2nd Grand Mal Seizure in 3 years - Epilepsy Message Board

blackcat521 · 12-09-2007, 07:13 PM

I had a grand mal seizure in January of 05, I was at work and my co-worker said I stood up, grabbed my head and then fell to the floor and started seizing. My parents said I had them when I was a baby and the doctors told them I would grow out of them. As far as we knew, I had. Then, BAM, here they came back almost 31 years later. My doctors tried several medications and I wound up on Topamax and it seemed to control my seizures. My neurologist saw me last March and said he felt like I could probably come off the medication. I panicked because I didn't want to lose my license again if I had another seizure and I just didn't want to have another seizure (that's an awful feeling). He told me he would write a letter to the state stating that I had had one because I had quite taking the meds at his nudging and they wouldn't take away my license. Well, on November 29th (3 days after having surgery) I had another grand mal seizure. Both my neurologist and my primary doctor feel that it was due to the anesthesia interrupting my medication. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? The morning of my grand mal, I had a partial complex seizure (which I have had these before too but have had many of them and never had a grand mal right after). I was just wondering what anyone elses experiences were. This is all fairly new to me. My neurologist hasn't called me an epileptic. He says I have a seizure disorder. I am guessing now he won't be so willing to take me off the medication now. I take the Topamax 200mg twice a day. Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

vickie45 · 12-10-2007, 09:40 AM

blackcat
i too have seizures and i had them when i was 4 yrs old and like you the drs told my parents id out grown them which i did im now 45 and im having seizures only mine are getting worse since im not on any type of meds right now they cant find any abnormal brain wave to indicate i have them but my sister witness my last seizure which was a big one i was totally out im not sure if thats a grandma or not but i was out she said 1/2 hr to 45 mins and like you i just felt real strange and confused then i fell and i cant remeber nothing about that day alls i remember is just before i fell i saw my sister with her white sweater thats it how did the drs find out you have a seizure disorder im wondering because i know im having seizures but so far the one neuro dr i went i didnt much care for him so im seeing another neuro dr on jan 8th but i see my internal dr dec 18th and my sister wrote out a paper telling what she saw me do since i cant remember its scarry me to dealth and i dont drive but they didnt take them im just too scared to right now because my attacks are coming closer together i cant wait till jan 8th and do neuro drs sometimes go by the symtons if they dont pick up any abnormal activity??
i feel like you so if im out cold is that a grandma im not sure as to what is what because before dec 4th i was allways aware of hearing people talking and stuff but this time i didnt and they said my eyes flickered which they been doing that i started falling for no reason at all since sept 06 only now they are worse im falling more and more are seizures dangerous? can they kill you ??
it seems like they done took my lic since i dont drive anyway and i have to use a wheelchair sometimes or i just fall even at my mom's house and at first they tried to tell me it was panic but i have had panic and this is no panic attack .
hope i helped you some im new to this seizure stuff and i just want my life back with no seizures ,
vickie

neurowreck · 12-10-2007, 12:11 PM

seizure disorder=epilepsy
epilepsy = recurrent seizures that are diagnosed as electrical abnormalities in the brain vs seizures caused by low blood sugar, too much alcohol, sleep deprivation, high fevers, etc.
epilepsy still sounds like some horrible thing, while seizure disorder somehow seems to lessen the stigma for a lot of people...... but it's all the same. There are more than 100 types of seizures/seizure syndromes (due to various diseases)..... and all would have to put epilepsy on a medical questionaire if asked (and not doing so would lead to legal issues).
if it comes from electrical changes in the brain, and the seizures happen more than once, it's epilepsy.....by definition.