is this real epilepsy or pseudo seizures - Epilepsy Message Board

dnadna1 · 11-19-2007, 02:31 AM

i have got recently married since seven moths and live with my parents and elder sister (not married) who is older than my wife.
after two month of my marriage one day evening i found my wife sleeping with her teeths clinched tightly and the limbs stiff....we went to neuro who did a video eeg where she had a attack which goes like this----she starts breathing heavily ,then starts closing her fist tightly and the feets strched to maximum and all of a sudden afetr 2 mins everything stops and she becomes unconcious with her teeths clenched ---the video EEg was normal and the doctor says it is pseudo seizures.....since then she was put on quitipin and some high doses of sleep tabs....after a month one night she bit her tongue and passed urine in the bed....we were told by the doctors this was real seizure and may have been due to high dosage of drugs...from that day she was put on zapis 2 mg and stablon .....but offlate her attacks have cjanged....she now has giddiness and falls down...there is no other action apart from the fall as we is awake and nothing else.she has fallen about 8-10 times and in these 10 times, 8 times she has fallen from stair case. in this fall she is hurting herself and this happens generally in the morning times only.....is this pseudo seizures or real seizures

neurowreck · 11-19-2007, 02:15 PM

It's hard to know for sure. Many people with true epilepsy also have pseudoseizures (which are not deliberate 'faking', but some other reason for the episodes besides abnormal electrical activity in the brain). The video EEG saying it's not seizures may mean that the one they caught wasn't epileptic; others might be. It's hard to know. I'm not familiar with the medications, as they probably have different names in India. I'd ask the docs to check an ambulatory 24-72 hour EEG that she'd wear at home, and for other testing to rule out or diagnose what's really going on.
Best of luck.

dnadna1 · 11-20-2007, 01:41 AM

i got a CT scan of her brain which also was normal....will this help you to asses the case?

neurowreck · 11-21-2007, 06:28 PM

In most seizures, a cause isn't identified. A normal CT scan doesn't mean she does or doesn't have seizures. Also, EEGs can be read by doctors differently. One doctor may see some subtle changes, that another doesn't. Witnessed accounts are very helpful, as are any sensations she feels before, during, and after. Depending on the part of the brain being involved, any combination of symptoms can occur. It's really hard to rule out seizures vs pseudoseizures in all of hers, simply because of the video EEG not picking up electrical changes during that one.

Maybe make a list of questions for her, and have her write some for her next doctor appointment.

dnadna1 · 11-22-2007, 11:18 PM

thanks for your help...need some more of it...
1.can anyone hurt themselves in pseudo seizures like falling from staircase and more often from the same spot and same manner.
2.does blackout occurs in general seizures even for a couiple of seconds....if yes how does anybody identify?
3.is bititng of tongue and passing of urine in bed once okay????
4.can she fake tongue bite again in pseudo attacks?

thanks