seizures?

[helpmeplease000001]

What is the cause?

I never experienced it nor am I battling it. In the last year, I have witnessed a few. My younger brother age 14 and I watched a movie one night. Typical drama mystery type. Nothing flashy.

At some point, he and I talked during the movie. Then, I felt my bed shake, loud banging, and weird noises. I turn around wondering what the hell is going on? He is shaking, looking like he is stretching, and convulsing. I sort of grab him, call his name, and he doesn't respond. Completely inconscious. At this point I freak out. We call 911. He is moving. Our mom around. Too strong and. She cannot hold him. I do and I leave him on the floor.

He is spitting or drooling. I am upset typing this. I thought he was dead. Fortunately, he made it. Paramedics were helpful and quick. He bit his tongue and had a horrible head ache.

The hospital did a EEG nd cat scan. We await a neurologist. Guys this was a nightmare. He says he has had a head ache on the left side when he woke up today. This has happened more then once. Tests showed nothing. We assumed the first time was a false alarm. This I saw and it was horrible.

Guys, what causes this? Stress? He smokes weed. A this a trigger? Help? I hear 5min can be life threatening.          

[spitfire2]

I kept saying your "son"--sorry!  Meant "younger brother."  Brain freeze moments!  

[spitfire2]

How is your brother doing at this time?  Has he had any more seizures, or has his neurologist been able to find a medication (and the common dosage usually used to obtain better seizure control, depending upon the type of medication he is on) which helps?  

Is there anything your brother is doing which may initiate these seizures?  I know you mentioned marijuana.  If he has not been on any drugs lately, that's great.  If there is no apparent cause, then he certainly has epilepsy.  It sounds like he does, though--especially if lack of sleep and stress can cause seizures.  Kind of the "standard causes" for many seizures.

Also, if you are not satisfied with this doctor, or are not satisfied with seizure control (keeping in mind it really is a guessing game regarding which meds to use, and that it can literally 4-5 months to build up the med to a standard dose, for most medications, that is) try  to find a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy, or an epileptologist.  Many neurologists, from my almost 17 years of experience with epilepsy (14 years of which my epilepsy was refractory) are surprisingly ignorant, considering epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder.  Epileptologists are also much more common with newer meds, and can often help you get lots of samples/assistance in purchasing many of these essential meds, a majority of which tend to be absurdly expensive, considering their necessity.  And importantly, try to get an MRI (with a special seizure protocol, including contrast) ordered by your neurologist/epileptoloigst.  They are MUCH more specific when it comes to details.  I had both generalized seizures (used to be called grand mal seizures, although this terminology is now obsolete) and complex partial seizures (used to be known as psychomotor seizures, also obsolete and misleading...try to use newer terminology--is much more specific).  Only via an MRI were they able to detect I had a brain tumor, the cause of my epilepsy.  Unfortunately, it was misdiagnosed, and my seizures continued to get worse.  Finally I underwent brain surgery (temporal lobectomy, plus removal of tumor) my only way out, although I still have auras and will take meds indefinitely.  Anyway, try to go to a teaching hospital if you can.  MRIs are crucial, especially today, when they have 3tesla, or even 7 tesla in academic teacher centers.  CT scans are not detailed enough.  If you live in the Midwest, consider going to Mayo clinic, where I had my brain surgery, for an evaluation.  But there are many reputable places across the country, but of course some are better than others.  Mayo is ranked first in neurology/neurosurgery, thus my efforts to get treatment there.  If his seizures continue to be refractory (i.e. uncontrolled) make sure you see a specialist ASAP--repeated uncontrolled seizures will, with time, cause scarring of certain tissues, resulting in memory problems, as I can attest to from years of experience.

Good luck to you--if you are not satisfied, don't give up and hope for the best.  Won't help.  If your son's seizures are not controlled, go to a teaching hospital where they have epilepsy monitoring units, or EMU.  They can record and study any seizures he may happen to have while (EEG and CCTV.  takes a few days), or simply even see abnormal epileptogenic activity, recorded on his EEG, which can also be helpful.  Not every abnormal "bit" of abnormal brain activity evolves into a seizure.  Only sometimes, when the "conditions are right" (he is sleep deprived, etc. etc.) Mysterious disease. Your son deserves the best medical care available.  All the best--if I can answer any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[AngelMyne]

The reason you dont try to Hold Down a person whos in a seizure is because it makes the seizure worse. the harder you try to hold them still the more violently the mussels respond.

if hes spitting up or vomiting try to get him on his side so he dosent choke. Always call 911, you need professional witnesses. An EEG wont always catch a seizure. It can some times take a few of them.

if flashing lights cause seizures for him, then you need to Avoid watching tv in the total dark. High gun fire movies and games, Strobs or lights on say a tow truck or security truck. the reflection the lights cause can also cause a seizure.

pay attention to any weird silence or spacing off that might occure Before the seizure begins as a warning. My Aura is pain in the left side temple before a seizure. then speaking issues and leaning to the right side.

hope that helps the next time you experience this scary event.

during a seizure does he wet him self or poop him self? those are important things for the doctor to know even tho embarrassing... what time it starts, what time it ends, what were you doing or watching, sounds made or vomiting, how bad it is- is he shaking like wiggling all over the floor or is his back arching up and down only? things like that. it gives them clues where to look or how to trigger a seizure in a controlled setting.

a warning, if flashing lights can cause this so can Halogen head lights in cars.

hope that helps give you a start point.

[helpmeplease000001]

Hey guys, Looking to get my kid bro some help. Particularly, the migrains (mostly left side but, recently right side), been feeling dizzy, and lethargic. I've never been so scared for the kid when I see this. It was awful. We await a neurologist. I am seeking a second opinion cause, my current GP is a ******* idiot (screwed up with my appointments, ducked/dodged me repeatedly, missed appointments, messed up appointments, not returning calls etc) and I do not trust leaving this in his hands alone especially with my bro's life in the balance. If anything more can be done, I will look to do it. He has been sleeping a lot.

Another question, we as a family struggle with sleep paralysis - that state where, you feel so overwhelmingly exhausted, lethargic, low energy, weak, consciously aware of being asleep however, unable to awake. I wonder if this experience is another seizure my bro had? We've never been tested or medicated for this. My bro is medicated for the seizures. He has been fine. I am looking up medical side effects for the pills he takes. Maybe the head ache is a side effect as well as dizziness due to meds.

Thanks for any further advice.

[helpmeplease000001]

thanks. It was a beautiful young girl who helped my brother. He said she came in in the morning and noticed he was hard. Lol I told him that they see stuff all the time.

I will document it all. Sadly, we screwed up. He had a problem last year in spring. We never followed up. God, I would never forgive myself if something had happened. This time we are doing everything we can. Service in the ER was fast. It took ages for us to get him a doctor. He was thorough which we were fortunate. I wish my regular doctor was as good.

[Narble]

Sounds like you're making progress, though I know that you'll want it all to happen faster than it likely will. Mention everything to the doctors who see him. What's important or not is for them to figure out. I suggest you keep a written record of what happens, and when it happens, so you can present that in the form of a timeline (something simple and succinct) to any doctor you see. That may help uncover what's going on, or at least eliminate possibilities.

Also, a little hint for dealing with ERs. Be very nice to the nurses there. They are often your key to quality care in many ERs.

[helpmeplease000001]

Hey thanks.
We are in the process of getting him help. He must see a neurologist, our GP, and emerge doctors. He is getting another cat scan, eeg, and ekg. He complains of head aches on the left side. First test provided no swelling or tumors thank god. We were warned to watch him, avoid video games, and late nights.

The most scary thing of. All was him there one second and convulsing the next. It was horrible to watch. Since this episode, he has woken with head aches frequently. Should we be alarmed? It was mentioned with our. Doctor but my family has felt he has. Been incompetant on numerous of times. We are seeking a. Second opinion.      

[Narble]

Seizures can be very frightening to watch. Calling emergency services is of course the best thing to do when in doubt. You can also call the nurse help line at a hospital or your health insurance, if your insurance provides that service.

Each person with a seizure disorder is different, so it's hard to give general recommendations about triggers. Approximately one-third of people with seizure disorders are photosensitive, so they should avoid flashing or strobing lights, particularly at 3 Hz. Stress, reduced sleep, illness, and other life events can trigger seizures, too. All this makes working with a physician to achieve good seizure control important.

I hope the neurologist can clarify what is going on and provide good treatment/management for your brother.

[helpmeplease000001]

hey Narble,

thanks for the quick response. Yah, well, my mom freaked. We both thought he was dying. In what we assume to be convulsions, he was tossing her around, and she could not contain himself. Afterward. we kept him on the floor, and he kept complaining about a head ache. Sadly, he just informed us more recently that, he has been having head aches on his left side. We await a neurologist.

This has happened before. Our hospital has been incompetant. They ran tests and said everything was okay. The doctor this time did a cat scan, checked multiple other possibilities, and setting up a EEG w/ a neurologist. It was pretty scary.

Sorry, I did not elaborate. The position he had his head was between the wall and the bed. It wasn't so much we were restraining him. The neck isn't meant to go the way he was forcing it, gravity, and in between the bed, it was just horrible. If a human body could move like a spider, it was pretty much what was happening. This year has been pretty scary.

I hear, 5min or longer can be fatal. Do we call 911 if this is to happen again (god forbid). My assumption is that, its best to call when in doubt.

Is there any things we should not do? He is smoking marijuana occasional. He had been clean for a month when it happened. I hear stress can be a trigger as well as anxiety, inadquate sleep, and other unknown causes. Thank you in advanced and to anyone that has recommendations or advice. He plays video games a fair bit and watches movies. Nothing flash or like Japanese anime.

[Narble]

What you described certainly seems like a seizure, probably what is often known as a grand mal seizure. Getting him to a neurologist is very important at this point; seizures that last long can be dangerous for a variety of reasons.

Presumably he'll be evaluated, the cause of the seizures identified, and treatment begun. Anti-seizure medications suppress the frequency and intensity of seizures, but often require some dosage adjustments to get a good balance between seizure control and side effects.

There are a variety of possible seizure triggers, and smoking marijuana would be inadvisable. As to the origin of the seizure disorder, assuming he has one, the neurologist may be able to identify it. But in many cases the origin of a seizure disorder cannot be identified.

Make certain to get good information from the neurologist about what to do if your brother has another seizure. You should not try to restrain him, for instance. Instead, clear away any hard, sharp, or otherwise dangerous objects in the range of his limbs, get him onto the floor if he is seated or standing, and call 911 for emergency assistance. That's the general idea, but a neurologist can provide a lot more detail.