hi.. i've had four seizure-like episodes in the last year and a half that last only a few minutes from start to finish, but feel much longer.. everytime the circumstances of the seizure are different [but they feel the same everytime]

Sept 01: drinking alcohol, couldn't see, disoriented, passed out in an elevator
Oct 01: 4pm, completely sober on the subway.. once again, couldn't see, fell to the ground
April 02: after Easter dinner, glass of wine.. couldn't see, sweating, stood up, fell down
last night: sleeping at 2am/got up somehow [can't remember], passed out in the bathtub/ completely dazed

i don't know if it is epilepsy.. i went to a neurologist and cot a PET scan, CT scan, and an EEG.. this was a year ago and the test results all came back normal... my friends that have witnessed the episodes insist that it is a seizure [tonic-clonic] like.. [rigid/eyes open/blinking, shaking etc] and they are usually followed with a lot of confusion and stomach pain.. i usually have to go to the washroom really bad right after..

what can i ask the neurologist to test for? does this sound familiar to anyone? it was very frustrating to do all those tests last year and have the results come back perfectly normal.. "there is nothing wrong with you" .... except for the fact that i got out of bed and herded myself to the washroom last night, and came to in the bathtub extremely dazed and disoriented.. couldn't really see right.. almost gave my boyfriend a heartattack when i managed to stumble back into bed and tell him what happened

everytime i've had a seizure i have been with my boyfriend or friends.. i don't want this to happen when i am walking home from school or something.. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif how are seizures treated?

any advice would be appreciated.. i am scared

I would call the nuero again and tell him you are still having these episodes a year later. You can have a normal EEG and CT< MRI etc and still have seizures. I would totally avoid alcohol till you sort this all out since some of the events occurred when drinking. Have someone who has witnessed one go with you when you get a new appointment. Eye witness account is often how epilepsy is discovered since you may not remember well what happened. If this neuro will not see you, go to another one. He can redo EEG, ask for a 24 hour, sleep deprived video EEG for one thing. Sleep deprivation can be a trigger. I would say it could be good to have a drink right before going in for that to see if it triggers one. THe EEG is limited to picking up what the brain waves are doing right at that moment. You might not have seized during the test so it came back normal.
Keep looking for answers, your description does sound a lot like what my son does, and he will have the extreme need to find a bathroom right after one if he maintained continence.
Good luck, I hope you find answers really soon...

Sounds to me that it's very much epilepsy. All my tests came back normal as well even the MRI and I had a seizure while it was being done. Change Drs if you have to, you've got to get it sorted out and on to something to stop them happening.

hey guys.. thanks for the bit of advice.. i will make an appointment with my neurologist again.. maybe this time he will find something wrong with me.. i also made a mistake earlier when i said i had gotten a PET scan.. i only had an EEG, CT scan and ECG done..

i've been reading up on treatments of epilespy today and some of the side effects seem pretty severe.. could anyone with experience let me know how much the perscriptions actually affect their daily lives? i'm getting pretty depressed about this..

thanks again

Hi if you don't have seizures on a daily basis then another test they can do is called video monitoring eeg. This is where they attatch a ton of electrodes to your head and then they monitor you for a week or even a month to try and "catch" a seizure on the eeg. They can try using triggers. If you know what your triggers are then that will be helpful. Concerning meds, I think one of the biggest side effects of anticonvulsants, correct me if I'm wrong, is sleepiness. This can be hard to deal with. You may feel drained especially at first. But this can go away after you get used to the drugs or you can lower your meds. I hate my meds sometimes but then I remember that it's worth the freedom of being seizure free. I hope you find something that works.

I had an EEG when i was 17 and it came back normal. So they put it down to mental illness. Of coarse if you tell a doctor that u have been taking drugs the past then no matter what the problem is they will call you mentally ill.

I was tested with a CT scan and they found a slight adnormalness in the brain which he said was mild epilepcy. So he stuck me on 100mgs of topamac. I have been bascicless been taking the wrong medication for the last 8 years. Question is do i really trust a doctor this time ? or do they make it up as they go along?

I also checked my previos phsyciatric reports and it show that something did show up on the EEG but they chose to ignore it. For all i know the medication that they put me on made it worse. Anyway i will give this new stuff a go. Whats the worst that can happen.

[This message has been edited by James_reg (edited 02-27-2003).]

Firstly don't get depressed because that quite often triggers seizures. As far as the treatment goes it's a breeze. It may take a little while to sort out the required doseage you require but when they do you'll feel a lot more at ease. I'm taking 2000mg of epilem per day and the only real side effect is a few muscle spasms. Hang in there and remember there's always somebody that's worse off than you.

hey.. thanks again for the words of encouragement from everyone.. i was starting to wonder if it was even worth it to go get this checked out when it only happens like one in a while.. like once a month at most.. i don't want to be stuck taking medication that may cause birth defects in my kids [if i choose to have them?] ... maybe i just misread the side effects..

i really wish i knew what my triggers were because everytime the circumstances were completely different.. :\

take care everyone

you mentioned one of those times you were drinking, If you happen to drink a lot, that in itself can cause seizures. My brother never had seizures before he stared drinking heavily. His are way different than mine. But he refuses to believe that the drinking is whats causing his. What is sad, the Doc. put him on Dilantin, because of coarse my bro. didn't tell him he drank, he just told him that his sis. had seizures so his Doc. assumed it was genetic, anyways Dilantin is about the worse thing you can take when drinking. I keep telling him that, but like alot of alcoholics they don't want to listen. Sorry if I babbled, I didn't mean to imply that is you by any means. But alcohol does cause seizures.

Hi Bibigoogles,

Many things can trigger your seizures and you'll probably find that nobodys seizures are the same. I know that if I get over tired that can cause them, but I've found that the major one is drink. I drink every afternoon but generally have only a few, no problem, however, if I have a session on it then you can almost guarantee that within two days I'll have seizure after seizure, that is when my seizures are more severe, bordering on Grand-Mal. So probably I'm not doing myself or my wife and friends any favours in that regard. The Drs have told me that alc reduces the effect of the meds so now I'm going to have a sip and not a slurp and hopefully that will help. It's really frustrating that because of E you are restricted in a lot of things you enjoy, things that most people just take for granted. We have to live with the embarrassment of having them in front of relative strangers, who more often than not, look at you as being some sort of freak, which we're not, we're just unfortunate enough to be dealt a bad hand of cards in life. I now because of E can only work about 14 hrs per week and then I'm restricted in what I do. I am lucky enough to live in an area where I have a river 50 metres on one side and a surf beach 75 metres on the other. I have found that walking along the beach and not thinking about anything is a wonderful fix. What I"m trying to say, if you can find something that you can do to relax your brain it often makes you feel a lot better.

Tooheys.

yeah i know exaclty what you mean. You try being english and going out to the pub with your mates and not drinking. Usually i agrea to go out with them but only for one or two. Then i decide to leave. Core the amout of abuse i get. The problem is that i want to stay and get out of my nut but i know that i am going to be effected 10 times worse the next day. Then all the sissy jokes come out but that don't bother me. Its just that if they knew that the mental strain i go theough after a heavy session they would not say that but anyway i am still going to do it. I just live for the moment. Corr i am babbling and i have only had 3 maybe i don't need to drink much )