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.

Night time seizure?

Fri, 02/02/2018 - 04:49
Hi everyone, (long time listener, first time caller :-) :-) ) I have had an epilepsy diagnosis for a couple of years now which was caused by a stroke I had in my twenties. Two years ago I had a grand mal seizure while out with my family and since then I've had two more (at my hen do which was super!...) and I also have regular simple partial seizures which are now getting under control with medication. On Sunday I woke up at 4am and had an accident in the bed, I managed to get to the toilet and get changed, and quickly fell back to sleep. I woke up again 2 hours later and was very confused and couldn't get my head together. I was trying to get my daughter ready for school and was incapable. My husband said that I was confusing my words and had gone very pale. I went back to bed and slept and felt unwell for about 24 hours. It seems to me that this would have been a night seizure? What does everyone think? Thanks very much, Nat :-)

Comments

Hi Nat, Yes, it sounds like

Submitted by mereloaded on Fri, 2018-02-02 - 08:01
Hi Nat, Yes, it sounds like you are experiencing new epilepsy symptoms. Yes, nighttime incontinence or bowel movement, slurred speech, confusion etc. are symptoms of epilepsy. Nocturnal epilepsy and other epilepsy syndromes can show up at night during REM sleep or during sleep/awake transitions (first hour after waking up).It appears as their is a change in your condition or a change in your health or lifestyle that made your symptoms flare up or reappear. Sometimes a trigger could be being sick (example the flu), a new stressful situation at work/home, forgetting to take medication, staying up late the night before etc.etc.etc. Only you and your doctor can tell what is the next step. Sometimes treatment re-evaluation is needed, sometime dosage increase is needed, sometimes it is just a fluke caused by a trigger, but only you and your doctor can determine whether this is a breakthrough seizure requiring treatment for new symptoms, or whether or not a particular set of events set off the event but it is not going to change your current treatment.Please know that even with medication seizures can still happen. Epilsy has no cure, only symptom control. Hope you feel better

Thank you so much for that

Submitted by natsverybadposture on Fri, 2018-02-02 - 11:17
Thank you so much for that response. I've actually got an appointment with my specialist next week so I will speak to her about it then. There's been lots of stress at work lately so it could well be due to that... It's always a bit of a guessing game though isn't it.Really appreciate your response!

How's your son???

Submitted by just_joe on Mon, 2018-02-05 - 10:15
How's your son???

Sign Up for Emails

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