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I think I'm having seizures. How do I tell?
Sun, 12/19/2004 - 19:01Here's what's happening. I will be sitting at my desk working and I'll suddenly get sort of a "premonition of doom" (not quite that strong, maybe "something's gonna happen") then I get a bad taste in my mouth, like chewing on a pencil eraser, then I get a sort of "rush" feeling (like you get listening to a really cool piece of music) that in some cases really hurts and I feel a bit strange for a few minutes afterwards. I had one of these in the doctor's office, got nausous and threw up, then got dizzy and fell. I had one a little while ago in a meeting and I had to put my head down for a bit.
Background.
- I was on Wellbutrin a number of years ago and had to go off it because I started having increasingly violent seizures. First I would zone out and be unable to talk coherently. Later on it got to the falling down stage with jerking.
- I am prone to outbursts of anger sometimes for the smallest things. They ran me through an EEG (wires all over my head) and didn't find anything except that I could control my own audio cortex (I'm a musician by trade).
- I suffer from migraines and sometimes see auras.
- It seems to be worsened by caffeine.
- It seems to be worsened by lying down.
Any ideas?
Comments
RE: RE: I think I'm having seizures. How do I tell?
Submitted by TrogL on Fri, 2004-12-10 - 13:41
No lapse in consciousness. I am able to take part in technical disscussions during them and not lose a beat. I had one driving yesterday and didn't have any problems.
Nevertheless, I'm going to the doctor tonight.
No lapse in consciousness. I am able to take part in technical disscussions during them and not lose a beat. I had one driving yesterday and didn't have any problems.
Nevertheless, I'm going to the doctor tonight.
RE: RE: RE: I think I'm having seizures. How do I tell?
Submitted by mexican_fire on Sun, 2004-12-19 - 19:01
Heather is right about the WEllbutrin. I too, was on it for a short period oftime, and it caused Migraines, so I went off it.
It also sounds like you may have and I am not a doc, but since everything comes out clean, they need to do an MRI, CT, and PET scan on you and start searcvhing for other things, if seizures aren't evident at this point in time.
You could have lesions, brain tumors just about anywhere, at any size, that will also cause these sympotms.
Sometimes, people who have SImple Partial seizures will have similiar symptoms.
People DO NOT LOSE AWARENESS OR CONSCIOUSNESS AT ALL DURING A SPS.
It is in tact, there fore you would be able to talk to others around you, drive, and do other activities, IF it doesn't impede your ability to function normally, which usualy they don't.
I epileptic aura, SPS, CPS, and Secondarily Generalized TCs (nocturnal) that are carried under an epileptic syndrome called Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Syndrome. It comes with Amygdala-Hippocampal seizures (location in brain where seizures occur), and I haev abnormal activity in the anterior portion of the temporal lobe as well.
I also have Absence as a part of a reflex epilepsy, and have had Myoclonic seizures since birth.
Nancy
Heather is right about the WEllbutrin. I too, was on it for a short period oftime, and it caused Migraines, so I went off it.
It also sounds like you may have and I am not a doc, but since everything comes out clean, they need to do an MRI, CT, and PET scan on you and start searcvhing for other things, if seizures aren't evident at this point in time.
You could have lesions, brain tumors just about anywhere, at any size, that will also cause these sympotms.
Sometimes, people who have SImple Partial seizures will have similiar symptoms.
People DO NOT LOSE AWARENESS OR CONSCIOUSNESS AT ALL DURING A SPS.
It is in tact, there fore you would be able to talk to others around you, drive, and do other activities, IF it doesn't impede your ability to function normally, which usualy they don't.
I epileptic aura, SPS, CPS, and Secondarily Generalized TCs (nocturnal) that are carried under an epileptic syndrome called Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Syndrome. It comes with Amygdala-Hippocampal seizures (location in brain where seizures occur), and I haev abnormal activity in the anterior portion of the temporal lobe as well.
I also have Absence as a part of a reflex epilepsy, and have had Myoclonic seizures since birth.
Nancy
RE: I think I'm having seizures. How do I tell?
Submitted by mommy2kyra on Thu, 2004-12-09 - 17:29
You know, I'm really not sure if a medication can cause a lasting effect like what you're experiencing. I do know that a lot of meds lower the seizure threshold level, making one who already has seizures more likely to seize. And, I think I recall Wellbutrin's disclaimer (in commercials) saying that those who have suffered seizures shouldn't take the med.
Your description of the episode sounds like a complex partial, in which case there would be a lapse of consciousness. People with complex partials tend to do and/or say strange things during that stage of the seizure, and will have no memory of it. You might want to ask those close to you whether they've ever noticed any unusual behavior or mannerisms. The longer one goes without treatment, the brain damage and seizures worsen. I'd investigate that possibility. Good luck to you!
Heather
You know, I'm really not sure if a medication can cause a lasting effect like what you're experiencing. I do know that a lot of meds lower the seizure threshold level, making one who already has seizures more likely to seize. And, I think I recall Wellbutrin's disclaimer (in commercials) saying that those who have suffered seizures shouldn't take the med.
Your description of the episode sounds like a complex partial, in which case there would be a lapse of consciousness. People with complex partials tend to do and/or say strange things during that stage of the seizure, and will have no memory of it. You might want to ask those close to you whether they've ever noticed any unusual behavior or mannerisms. The longer one goes without treatment, the brain damage and seizures worsen. I'd investigate that possibility. Good luck to you!
Heather