering and therapeutic. Ok promise I'm done now :)

Comments

*Meditation counseling

Submitted by Morgan13 on Sun, 2017-05-28 - 07:36
*Meditation counseling

welcome aboard. I hope you

Submitted by Amy Jo on Sun, 2017-05-28 - 14:13
welcome aboard. I hope you get extra support here. lack of sleep is a common trigger (check out the other triggers and more on this web site). our daughter has disrupted sleep cycles that cause her to wake which they saw on overnight eeg (and it's not unusual for people with epilepsy). also had testing for apnea in sleep lab (minor but isn't why she wakes). apnea is definitely something to check for as it can make seizures much worse and hard to control. our child does better on higher dose of meds but her doc just wants the known seizures controlled. for another child (with migraines), we give magnesium at bedtime. will try this with child with epilepsy when she can take a pill (getting crushed pills into her is not a workable long term solution).sometimes parents are in denial but you are an adult so it's not an impediment to proper care for you.

Melatonin 10 mg works the

Submitted by Cindy Stoppa on Mon, 2017-05-29 - 01:00
Melatonin 10 mg works the best for me

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.