All of my husband's grand mal seizures have been at night while he is asleep. His petit mal seizures can happen at any time, but most often while he naps. He has NEVER had a grand mal seizure during the day. Is this typical?
All 8 of my GM seizures have been while sleeping too... starting in Oct. '01. I'm on only 300mg/day of Dilantin. I also have sensory simple partial
seizures occasionally... and they're definitely not related to the GM's. I've had those since the '80's... without treatment until Oct '01 when I started the Dilantin and Ativan as needed. I take the generics without problems.
I had to do the research myself... and found out that the GM's were all caused by lack of oxygen due to sleep apnea. Sinus trouble causes mine. If I'm on my back (awake or asleep) I have trouble breathing. Something in my sinuses closes off. I start to snore and make funny noises. My Ear Nose and Throat Dr. confirmed this... and the Neuro I had agreed. So far, Nasonex has helped... along with sleeping on my left side or on my stomach.
With all but one seizure, I was on my back. The first, I was face down in my pillow.
No seizures since Nov. '06.
ENT Dr. visit next week will decide if I need surgery, or stay on nasonex and stay off of my back while sleeping.
There are different causes for sleep apnea... sometimes the throat and tonsils are the problem.
I have complex partial seizures- at least 1/4 at night....I know the next a.m. because my tongue and inside of my cheek are mangled, and sometimes the bed is wet.
It is believed that my husband's seizures are from a brain tumor. His original diagnosis was Sterge Weber but his last Neur. thought it might be Von Hippel Lindau. Either one is genetic in origin. Right now, our main objective is just to keep him comfortable and happy. He has other health issues as well. As long as the seizures are under control, what else can we ask for? He is, after all, 84.
