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New with a history of seizures and substance abuse, seeking guidance

Sat, 06/13/2015 - 20:33

I'm 28, and I have a history of substance abuse. A few years ago, I was abusing gabapentin. I had myoclonic seizures that led to unconscious "flailing," I've been told. I was taken to the ER, but I hid the substance abuse, so they determined it was due to an allergy to a different medication I was on. I was on a lot of medications at the time. I had several of these episodes. From what I've read, this is an atypical response to the abuse of gabapentin. I stopped abusing the medications, and the seizures stopped.

Recently, I've been drinking by myself. I had drinks 6 days in a row. I've woken up twice with no memory of how I got there. I remember dreaming of death and waking up thinking "Oh, I'm still alive." I'm fairly experienced with alcohol, so I don't think I had enough to black out. It's unclear to me, but I think I've had seizures. I was playing a competitive game on my computer, and I apparently abandoned it. All of the lights were still on and the game was still running, but I woke up in the other room. The last thing I remember was playing the game. Another time, I woke up on the floor with a similar situation.

I also had some weird deja vu experiences when smoking marijuana. At the time, I was convinced that everything I was experiencing I had already experienced. I was on a lot of medications, so it's likely there was some interaction, but this response is also atypical. The episodes lasted a few days.

I think I'm predisposed to seizures, but I want to know why. My father passed away from brain cancer, so I've always been paranoid about my own brain. I've seen physicians, but none have given me a satisfying answer. They basically told me to stop abusing substances and to not worry about it. I'm a science minded guy, so I really want to know why my brain has a different response. Both gabapentin and alcohol affect GABA receptors, so it's likely something to do with that.

I'm aware I need to seek help about my current abuse problems. 

I might have a mild form of epilepsy. Does anyone have an idea on what I should research?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

I honestly feel like you need

Submitted by AMPetti on Sat, 2015-06-13 - 23:56
I honestly feel like you need to not abuse drugs or alcohol. Seek help for that. Seek a therapist to help with any underlying issues you have, I believe you need to get help for the drugs and alcohol before you worry about something else. I personally feel when you get help with the abuse you won't "black out" anymore.

I had myoclonic seizures that

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2015-06-14 - 09:37
I had myoclonic seizures that led to unconscious "flailing," I've been told.... <<< if they were seizures and there were more then 1 you could be diagnosed with epilepsy. All it takes is 2 seizures for a diagnosis.Yes a person can have a seizure to do drugs. Drinking too much alcohol can lower the theshold and can cause a person to have a seizure especially if using medications. Also if taking medications they may have side effects due to the alcohol. among others, is a medication used as an anticonvulsant and analgesic. Originally it was developed to treat epilepsy, and is currently used to relieve neuropathic pain   

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