lloppyllama Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Last night as i was laying in bed watching the TV about 3 times i stated shaking and couldnt control it, im not really sure it was a seizure or not....it didnt last for very long but I also dont know how to classify whether or not it is one. Any help i could get would be great! thanks!! ~Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Hi,You need a EEG while you have the episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 Hi Mary,seizures, like blackouts, can be very difficult to diagnose. There are many different types, some of them the patient collapses in and others they appear to be awake. Did anybody else see the episode? It can be really useful for your doctor if you can get an eyewitness to describe what happened to the doctor.Basically as with any new symptom that concerns you the best thing to do is report it to your doctor. Hopefully it was nothing to be concerned about and won't happen again but best to get it checked out.Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted May 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Unfortunately nobody was there to see what happened, but I think i will let my doctor know, and hopefully it was nothing to be worried about and like you said doesnt happen again. Plus i am on nortryptyline(sp?) which is an anti-epilepsy drug which i would think would then probably make me not get seizures, but i guess you never know, thanks for the help!Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat57 Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 have you searched the subject? Try ictal state, post ictal, and aura. These are componates of many seizures. Of course seach seizure too. It is for a doctor to sort out but may help you clarifiy your description for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiner Kitty Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 I'm not a doctor but I was prescribed Nortriptyline years ago for pain. It didn't help, but it caused significant side effects. It is actually a tricyclic antidepressant, and it can cause seizures as an adverse reaction. Seizures can also be a sign of overdose, so you should call your doctor and let him/her know about it. It can also lower the seizure threshold in someone with a history of epilepsy. Nortriptyline can also cause tachycardia/heart arrhythmias, and it can affect blood pressure. You can read about some of the side effects: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/lexicomp/nortriptyline.html and http://www.fda.gov/medwaTCH/SAFETY/2005/Ja.../Aventyl_PI.pdf . As the others have said, it's best to get it checked out. Hopefully, you won't have an ongoing problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted May 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Thank you to everyone who replied, it has been a HUGE help!!!! ~Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukkychrm42 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 So- speaking as someone who has now had a grand mal seizure, I remember nothing! I apparently collapsed to the floor, began convulsing, and went into a 24-hour coma. There are different types of seizures, though, and there may be less-severe ones as well.When I am conscious and begin shaking uncontrollably, I can usually tell that it's POTS symptoms, and it usually occurs for me after a major emotional charged episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorguest Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 As correctly pointed out by Lukkychrm, the hallmark of a seizure is loss of consciousness or awareness. If you're shaking and twiching with both arms or legs and is awake and wondering whether you're having a seizure, you are NOT having a seizure. Shaking and trembling can be part of syncope or presyncope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Thank you, doctorguest and Megan, since i was awake it wasnt a seizure then, which is a relief! Thank you for your help, i will look into syncope and presyncope so that i can learn more information on that and see if thats what was going on. Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DADofPotsSon Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 My Son#2 was initially diagnosed with grand mal seizures as based on inexperienced witnesses. He was treated with Keppra and this treatment increaased the frequency of the seizures. Several times EMT's would comment that his BP was extremely low and his HR was very high when they first arrived, but this was always discounted. He also did not have incontinence or tongue biting. It was not until I was with him and witnessed it that I began to question it. Eventually I contacted a cadio who began investigating my diary and previous EMT and ER reports which was over two inches thick. Eventually this condition was duplicated on a TTT at St. Vincent Toledo, then at Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Fauad and verified at Medical University of Ohio by Dr. Grubbs. Seizure meds were discontinued and he was put on a BB with ProAmatine. Cardiac Arrhythmias was determined to be the underlying cause of the seizures. The official diagnoses was NCS with POTS. I must also point out that all the EEG, MRI and CAT scans were negative. Though during an event he did show right side brain activity. Dr. Grubbs indicated this would be normal for this condition during and immediately after an event. Convulsive Syncope can and does look much like a grand mal seizure. Here is an article on syncope vs siezures:http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/generalli...copeseizure.htmhttp://www.medtronic.com/servlet/ContentSe...Stage=DiagnosisDADofPotsSon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Thank you very much, I apprechiate all your help and perspective greatly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukkychrm42 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 I know a couple of patients with POTS and/or NCS who have convulsive syncope...have your son's episodes improved since starting treatment for the arrythmia, whether or not the syncope was dysautonomia-related? When I have witnessed it, it started with a faint that turned into seizure-like activity, but like a seizure, the patient was not conscious. But this is still very different from the tremor/shakiness some of us seem to experience outside of syncope. I almost never faint, but I have had many a shaking episode like that. At Vanderbilt, they told me it was from the massive norepinephrine rush, and takes a lot of time to finish, even after lying down. I vomited repeatedly over the 26 or so hours, or at least retched when nothing was left, though if I wet myself no one told me...I dunno, because I had a foley in for about 4 days. My tongue is still sore from biting it, although it is not nearly black and blue like it was when I woke up on Thursday and begged for something cold to drink.Hope you're feeling better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lthomas521 Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 You don't necessarily lose consciousness with a focal (Jacksonian) seizure, but that would involve shaking or weird sensations etc. in just a limited area of the body. So, as Doctorguest explained, if you were shaking all over and still conscious, it's not a seizure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DADofPotsSon Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Lukkychrm42"have your son's episodes improved since starting treatment for the arrythmia?" Yes! Initially he always had convulsive activity but it started after he was on the floor, bed or sofa. Never had any warning signs, it was usually a couple of times showering, but most of the time it was when he would rise after sitting in a chair or on the dorm room floor or even just a sudden change from standing to moving walking. One occasion he was admitted to the ER then transfered to the ICU as in a coma after a multiple convulsive events, this was initially stated as status epilepticus but later changed to Hypovolemic shock due to inadaquate blood volume as he was extremely dehydrated. His HR was running 175 to 225. They put him on Dylantin along with the BB's for a short time right after that event for added protection, this was done by both the Neuro and EP. He took drinking fluids very serious after that event.He is a normal college student now studying Civil Engineering, he just got back Monday from Seattle, WA and was competing in the National Concrete Canoe competition.Still on BB's and ProAmatine, high sodium and lots of fluids, still has very low BP and occasional POTS symptoms such as adrenaline rushes, etc. I do remember Dr. Grubbs telling us that it is possible for convulsive syncope to convert into status epilepticus.DADofPotsSon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphicdragon Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 This is how I was diagnosed - or more accurately, this was the symptom that got me to the doctor and started me on the long road of tests to determine what I had. My RA saw me shaking - for me I could feel myself start to get "shaky" and I would have to lay down and I would be twitching. What I did, which didn't help, was prop my head up on pillows, so I still didn't get enough blood. When my RA called the EMTs they couldn't get a blood pressure, but since I was still talking they felt that their blood pressure cuff was broken! (I would have probably been diagnosed A LOT faster without that supposition.) I find that I now get them when I'm worn down. It's my body telling me that I need to rest. I'd get them checked out, of course. My neurologist said they weren't doing any damage and he wouldn't put me on anti-seizure medications because of the reproductive side-effects. Eventually, I've learned to recognize the warning signs and not let myself get so stressed out / worn down that I get them again. Best of luck!Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliegee Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Dad of POTS son-National concrete canoe competition? Sounds like a losing proposition:-) Glad he's well enough to try!Mom of NMH son Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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