Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Pennsylvania
Is It a Seizure? Posted: 06-19-04 22:03pm
The doctors have all tested me for
seizures and no seizure activity has been
found. I'm not sure what happens but if
anyone has experienced anything like this,
please share...
It first starts with my heart beating
weird and hard, there's pain in my chest.
Then it moves up my throat and to my
face. I experience pain in my face and
very suddenly I black out. When I black
out it is painful in my face. It feels
like my face is "asleep" and my tounge
also. I have very vivid dreams while
out. It only lasts several seconds, but
it seems like longer and when I wake up
sometimes I don't know where I am.
People have told me that once my arm was
moving uncontrollably and my eyes rolling.
I was in a car once and my elbow kept
hitting the window. I was in a pool once
and I kept rolling around in the water.
It happened once in the middle of the
night and I came to with a gash on my
head, not sure how it happened. The
only good part is that I can feel when
it's coming on, twice I was in a car but
each time I had enough time to pull over.
These started when I was 10 and happen
maybe twice a year sometimes more (i'm
30). When the first one happened at 10
they took me to the er and ran an ekg and
said no seizure activity was found. I
had another one in my 20's and they said
it wasn't seizures again. They have no
idea what's happening and have also tested
my heart. Any ideas?
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sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Posted: 06-19-04 23:17pm
Are you stressed, anxious, depressed,
sometimes this can cause problems too!
Sincerely,
sandy
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stabile
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Pennsylvania
Posted: 06-20-04 15:14pm
Thanks for the response, but stress
doesn't seem to be a factor. I don't
think it's a panic attack. I don't have
depression and everything else is going
great! Thanks again for responding...
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sami_1982
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Dec 2003 Posts: 200 Location: Australia
Posted: 06-21-04 01:00am
Hello stabile
i believe that what you are having are
seizures. No one can say you are or you
arent.
Mine began in late october 2003
and now they have not stopped, no one in
my family has them. They just came upon
me. I
am female and I am 21.
I have had all the tests and I still keep
having them I am on a med combo at the
moment and this new neuro wants to take me
off one med. I
was all like he is crazy. I still have 2
a week. Better then what I was having b4
wich was 7 per day.
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Kathyalison
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 64
a Comment And a Question Posted: 06-21-04 11:43am
Hi stabile,
i too think that what you are experiencing
are seizures. One of the difficult
things about any seizure condition is that
it rarely can be determined how it
started...It just does. I was diagnosed
with petit mal when I was 7 (i'm now 2 when I was 19
tonic seizures began pretty much out of
the blue. All along they have not been
able to identify why I have seizures.
I've had eegs done and they show seizure
activity. But when I had an mri done
they saw nothing abnormal. This is one
thing I find frustrating...Not knowing why
the condition exists.
The are such things as non-epileptic
seizures however, I don't know enough
about them to give you any accurate
information. It might be something to
look into though.
Sami...I was wondering, what kind of
seizures do you have?
Kathy
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stabile
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Pennsylvania
Thanks... Posted: 06-21-04 22:24pm
Yes, I think the most difficult thing is
just not knowing. Thanks for the
response, this is the first time i've
tried this. 20 years of not knowing
what's wrong with me. And I don't know
anyone who has seizures to be able to
compare. My last doctor told me "let me
know when it happens again". I told him
it could be a year. Seemed kinda like he
didn't know, didn't care, or didn't
believe me.
I did some reading about them and found
that seizures will never be painful. I'm
not sure if that's true. This is why I
think mine are different. Has anyone
ever had pain? Can you also tell when
your about to have one? What does a
seizure feel like to you? Do you dream?
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sami_1982
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Dec 2003 Posts: 200 Location: Australia
Stabile And Kathyalison Posted: 06-21-04 22:46pm
Hi
my seizures are grand mal, full body
convulsions. The doctors think that I
have temporal lobe epilepsy, I have never
had any abnormal reading on a eeg test. I
have had sleep deprived eeg,mri,ct. And
nothing abnormal, blood tests, heart tests
and all normal. I am the only one in my
family that has this.
i know that I can be aware of what is
going on sometimes, it scares me to death,
when I feel my body uncontrolably
convulsing, and I have no control over
myself. Sometimes after a lim has been
paralysed. I also feel so tired that I
can sleep for ages and ages. I can have
up to 10 hrs sleep. One dr says I am
epileptic the next says I have emotional
issues. I am not stressed out or
nothing.
Although my very first eeg reading when I
was not on medications showed that there
was severe stress waves in the 15-17
electrodes. I dont know what that
meant.
The neurologist was to busy on the
telephone instead of talking to me about
why I am like I am all of a sudden.
Prehaps it is all anxiety and I panic and
cause myself to seize.
I remember one time when I was about 12 I
was on a school camp and I was in a small
canoe and I tipped over. I couldnt get
out I was stuck upside down underwater. I
got panicked and then the staff of the
camp helped me out.
I guess I get the same feeling of being
stuck somewhere I cant get back from so I
guess thats my dream like state, I just
hate it.
I have hillucinations, visual, and I hear
my name being called alot like a whisper,
my eyes blur in and out of vision. I just
am scared. I dont want to feel like this
again.
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SleepyJen
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 41 Location: NYC
Posted: 06-22-04 00:40am
Hi stabile,
i also think these could be seizures.
There's really no sure way to know unless
you had one of those episodes during an
eeg. Even people with epilepsy can have
perfectly normal eeg results (if they're
not seizing at the time of the test).
What kind of doctors have you been
discussing your problem with? Even
neurologists often misdiagnose epilepsy.
(a handful of them misdiagnosed me.) I
recommend that you have a consultation
with an epileptologist. He/she can
probably help to clear up this question
for you.
Best of luck,
jen
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Kathyalison
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 64
Responding to Can Seizures Be Painful? Posted: 06-22-04 06:26am
Hi stabile,
for me when seizures happen I am
unconcious so I don't feel any pain. I
remember when one started one time, I fell
against the wall as it began. I remeber
thinking.."oh, that probably hurt" but of
course hadn't felt anything because I was
only a second away from being unconcious.
Other times I have bitten my cheek, which
when I wake up is sore, but I never feel
it happening. Often times i'm so tired
afterwards that all I can do is sleep.
There have been times that my whole body
ached from being so stiff. I never
convulse, but rather completely stiffen
and jolt a little bit. I saw my neuro
the other day (who fortunately is really
great and supportive) and he always tells
me he's intrigued by my case because I
don't fit any classic case at all.
Wierd.
Anyhow, that's how I "don't feel" if you
will.
Hope I answered a question.
Kathy