pain causing seizures

[baci2]

Please be patient while I explain my circumstances. I was born premature and they stuck me in an incubator and put a needle in my head.  I still have the scar but it did not show up on the MRI.  When I was a year old, at a department store, I hurt my finger and had a grand mal seizure.  My mother took me to the pediatrician who yelled at her for letting me hurt myself.  After that, every time I would have an injury, I would have a grand mal seizure.  Examples, when I got bit by a dog, when I fell down a flight of stairs, when I get a really bad charlie horse in my leg.  They thought that I would grow out of it but I'm 31 and I've had 52 grand mal seizures.  In July, I had one when my back popped out in my family doctor's office (I had gone because my back had already started to hurt, then I sneezed and I heard it pop, and then it became extremely painful.)  When this happened, I had a GM right in front of my doctor.  He asked me to see a neurologist as well as a cardiologist because I have a strange heart beat as well.  The cardiologist did an EKG, a stress test and an echocardiogram.  While on the treadmill, my pulse was up to 200 after 6 minutes and they made me get off.  A week later they called and said that everything looked fine.  I decided not to see a neurologist at the time because having seizures when I hurt myself was something that I've always done and they just said that it was my body's response to pain.  Then, in November, I had a seizure out of the blue with no injury to provoke it.  My husband witnessed it.  I remembered feeling extremely dizzy (like always), and it kind of seems like the lights get a bit brighter. I layed on the floor and he said that my eyes rolled back in my head.  Then I started convulsing and a few minutes later when I woke up my pupils were fully dilated and I had urinated.  I was not awake for any of this, for this is just my husband telling me what happened.  Nor was I awake at the doctor's office, for he described the same exact thing but of course, I was unaware of what happened after the dizziness.  Because I had never had one without pain causing it, I went to the ER.  They did a cat scan which turned out normal and referred me to a neurologist who in turn referred me to an epileptologist.  The epileptologist did an EEG and an MRI.  All came back normal except he said that there is something rhythmically wrong with my heart and that I need to have more tests done.  My heart rate kept bouncing between 60 and 110 as I was laying there for about 30 minutes during the EEG.  But my epileptologist said that pain is not a trigger for seizures and that he does not want to set me up for seizure monitoring since I only have seizures 3-4 times a year on average.  He does not want to completely diagnose me with epilepsy because nothing showed up on the tests.  He did up my dose of Lamictal and told me that I cannot drive for a year or take baths alone.  He wants me to go back to the cardiologist for more tests.  Am I the only one out there with pain causing seizures?  Thank you for any patience and expertise in this area.  I feel as if I'm the strangest human being on earth. It seems as if everyone else just yells or says "ouch" when they hurt themselves.  What I wouldn't give for an "ouch" instead of a seizure.  Thanks again.

[steff7]

I don't have an answer as to why your son only had them while getting a hair cut.

But I have had a seizure when i was about 8 or 9 years old while my aunt was combing my hair after a bath. I remember it feeling as though the comb dug in a little to hard, there was no  mark, no nothing.

According to my mother I've had these episodes since i was very young, I was put onto tegretal but taken off it after only a short time. I was referred to a pediatric neuroligist at the time and all he said was that I wasn't epileptic. End of story for the doctors. I don't remember much of the ones from that age, the first ones I do remember I must have been about 6 or 7, they would be caused by something as simple as hitting my elbow, my tail bone, scraping my back, etc. I would get tingly, tunnel vision, then wake up feeling like I had a deep sleep with a really in depth dream and sometimes I would lose control of my bladder. When I wake up I would feel disoriented not quite sure where I was, then it would click that I had had an episode. I would only have a couple a year some I would be able to "make go away". I would just focus on one spot on the wall, floor whatever I could see and the tunnel vision would subside and I would be fine. Then suddenly nothing for quite a few years, thought that I had grown out of it. Then when I was 15 turning 16 I had one at a restaurant, my boyfriend and I were playing a video game waiting for our food and I was really hungry. No pain triggered this one, same as before I got tingly & tunnel vision woke up on the floor. Since I was becoming of age to get my drivers license I had to wait until after the 2nd neurologist visit. They did 1 EEG and after they told me I was just a "delicate" flower" and not to worry about it all neurology signs were normal. Then I didn't have one until I was 19 (2 months before my 20th b-day) I stabbed my hand with a knife while working at a bakery, same signs as before but this time i was able to make it go away. A few months later I smashed my hand between a bread rack and the bread slicer, sat down on the floor because I knew I wouldn't be able to fight this one, woke up staring at the ceiling a few minutes later. A few more months later I was working at a vet clinic and I was assisting the vet holding a patient, I got really hot and blacked out then as I was falling I hit my head on a cement wall and had an episode, woke up on the floor had urinated myself. Once again the doctor has sent me to a neurologist, I've had a CT scan - normal, regular EEG - normal, sleep deprived EEG - normal, EKG - normal. Now I'm now 21, went 8 months without an episode then just last night I had abdominal pain that woke me out of a deep sleep, thought I had to go to the bathroom, got really hot blacked out and woke up stuck between the toilet & the wall. I have no idea how long I was out for this time since I was alone. I think it was around 2am.

Now the doctor told me that he thinks its vasovagal syncope (Vasovagal syncope (vay-zo-VAY-gul SING-cuh-pee) is the most common cause of fainting. Vasovagal syncope occurs when your body overreacts to triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. The trigger results in vasovagal syncope — a brief loss of consciousness caused by a sudden drop in your heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces blood flow to your brain. Vasovagal syncope is usually harmless and requires no treatment. However, you can injure yourself during a vasovagal syncope episode - Mayo Clinic website) This last episode I wound up with a cut on my upper back and a very sore neck, I am re-starting my physio treatment since my last episode 8 months ago for whip lash from hitting the cement wall.

Hope you have better luck than the rest of us.
I hope this provides some answers, although I hope that this is not where the doctor draws the line on the investigation. I go back to my neurologist in october to see if she has any other ideas.

[joysee]

U all r very right ...my mother has the same promlems ...pain causes seizers but doctors cant find anything and i worry to death when shes at work by herself ....she has a charlie horse in her leg and she knows a seizer will follow....hope someone can find a answer soon...

[theresagill]

I am sitting here in Cumberland Hospital with my fiancee. He has his T-8, T-9, and T-12 vertebraes fractured.He also, has a bruised spine, for the past 2 nights he has gotten into coughing fits which in turn jerks his back and causes pain. When the pain reaches a horribly uncontrolled level he goes into seizures.
The first time this happened I was so scared that I had no clue what to do but thank god we are in the hospital and they were able to care for him. Anyway, the hospital has done so many tests on him and have come up with no answer to what the problem is. I do believe that his seizures are induced by the pain.
If you can get some information to me about this please send it to ***@****.

[Barnez]

I am 43. I have had pain related seizures since i was 14. Most times I thought I was passing out. I had one in Middle school, banged my knee in wood shop went dizzy and fell on a vice. I fractured my skull. It doesn't happen very often but usually after extreme pain and a lack of sleep.
My daughter at 1 years old hit her head and then went limp. Went to Emerg and nothing was wrong. Last night she fell on her buttocks, cried out my wife picked her up and she went limp. She was like that for 10 min. Ambulance came, they took blood preasure she was out but awake. We are waiting test results.

[efielder]

.My daughter was also born premature and has seizures which are only brought on by extreme pain or fear. First seizure occurred when she was playing hide and seek with her 1/2 sister and when her sister jumped out of hiding it scared her and she had a seizure, since then she has had several others; falling off a ladder going up to her bunk bed, slamming her finger in the car door, hitting knee on coffee table; etc. She has had many tests.. EEG, CAT scan, MRI and the doctors have come up with nothing. She has been to specialists as well. They tried to tell me they have never heard of this and act as if I am making this up. I am a nurse and they are definitely Grand Mal seizures. Her father also has them, but only brought on by extreme pain, and his daughter (her 1/2 sister). He refuses to believe they are seizures when he has them. He says it's him just passing out although he's not the one standing over him watching him flop around, tensed up, with his eyes rolled back in his head and moaning. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are maybe a good physician in the MI area they might be able to refer us to. One Dr. did say he could put her on seizure meds, but he feels she isn't haven't them often enough to make such a rash decision and sometimes the side effects of the medication is not worth toughing out a seizure or two. Anyone's suggestions or stories are greatly appreciated. This is the first time I have found anyone else with similar stories, so thank you all for your posts!

[efielder]

.My daughter was also born premature and has seizures which are only brought on by extreme pain or fear. First seizure occurred when she was playing hide and seek with her 1/2 sister and when her sister jumped out of hiding it scared her and she had a seizure, since then she has had several others; falling off a ladder going up to her bunk bed, slamming her finger in the car door, hitting knee on coffee table; etc. She has had many tests.. EEG, CAT scan, MRI and the doctors have come up with nothing. She has been to specialists as well. They tried to tell me they have never heard of this and act as if I am making this up. I am a nurse and they are definitely Grand Mal seizures. Her father also has them, but only brought on by extreme pain, and his daughter (her 1/2 sister). He refuses to believe they are seizures when he has them. He says it's him just passing out although he's not the one standing over him watching him flop around, tensed up, with his eyes rolled back in his head and moaning. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are maybe a good physician in the MI area they might be able to refer us to. One Dr. did say he could put her on seizure meds, but he feels she isn't haven't them often enough to make such a rash decision and sometimes the side effects of the medication is not worth toughing out a seizure or two. Anyone's suggestions or stories are greatly appreciated. This is the first time I have found anyone else with similar stories, so thank you all for your posts!