Absense / Grand Mal Seizures Posted: 07-07-04 17:09pm
Hello! I'm hoping someone can help me out
with this.
My mum's had 'grand mal' epilepsy for
about 3 years now. Thankfully the
seizures don't happen too often, and when
they do (so far) they have all been in her
sleep. However, today I was with her when
she had an 'absense' seizure. She came
around a few minutes later and said she'd
had one on her own the other day as well.
She's now worried that shes going to start
having the grand mal seizures duing the
daytime.
I guess my question is whether or not
these two are closely related - since
she's having the minor seizures during in
the day, is it any more likely that she'll
start having the major ones too?
I realise this is kind of a difficult
question for someone to answer, but since
I have very little knowledge of the
subject I was hoping someone could help
her out with this.
Thanks.
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denenne
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 5 Location: portland or
Posted: 07-07-04 21:51pm
Hello,
everyone is different!! All anyone can
do is tell you there own experience and
maybe it can shed some light on your
mothers situation. I have had absence
and grandmal seizures for 25 yrs. I am
now 31 yrs old. If your mother is on
meds and still having absence then she may
need to make ajustments to her meds.
Anytime I have had a grandmal its always
in my sleep except for once.. It was
about 4 weeks after I gave birth to my
second child and I was driving!! Fatigue
is my trigger and I was not taking care of
myself. I have learned over the years
what my limitations are and that is what
your mother needs to do. First your
mother needs to figure out what her
trigger is and try to control it as best
as she can. Some people have more then
one trigger so it can be tricky.
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Kathyalison
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 64
Some Advise Posted: 07-08-04 09:38am
Hi,
i'm diagnoses petit mal although I have
had grand mal seizures. With the petit
mal I have small absence everyday but for
me it is just a quick eye flutter and it
doesn't interfere with anything.
For me, the grand mals have happened
during the day time on occassions when
i've been exhausted, under stress, and one
time was the result of a little to much
one night at a party. Knowing what my
triggers are I of course try to avoid
these things and for the most part it
works, as generally for me seizures are
usually more than a year apart.
That being said, I always know when a
seizure is coming on because my eyes
flutter a lot more and i'm not all that
coherant, sort of dazing in and out of
conversations. I have no medical
background, but what you describe sounds
like your mom's control isn't as good as
it could be and that what she is
experiencing could at some point lead to a
seizure during the day. If I were you I
would keep a diary of when she experiences
anything seizure related, what her
daytimroutine has been, what she's eaten
and when she got up and went to bed. By
doing this you may be able to see some
sort of pettern, and will be better able
to explain to your doctor what is
happening.
Regardless if you keep a journal or not
you should contact your doctor right
away.
Good luck,
kathy
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Kathyalison
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 64
Question For Denenne Posted: 07-08-04 09:39am
What kind of medication were you on during
your pregnancies and how did it affect you
and your kids. Were you able to
breastfeed?
Kathy
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denenne
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 5 Location: portland or
Kathyalison Posted: 07-08-04 20:00pm
In response to your question I was on
tegretal with both of my children. They
are very healthy, bright children. The
only problems I had were weight gain and
the ability to take the weight off, and
the fact that fatigue is my trigger so I
had to take extra special care of myself.
Yes, I also breast feed my children with
no problems.
Denenne
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angelbeans
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 38
Posted: 07-08-04 21:09pm
I completely agree with the answers given
above. I was diagnosed with petit mal
seziures probably about ten years ago...
However I have had grand mal seziures as
well... I have found that the grand mal
seziures have occured on nights where I
had little sleep or missed my dose of
medication... Or when I was stressed. I
find that if I take all of my meds, and
get a good nights rest, I am fine.
