Seizures and Epilepsy: Frequently Asked Questions

I had seizures from 6 until the year I nearly turned 18 in 2012 after a brain surgery, and six years on I haven't had one. But my main fear is whether they will come back or not due to 10-11 months of alot of anxiety pains which I still don't understand why I have been getting them randomly but on the positive note. My doctor wants to reduce my medication but if it benefits me then good but we'll see although I don't think I'd cope with seizures again to be honest.

Tramadol gave me a seizure while I was driving and hit a light pole and fractured my spine and got a pretty bad concussion. That stuff is crap and I hope they end up with a class action lawsuit. I have read about so many seizures because of them.

I gave birth to my daughter a few days ago and I was told that she was having seizures due to oxygen deprivation Is there anyone out there that has experienced this before and could shed some light on what's happening Thank you

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I have had grand mal seizures since I was seven. Since then, I was put on medication to prevent them, and have had to change medications over time, from Tegretol to Apo-Divalproex. I also have absence seizures. In 2015, i had been taken off my medication in a time of four weeks and had 2 more grand mal seizures, which were 4 hours apart. I am now 17 almost 18, and I was wondering if I could ever come off the meds and not have any issues, or what my chances are of not having seizures if I do come off the meds for good. My specialist thinks I might need the meds for the rest of my life, but I just wanted to get another opinion. Thanks for the help in advance!

My father has just had one today. It's been 12 hours and he still can't speak. He's very unresponsive and in another world... he's in the hospital but what does this mean?

I had a seizure on December 16 while I was sleeping. I have no warning when I am going to have one. I awoke with a sore back and a black eye, I must of punched myself repeatedly because the black eye was severe. This is the first time I have injured myself like this

Hello everyone!

Since the age of 8 i have had seizures and now I am 22 years old. My last seizure was at the age of 14 and slowly over the years i have been lucky enough to lower my medication dosage overtime because of being free of them. I played football in highschool, i was an athlete but school has always been my largest challenge, and i do believe the medication conflicted with my schooling and more. However, now i am at a extremely low dose of 50 mg zonegran and have taking this dosage for 3 years (Doctor says placebo dosage). My neurologist told me i can get off my medication at anytime when i'm ready, but i still have a deep fear of what could and can happen once i'm completely free from the meds. I do believe i have grown out of this terrifying problem but i still have a deep fear of having another seizure. My doctor said my chances of having another  seizer in my lifetime is 10-15%. At this time i believe i must take a leap of faith and move on with my life and see where it takes me. For everyone else,  just know regardless the circumstance of the health issue you suffer, you have a large amount of people who support and back you on this exact issue. So keep pushing, do not let seizures get in the way of what you are trying to pursue in life because we can and will achieve. Much love!

- Dean

Girl with the fiancé:

I'm a 24 year old male, and just last Friday I had a seizure. I had been taking tramadol for a few weeks (self-prescribed), and yes, overdosing. I had taken 2 on Monday, 2 on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday and 4 on Friday. Early morning I had a seizure and spent the weekend at the hospital. I don't think you should be too worried about your fiancé. The doctors told me the seizure had been cause solely by the tramadol, and found nothing in my brain that indicated it may happen again (unless I go back on the tramadol). I was given no special diet or care. They gave me some medicine for my anxiety (which was the reason why I took tramadol....stupid, I know), and some medicine to prevent seizures, just in case. As of today, I'm still feeling very tired and I'm having a little trouble concentrating, but they tell me it's normal since I had the brain equivalent of my computer rebooting. My point is: your fiancé should be fine in a few days, especially if he knows he's got your support. Just make sure he understands that tramadol is not supposed to be taken on a as-needed-basis. Good luck!

thank you for this detailed information. my wife recently had a seizure for the first time & this information is surely helpful. thanks

Hello everyone, I just need a little advice and support.... today my fiancee and I went to Lagoon, a theme park for those who may not know and swam a lot. It was a very hot day, like VERY and after a few hours we decided to take a break and head home for a minute for food and such. Whilst there, he told me he wasn't feeling well and then had a seizure. It was his first ever in his life. He bit his tongue hard and everything. He doesn't have epilepsy, we know that so far, and at the hospital he was given a gorgeous clean bill of health after blood work, CT Scans, the works. No diabetes, no nothing. Previous to all of this he had taken his prescription pain meds, tramadol, for his neuropathy in his legs. He had taken 14. I was unaware of the amount until the ambulance came and was told that it can induce seizures. My concern is how to take care of him now that we're home... I have never dealt with anyone who had a seizure and I'm unsure how to go about home care. Like sleeping, how do I go to sleep when I'm afraid of him having one in his sleep or stopping breathing? Is that a possibility? And are there certain foods he should eat for recovery? What's my best course of action to ensure he has a speedy and healthy recovery, and to ensure he doesn't have another one?? Hes fully himself again, conscious and joking but super exhausted. Its 12am and hes sleeping but I'm really nervous and scared and having a hard time sleeping because of it because I love him so so much.... any advice would be GREATLY appreciated, thank you....

I've been having grand-mal seizures for past 10 years. I'm 36 now..Yesterday I had one that lasted 4 hours and then sleep all day ..all a daze. No one in family ever had them. I take Keppra and it helps mostly. I get aura's sometimes with nausea others times with a deja vu... Then I become dizzy numb and either passout or go into blank stare into no where. It's scary, and I can't remember crap after that! I'm losing long term memory as time passes and I have more seizures. I feel I've lost my life, I can't remember it. That's what really scares me. Doctors don't know why. I've had seizures standing and slammed face on work desk. Bite tongue horribly and face swollen beyond help. My co workers aware of my health, they helped and got me ER right away. It's important to make them aware. I've had seizures while driving alone and thank God he guided car to safety.. only bruised. When I awoke I was only concerned if I hurt anyone. Thank God again..no one. Keep away from alcohol, I found it gives seizures when on meds. I have a metal heart valve too and on blood thinners and that complication is unbelievable. Just keep a positive attitude it helps.. I've made it due to the will to live. I have other ailments that I work through with help from a supportive family.

Well written. I have shared this with my wife, family and co-workers because they need to know what to do, and what not to do if I have a seizure.   I had my first grand mal seizure at age 16, then eight more over 9 years.  I was diagnosed with generalized idiopathic epilepsy.    Seizures seemed to be triggered by drowsiness.  I settled into the habit of taking Dilantin without fail and went 35 years without a seizure.   I climbed mountains, traveled with abandon, swam in oceans, rivers and and pools, skied, snowboarded, wake-boarded, raced bicycles, married, had children, and have a fairly stressful career though I pretty much just live life moderately and got plenty of sleep.    It's nice what the medication allows you to do.  Two weeks ago, I came in from the garden mid-afternoon with a plan to drive alone by car and boat for the afternoon when I went down for the first of of double-header, two tonic-clonic seizures within a couple hours on the same day.  The medication level was below the therapeutic level for some reason.  I went down hard, turned very blue with a long period of confusion after. The second seizure occurred on a narrow boat dock as I was on my way to the hospital by private boat.   I didn't have a personal floatation device on, and fortunately fell onto the dock and not into the water.  Two weeks later, my ribs are still sore and my tongue is raw and painful. I have few side effects of Dilantin and it is convenient to take once daily.  I just need to make sure I 'm taking the right amount.  I plan to have my Dilantin level checked every six months.  I have started my new streak of days (years) without a seizure because the best way to not hurt after a seizure is to not have seizure at all! 

Theres different types of epilepsy as for me i have generalized epilepsy also become unconscious takes me a while to wake up from a seizure my body aches and and i cry i dont remember anything till after a while of being awake but as for me im 21 and i have the mind of a 5 as doctors have said and that the age it works at so i know that that is normal.

My sister is having seizures on a weekly basis they seem to be getting more frequent. She finds it hard to speak after and feels very unwell. She is brain damaged and doesn't understand what is happening. If the seizures are becoming more regular does this mean it's very dangerous?