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Vacation Seizure - Sleep and Travel Medication

Wed, 08/27/2014 - 06:04

My family and I are on vacation in the Dominican Republic - far away from our home on the coast of California. Two days ago my mom had a seizure worse than anything we'd seen before - we took a long and ardous drive into the mountains to see some amber mines. It took us 2 hours to get there in a hot crowded car, going up a windy and very bumpy road. At the top of the mountain my mom had her first seizure. We rest for a moment but decided we needed to get her to the hotel to her seizure medicine. On the drive to the hotel she had a second seizure and once we arrived she was extremely stressed, unable to sleep or speak and unlike anything we had seen before. My mom had a brain tumor removed about 6 years ago and has improved drastically since then - usually her seizures are small, she has an auroa warning, and she sleeps it off. This experience has been like her seizures were just after surgery. We called her physician who told us that since this was a really terrible seizure, it will take longer (maybe a week or so) to completely recover. My sister, father and I are all very scared and very worried for my mom. While there is a medical facility close to our hotel - we don't speak the language and think that going into a Dominican Hospital could be too stressful for my mom right now. We're using that option as a last resort. 

She has improved over the past 36 hours, but there are still two current struggles: 1. It gets worse at night - is this normal? She has been able to function during the day, but is having a lot of trouble sleeping and when she wakes up in the middle of the night she seems more disoriented and mix-ed up. We have been giving her ambien but I'm afraid she's built up a tolerance to it over the years that it's only working for an hour or so at a time. When she wakes up she tries to move around the hotel and can't figure out where she is or what is happening. It's been extremely stressfuly for my father and I tonight - who have spent most of the night pleading with my mom to sleep. Does anyone have any advice on how best to get my mom rest? I've read that sleep is important in recovering from seizures but that many people experience a seizure during sleep. Does anyone have advice on what medication worked for them or how they dealt with insomina and seizures?

2. On Friday we fly back to California and we're hoping that she is strong enough to travel then, but just hoping right now. Tonight has been very difficult (I've only managed to sleep in about 15 minute intervals for a few hours) and while we want to get her home and see her physician and be in a familiar enviornment, we're worried that the stress of travel may trigger another bad seizure. Any advice on traveling with someone who experiences seizures would be SOOOOO appreciated. I'd really just love to hear any thoughts/encouragement/advice right now - home and safety feel a million miles away. 

 

Thanks!

Comments

I ead your post and

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2014-08-27 - 10:20
I ead your post and understand your issue and worry. Just because she hasn't had these seizures before does not mean she can't have them. That said there are triggers for people with epilepsy stress and lack of sleep are 2 of them. I also have triggers and I have no problem with sleep since I normally only got 6 hours a night since I was 13. I had gone 3+ years without any seizures until I had one back in the mid 70's. That seizure was triggered by getting to hot to fast. Since then I have tried to not over work myself and keep out of the sun.  She does need to get some sleep and rest. I also know it is hard on the person having the seizures since I have been the person having them. I try and do things myself since I have been independent all of my life. Hospitals all over the world can treat people with epilepsy. In most of them they have interperters who can discuss this issue with the doctors for you. They can also contact your mothers doctor and get information from him. If she gets some sleep and rest she should have no problm getting back home.  For your mothers safty and the families tell the flight attendents she has epilepsy and has had this incendent and if that is done they will be watching out for her. My mother travels across th country and at times needs assistance and she gets it when landing or taking off. When I fly I tell the attendents I have epilepsy and they do come by and check on me more often. I do hope this helps and she gets th assistance she needs Hope you get back to Ca  Joe 

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