Recent Seizure

[laney661]

I am a 43 healthy female.  I had a gran mal seizure in 2004 where I fell backwards stiff as a board and cracked my head open on concrete.  I lost all consciousness and could not tell where I was when I came to.  I do not remember falling.  God blessed me that day as I was about to drive my husband and 2 children home from vacation from San Antonio to Houston.  I could have killed them and another driver.  A neurologist found white matter on my brain but other than that, my EEG and CatScan came back normal.  I was put on 300 mg. of Lamictal which I take religiously 2x a day.  I don't think I have ever missed a dose in 5 years.

This last Saturday, June 27, 2009 - I had another gran mal seizure while eating dinner with a couple of friends.  I fell off the stool I was sitting on, again with a rigid body, and lost all consciousness. I was about to drive my friends and myself home from dinner this time as well.  Again, what a miracle.  God blesses us in ways we do not understand.

Prior to this most recent, I had been feeling disoriented, very moody, I could not control my emotions and I had terrible, terrible insomnia.  My husband kept asking me "what is wrong with you lately".  I was finding myself forgetting why I was doing something I had just started.  I only slept 3 hours a night and then was out of bed around 3:00 a.m. every night.

Are these symptoms that will help me identify that a seizure might be coming on?  Yesterday after the night of the last seizure, I felt completely back to normal.  I was tired but was no longer disoriented, I was sleeping and my mood was stabilized.

I need help understanding all of this.  For those who have had seizures, you understand how terrifying it is to have one and to figure out why????? Why did the Lamictal not work???

Thanks and I look forward to your response.

Laney661

[cornczech]

I am a 42 year old female who suddenly started to have grand mal seizures. I had my first one in March of this year, another 10 minutes after the first and my 3rd in March, (all of them at or around the full moon....I must be a lycanthrope........aaaaaawooooooo!). All of my tests came back normal, (except for an acoustic neuroma and an Arnold Chiari malformation of the skull...both of which are NOT the cause of my seizures.). After starting Topamax, I began to have complex partials daily. When I stopped taking the Topamax 4 weeks ago, I stopped having the CP's daily....(but a full moon is rapidly approaching.....the first off Topamax!). I only had an "aura" before the last seizure...the others were sudden and while I slept. I have my appointment with the sleep disorders people next week, (per my Neuro's advice) I am still shrugging my shoulders........

ood luck!

D-

[Lizzie327]

I'm so sorry you are going through this.
I had my first grand mal 8 years ago. I was put on Carbatrol, but am now on Lamictal because I am trying to get pregnant. They say Lamictal is the safest to be on right now. I did have another one in 2004 because my doctor thought it was ok to take me off of the medicine since I hadn't had any problems for a few years, but I had another gran mal while on vacation in Vegas, so needless to say, I am back on medication.
It's so frustrating! They have no idea why I have epilepsy. They did several tests and couldn't find anything.
They are so scary and I don't remember anything afterwards. I'm just extremely tired.

Has the doctor been able to figure out why you may have had another one? I hope it's something as simple as needing to up the dosage.

I have never experienced anything ahead of time to warn me that one was coming on. Like you said God was watching over me both times. Fortunately, I haven't had any episodes or problems on Lamictal. I just hope everything goes ok if I get pregnant.

Keep me posted. I hope they figure out what's going on!

Lizzie327