Non-epileptic seizures

[jaimemorgan]

I have been to two different neurologists with no luck yet on diagnosing me.  As I was in the emergency room with my husband for his heart attack, I dropped down right there and had my first seizure.  I had one more seizure 6 months later.  Both of these times were very stressful situations and my husband is in law school full time.  I work more than 12 hours a day mind you as well.  I had two EEG's and they both came back normal.  My MRI did come back with an osteoma of the sphenoid wing 6 x 4 mm.  My first question is should I be really concerned about an osteoma in my brain and get periodic scans?  Neither neurologist will really give me much input on it.  My second question is could these be non-epileptic seizures I am having?  I do have auras from time to time, but can panic attacks resemble auras?  My auras are usually naseous feeling and I had this feeling prior to both seizures.   Neither doctor can seem to help me.  They want me to take a 5 day hospital video EEG next; however, my insurance will not cover it.  I am really not sure what to do.  They threw me on Xanax and Trileptal with no results.  Any info on non-epileptic seizures would be great.

[trdofbeingtrd]

Of course consult doctor before drinking, but, here it is. Two teas you can buy from the store that work decent, my two teas recipe for anxiety, and my one tea recipe for sleep. Feel free to alter it as you wish and as needed for taste and strength. I have checked (studying herbs for about 5 years now) and I note which herbs have a negative interaction with each other in my teas. Even though I have mixed certain herbs below together and had zero bad side effects, I have to list any interactions studies claim to have shown. Please always make sure if you want to make your own teas, to thoroughly study the herbs and take into account any medicines you take as well. There is a great place to do this but I don't know if I can post the link, so feel free to message me if interested. Other than these tea recipes, I will first list a nice list of relaxing herbs to help with anxiety.

Relaxing Herbs:
Catnip, Chamomile (both Roman and German, although German has negative interactions if mixed with other relaxing herbs more than roman). Clove, Lemon Balm, Passion flower, Rose hips, Skullcap, Valerian

Known Herb Interactions:
Lemon Balm with Valerian root
German Chamomile and Valerian root
Catnip and Valerian
Catnip and Chamomile
German Chamomile and lemon balm
Catnip and Lemon balm
German chamomile and Rose hips
I would not use skullcap, passion flower, or catnip in a tea.


Ok, the first tea you can buy that is good for calming is celestial seasonings "sleepytime" tea. The second is Bigelow "sweet dreams" tea. You can try them both, see which one gives you the best calming effect and which one tastes better to you. I prefer the "sweet dreams" tea. Also, I will be honest with you, it was these two teas that inspired me to learn about herbs and inspired my recipes. There is a couple differences though, so I didn't rip them off completely :-)

What some people don't know, is that herbs are more potent, have different tastes, and smell better or worse depending on how you brew the tea. That is one of the differences in my teas from the store bought.

Ingredients for my three teas:

-Roman Chamomile (Personally, I have used both and never had problems, but, studies claim that German Chamomile have dangerous interactions with the rest of the herbs in this tea, also WARNING, NEVER take anything with chamomile while pregnant)

-Hibiscus (this is used for taste, you can try my amount, then change to preference)

-Spearmint (again, used for taste and you can use peppermint if more to your liking)

-Rose hips (please check with local professional before use, I always use it in this tea and never had a problem, but it is claimed to maybe be unsafe with German Chamomile)

-Valerian Root (Very very bad taste but strong relaxing effect and can be used to sleep )

-Orange blossoms (this is for taste and you can use orange zest as substitute)

-Clove (This is for taste, it should be noted that it can reduce blood sugar levels)

-Catnip flowers and leaves (This is used for soothing effect on humans, with cats it can soothe unless they get to much of it)

-Lemon balm (This has a calming effect as well as thought to be able to improve mood and mental performance)

Utensils :
1 medium to large sauce pan
1 tea strainer or large coffee filter (Strainer preferred)
1 Stirring spoon (wood preferably)

Calming tea #1 (Again, please check with health professional before consuming)
2 Tablespoons Hibiscus
1/2 cup Chamomile (roman preferred)
1 Teaspoon spearmint
2 Teaspoons rose hips
1/4 Teaspoon Orange blossom or Orange zest
1 Tablespoon Lemon balm

Fill medium to large saucepan with water 3/4 full. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat and immediately put in 2 tablespoons hibiscus and 1/4 teaspoon orange blossom or orange zest. Stir, place lid on pan. Wait 3 minutes and put in 1 teaspoon spearmint, 2 teaspoons rose hips, and 1 tablespoon lemon balm. Stir, place lid on pan. Wait 2 minutes and add the 1/2 cup chamomile. Stir, place lid on pan and let sit for 5 more minutes. Stir once more, strain, add sweetener if desired and enjoy.

Calming tea #2 (Please check with health professional before consuming)
2 Tablespoons Hibiscus
2 Tablespoons Spearmint
1/2 cup chamomile (Roman preferred)
1 Clove

Same directions for Calming tea #1 except toss clove in with Hibiscus.

Sleepy tea (Please check with health professional before consuming)
2 Tablespoons Spearmint
1/2 cup of honey
3 Tablespoons Valerian root
1 Tablespoon chamomile (roman preferred)

Fill medium to large sauce pan 3/4 full with water. Bring to boil, let sit for 1 minute put in 3 Tablespoons Valerian root, stir. Put lid on, let stand for 4 minutes, add 1/2 cup honey, 2 tablespoons spearmint, and 1 Tablespoon chamomile. Stir, place lid on pan, let sit for 5 minutes, strain, and add sweetener if desired.

When I got into herbs as a way to control my anxiety and panic disorder, these were three teas I made that worked for me. Expectant mothers should not consume any of these, and always check with health professional before consuming. While I put what herbs can interact bad with each other, if you don't know if you are allergic to any of these herbs, do not risk it.

[jaimemorgan]

Thank you for all the wonderful helpful hints.  I am definitely going to try all of them as I am out of answers.  Kind of odd that this all started when my husband started law school and I increased my hours.  I would love to have the tea recipe if you get time.  

[trdofbeingtrd]

If it is panic disorder, which it COULD be, I have tips/techniques that can help you control your PD without medications. People go a tad crazy whenever I tell other people that as a huge rule, panic/anxiety disorder can be controlled with proper diet and techniques, MOST but not all people actually don't need medications for PD and become dependent on them so when they don't have the pills and they have a panic/anxiety disorder they end up in the ER because no one suggested therapy and natural remedies for it. I am NOT suggesting you just STOP taking those two medications, but if they are both for panic, I would say that you can see about asking the doctor how to safely stop them and then try the natural route. Panic disorder CAN be controlled without medications. The techniques I suggest are very cost efficient and safe, also they are convenient so even if you are in public or a busy area, you will be able to do them with at worst a small bathroom break.

Here they are, and feel free to message me if you like.

Ok, there are pre panic tips and full panic tips.

Let's start with the pre panic tips.

A rubber band around the wrist can help if you use it before the anxiety turns into an anxiety attack. As soon as you start to feel weird you snap the rubber band onto your wrist. For some people, this can "snap" (pun intended) them out of going into the anxiety or panic attack.

When you start to feel the anxiety coming on, think of the most odd thoughts you possibly can. Wonder what a star would look like if it were really a circle in disquise.......how many cattapilars would it take to reach from the earth to saturn if they were drinking caffine. Distracting your thoughts with such bizaare thinking will redirect your mind from getting worse.

Sit down on a bench or chair, put your head between your legs, and force yourself to breathe in deeply, and breathe out deeply. It's when the breathing gets to short and quick that the panic gets worse. At first you might feel like you  can't do it, but with practice, you can.

If you wear correctional glasses, take them off. For some reason sight plays into some peoples anxiety problems.

Ok, now for when you are in an actual panic attack.

Cold water on the face, forehead, neck, and wrists can help calm the anxiety or panic down. If it's cold enough, it's kind of like shocking you out of the attack.

To add to the cold water technique, if you are in full blown panic attack, find ice as soon as you can, put it into some kind of rag or cloth, wet it, and rub it all over your head, face, neck, and behind your ears. Again, the cold shocks the mind out of the anxiety.

Here are some tips to prevent the anxiety and or panic attacks.

Stay away from caffine, as a rule, it is the MAIN reason people suffer from anxiety disorder and panic disorder.

Surround yourself with comedy whenever you start to feel off. Laughter is another technique that can fool the brain into concentrating somewhere else.

Keep a herbal tea you made handy when you are out and about. If you want, as long as you make sure it is safe for you, I will send you some "calm down" recipes that are 100% natural and legal.

Also, there are disposable instant cold packs you can buy from 99 cent stores to use for the cold, this makes it easy to find relief when driving, at work, or some other place a sink is not always available.