I’ve been waiting all day for Addyson neurologist to call and what happens he calls from a # I didn’t expect so I missed the call. He left a voicemail saying he will call back tomorrow and go ahead and get her scheduled for the 24hr continous eeg. I’m waiting to see if we can do at home or if it needs to be inpatient. We shall see. This will let us know if her keppra (anti seizure) meds are actually working or not. We already upped her dose from 250 twice a day to 500 twice a day.
Not all seizures are drop on the ground and shake. Many folks don’t realize that her seizures are nocturnal so they are different.
Nocturnal Seizures
An epileptic seizure is caused by unusual electrical activity in the brain. This usually causes to muscles of the body to tighten or weaken temporarily.
Nocturnal seizures happen when a person is sleeping. They are most common:
- Right after falling asleep
- Just before waking up
- Soon after waking up
Any seizure can occur during sleep. However, there are certain seizure conditions that are more likely to experience nocturnal seizures, including:
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
- Awakening tonic-clonic (grand mal)
- Benign Rolandic
- Landau-Kleffner syndrome
- Frontal Lobe Epilepsy
Symptoms
Nocturnal seizures are often unnoticed because the patient is asleep when they happen. However, there are signs that may suggest the patient’s is experiencing these seizures, including:
- Loss of bladder control
- Biting their tongue
If the patient notices these symptoms of interrupted sleep they should talk to their doctor:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Awaking suddenly for an unknown reason
- Feeling drowsy
- Increase in daytime seizures triggered by a lack of sleep
- Involuntary muscle movement linked to seizures can include:
- Stiff arms
- Stiff legs
- Jerking body movements
Treatments
For many patients, correct treatment can lower or prevent seizures. In some cases, patients may not have any more seizures for the rest of their life.
Treatment is based on:
- The type of seizure
- Any underlying conditions
- How often seizures happen
- How severe the seizures are
- The patient’s age
- The patient’s overall health
- The patient’s medical history
Anti-seizure (or anti-epileptic) medications can be very helpful. It may take a few tries to get the right medicine and dose. The doctor will watch for side effects to find the best treatment.
Surgery may be an option if medication can’t control the seizures. A vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) is sometimes implanted and used with anti-epileptic medication to lower seizures. The VNS is a tool placed under the skin of the chest. It sends electrical energy through the vagus nerve into the neck and up to the brain.
Beaming with hope 