Seizures?

[kristenb1120]

I am a 28 year old female.  When I was a toddler, I had multiple episodes of seizures (absence type-primarily during sleep) and was on phenobarbital for approximately 5 years.  My parents were told that most likely I would not have any more seizures.  Now, for the past year or so, I have been noticing changes with myself.  My major concern is that I seem to be sleeping very soundly (not waking to hear my 2 year old son, husband says he has to try to wake me for a long time before I start to wake up and I don't have any memory of this).  This makes me very nervous because I am home alone at night often when my husband travels.  I have also been having significant difficulty with attention while I'm at work, short term memory, and anxiety symptoms.  I have noticed that I am missing parts of conversations with people and I just feel different.  I also have noticed tingling sensations in my legs and feet that sometimes feel like something is crawling inside me.  I have also had a few instances where I really felt like I had a hair wrapped around one of my toes (was even having my husband look closely to see if something was there).  Should I be concerned that I could be having seizures again?  Should I express these concerns with my doctor and get additional testing?  I would really appreciate any assistance with this situation.  Thanks

[kristenb1120]

Thank you so much for the thorough response.  I will be making an appointment with my doctor and will discuss the symptoms that I have been noticing so that I can get a referral to see a neurologist.  I appreciate everything.

[Esteban Cheng-Ching, MD]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.
Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is or how to treat them. However I will provide some information.
Based on the symptoms you describe I cannot make a diagnosis of your condition. Certainly patients with a history of seizures have a propensity to have seizures in the future, and in your case this should be investigated. Sensory symptoms like the ones you describe sometimes can correlate with auras that precede seizures, however these sensory symptoms are very nonspecific and can accompany other conditions not related to seizures, or even could have no underlying illness. The symptom you describe in which you feel as missing parts of conversations could also represent seizures, more likely non-convulsive types like complex partial seizures or abscense seizures. However these manifestation could also be related to attention deficit, and is also nonspecific, and we cannot make a diagnosis of seizure just based on what you describe. The gold-standard study to rule out seizures is basically an EEG capturing an event like the ones you experience, and finding no abnormalities in the brain wave test. If there is an abnormality, this makes the diagnosis much easier.
I do not have an answer regarding your symptom described during your sleep, in which you feel your sleep is too deep. Many times patients experience abnormalities with sleep, and sensory symptoms like you describe, in association with medications, and antiepileptics are an example. It is important to make sure that a medication is not the cause of the symptoms you describe.
As I said, without being able to obtain a detailed history and a good physical and neurologic examination, I cannot tell you what the cause of your symptoms is. I think that your concerns are valid, and you should see a neurologist in order to make sure there is no underlying problem causing your symptoms, and if there is, treat it accordingly. I cannot really tell you if what you experience are seizures or not, and you should discuss this with your neurologist.
I hope this information is useful. Good luck.