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.

Nocturnal Seizures

Wed, 01/13/2010 - 16:42

I hope I have posted this correctly.  I have several questions about nocturnal seizures, complex partial seizures and absence seizures.  I had an MRI which came back normal but my EEG showed nocurnal activity originating in the left temporal lobe and some involement with the right.  I have lost contenance several times - does this indicate grand mal? Other times my body just jerks and I feel like I have electricity going through my body.  Are there different types of nocturnal seizures and if so what are the symptoms.  My husband has never woken up during these episodes.  Any one else experience your mate not waking up?  You begin to think it is all in your head. Sometimes I will vaguely hear a gutteral sound but cannot respond to it and then realize it was coming from me.  I am having alot of nightmares too.  I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder but could the anxiety attacks that I am having actually be related to the seizures?  This all new to me and although I trust my doctor, it seems if I don't ask the "right" questions I don't get any answers.  Right now I am taking Lamictal 250 twice a day and Trileptal 450 twice a day.  I understand that a cause for an indivuals epilepsy may never be found but I also have sarcoidosis and they are thinking that that might be the cause of my seizures.  I was originally taking Keppra but was taken off that. 

I originally went to the neurologist because I was having symptoms of what I thought was the beginning of Alzheimer as it is in my family.  I was falling for no apparent reason and I was having difficulty with my short term memory.  I was transposing numbers (I work for a CPA firm) and was not reading what was really there.  There are alot more symtoms but I do not want to become too lengthy.

I am 61 - I never thought about seizures especially at my age!  Any input will be greatly appreciated.

M

Comments

Re: Nocturnal Seizures

Submitted by littlejoe10 on Fri, 2010-01-15 - 00:26
I too have sarcoidosis mine is in my right lymp node in my lung. Have you had a EKG as of late? My heart would beat fast like 140to160 beats a min sarcoidosis can do this because it can spead to the heart like my case. Topol 150mg a day slowed it down to about 91 a min. The fast heart rate made me fogget  simple things. At first I was told I had anxiety attacks and was givin xanax but it was my heart like I tryed to tell them. My night time seizures if, thats what they are or getting alot worse lately. Have not talk to my doc about this yet. For the last 3years I have had surgery every four or five month with alot of pain meds like Percocet for one or two month and then Lortab month or two, then just Darvocet daily. I'm finding alink between coming off the pain meds and the night seizures. Why the surgery all the time well lets just say me and Farret Faucet have something in commen I'm 52years old male hope this helps you in someway. No darvocet to day but one 1mg xanax tonight and maybe 2or3 light beers before bed time and see what happen's Bye now.

Re: Nocturnal Seizures

Submitted by jasssmit on Thu, 2010-01-21 - 18:30

Nocturnal seizures is how it all began with me.  5 or so years ago I woke up one morning extremely confused and didnt feel well.  It was substantial enough that I took myself to the emergency room and explained I woke up like that and didnt know if it was a sign of something bigger--like maybe I was having a stroke or heart attack or something.  I was examined and released with no diagnosis.

The same thing happened 2 or 3 more times--woke up confused, went to the ER, and was released. 

Fall of 2008 brought a substantial change.  Again, I woke up confused, but also in pain.  My tongue was extremely ate up--literally.  I had bitten both side of it hard enough to put bite marks in it, and it was dark, dark blue and black.  I arrived to work and showed up at what I thought was my desk, but nothing looked familiar--all my stuff was gone.  I just stood there confused for several minutes until someone asked me what I was doing. 

I explained I was confused and asked them where all my stuff was.  They directed me down the hall to my current cubicle and explained that I had moved down there quite awhile ago.  I had no idea what they were talking about.  I went down there and found my stuff.  I just sat at my desk perplexed.  Eventually someone convinced me to go to the emergency room.

I was examined and told that based on my confusion, my tongue bite, pethecia all over my body, that I had a seizure in the middle of the night.  This is when I started to see a neurologist.

I did the usual EEGs, MRIs, MSLTs, 5 day video eeg, ambulatory eeg, and everytime, they've all been normal. 

I've definitely had some additional nocturnal seizures--none as bad as the one I just explained.  I just had my first daytime seizure at work on 12/30.  It was a bad one too.  My tongue got all chewed up during that incident. 

My neurologist is an incompetent bitch too.  She refused to say I had a seizure disorder for a long time.  For some reason, she had it in my head that I was drinking too much--even if I wasn't drinking.  Suffice it to say after my daytime incident, shes a believer now.

Feel free to hit me up if you have any more questions about nocturnal seizures that you think i might be able to help with.

Nocturnal seizures is how it all began with me.  5 or so years ago I woke up one morning extremely confused and didnt feel well.  It was substantial enough that I took myself to the emergency room and explained I woke up like that and didnt know if it was a sign of something bigger--like maybe I was having a stroke or heart attack or something.  I was examined and released with no diagnosis.

The same thing happened 2 or 3 more times--woke up confused, went to the ER, and was released. 

Fall of 2008 brought a substantial change.  Again, I woke up confused, but also in pain.  My tongue was extremely ate up--literally.  I had bitten both side of it hard enough to put bite marks in it, and it was dark, dark blue and black.  I arrived to work and showed up at what I thought was my desk, but nothing looked familiar--all my stuff was gone.  I just stood there confused for several minutes until someone asked me what I was doing. 

I explained I was confused and asked them where all my stuff was.  They directed me down the hall to my current cubicle and explained that I had moved down there quite awhile ago.  I had no idea what they were talking about.  I went down there and found my stuff.  I just sat at my desk perplexed.  Eventually someone convinced me to go to the emergency room.

I was examined and told that based on my confusion, my tongue bite, pethecia all over my body, that I had a seizure in the middle of the night.  This is when I started to see a neurologist.

I did the usual EEGs, MRIs, MSLTs, 5 day video eeg, ambulatory eeg, and everytime, they've all been normal. 

I've definitely had some additional nocturnal seizures--none as bad as the one I just explained.  I just had my first daytime seizure at work on 12/30.  It was a bad one too.  My tongue got all chewed up during that incident. 

My neurologist is an incompetent bitch too.  She refused to say I had a seizure disorder for a long time.  For some reason, she had it in my head that I was drinking too much--even if I wasn't drinking.  Suffice it to say after my daytime incident, shes a believer now.

Feel free to hit me up if you have any more questions about nocturnal seizures that you think i might be able to help with.

Re: Nocturnal Seizures

Submitted by amber1981 on Thu, 2010-01-21 - 20:13

Dr. thinks that is how my seizures first started....just at night. I would wake up having pee'd myself! I was sooooo embarassed! I had just gotten married and my husband was looking at me like I am an old lady and I was only 27 when this started happening! I was wondering how my husband couldn't have known that I was having a seizure, but the dr. told me that I could have just been having a tonic seizure...just the stiffening and NOT the jerking and it could have lasted seconds. I guess the reasons I pee myself is because my body stiffens up and then when it relaxes my bladder relaxes too......NOT A GOOD TIME TO PEE WHEN YOU ARE LAYING IN BED!  Then I had a clonic seizure after the sleep deprived eeg but NOT the tonic. My seizures are weird. I guess it was good though that it happend this way rather then be behind the wheel and have a gran mal! Oh and the memory part of it was THE WORST! I thought I was losing my marbles! That's when we started putting all of the pieces together and BAM.......................TA-DA EPILEPSY! Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think of E.....

Dr. thinks that is how my seizures first started....just at night. I would wake up having pee'd myself! I was sooooo embarassed! I had just gotten married and my husband was looking at me like I am an old lady and I was only 27 when this started happening! I was wondering how my husband couldn't have known that I was having a seizure, but the dr. told me that I could have just been having a tonic seizure...just the stiffening and NOT the jerking and it could have lasted seconds. I guess the reasons I pee myself is because my body stiffens up and then when it relaxes my bladder relaxes too......NOT A GOOD TIME TO PEE WHEN YOU ARE LAYING IN BED!  Then I had a clonic seizure after the sleep deprived eeg but NOT the tonic. My seizures are weird. I guess it was good though that it happend this way rather then be behind the wheel and have a gran mal! Oh and the memory part of it was THE WORST! I thought I was losing my marbles! That's when we started putting all of the pieces together and BAM.......................TA-DA EPILEPSY! Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think of E.....

Sign Up for Emails

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