Could I have developed epilepsy?

If you have no Doctor how did you get the medication you took?

Ummm. There are far too many loose holes in your question for anyone to give you a reasonable answer. What was the medicine and for what condition? How do you know you are having seizures? What are the symptoms? Has anyone witnessed these seizures?

they were otc sleeping pills. I know they were definatly seizures I did a lot of research i actually didnt realize that they were seizures till i looked up all this stuff about seizures for school i pictured a grand mal but thats not the only kind. it was mass confusion doing things then completly forgetting i did them i was talking and not making sense to quote myself “My eyes look different. they didnt look like this before… we… filmed… to kill a mocking bird” i actually said that to one of my friends and we were both like wtf? and partial seizures seem to be the kind i have most often with it basically feel like a really strong and long lasting twitch almost. and sometimes i would be sitting in class and my eyes would just start rolling back and my head would drop and then id be right back up and like what the hell just happened. ppeople just thought i was really tired but i wasnt at all.

What OTC sleeping pills are we talking about? Why were they “your only option”? What else is going on? Have you been sick? Any fevers, headaches, neck pain or stiffness? Blurry vision? Take other meds? Do drugs, drink alcohol? Have a family history of seizures? And so on…

Do you see where this is going? No one can give you a real answer to a complex question like this without getting a detailed history, doing a physical exam and probably doing some blood tests. Do some more research, find a ride, and go get checked out. If you are having “seizures”, of which I am not convinced, you need to be checked out by a professional. New onset seizures need to be evaluated as there are a number of dangerous causes. This cannot wait…

How long were you on the meds? I’d give your body twice as long to recover before you get worried

Not to be mean but this is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. So taking sleeping pills is more important than having seizures. If you have a seizure then call a damn ambulance. You and your friends don’t seem to be all there.

Dude give the kid a break – everyone has their reasons and we have a concernced person asking for advice, not 20/20 hindsight.

@nt I was once taking Wellbutrin, and after awhile I developed a stutter. Obviously I stopped right away, and it took a few weeks for the meds to filter out of my system (can depend on their half-lives and such), but it went away.

@nocountry, when you are board certified in neurology, then maybe you can have the experience and knowledge base to advise someone on what to do with seizures (over the internet, no less). New onset seizures (if truly there) can be a life or death matter! Meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscesses, tumors, bleeding, vascular malformations, etc.
What if nighttriper drives, has a seizure and kills someone? Then what?
This is not a trivial matter… Even if things “work out” that doesn’t mean it is the smart or right thing to do.

I’m not talking about hindsight. He did something dumb which all of us has done before but he shouldn’t compound the problem by continuing to be dumb and not seeking medical attention if you are having seizures. I mean come on.

sorry if i have no access to medical care jesus christ what a group of judgmental people you all are. I took them for quite a while actually. most of the seizures were at night and (i believe) contained to my room because nobody else in the house said anything about why did you ___ last night or why were you walking around or whatever. I’m just wondering how long this could take to go away or if maybe i kind of fucked myself and am now gonna be seizureing for the rest of my life

and shilolo i said i have no transportation why do you think i drive?

Look, I am not being judgemental. You did what you did, fine, no problem. I don’t care. I’ve treated people who have done far more damaging things to themselves, and it doesn’t matter.

BUT, there are two issues here. One, are you actually having seizures? Your own personal research is insufficient to make that diagnosis. And two, if and I mean if you are indeed having seizures, then you need medical attention. They may be a sign of something more serious that if not treated can be very dangerous for you. Also, if you indeed have “epilepsy”, you will likely need a real, prescription medication to control them.

Everyone drives.

And finally, let me give you the answer you seek, “I believe your “seizures” will go away in a week.” There, happy?

i dont get why youre so reluctant to believe theyre seizures. they are exactly as all the medical sites say and the meds have been know to cause them.

but its not so hard just to answer a question now is it?

this very much sounds like a side effect from your meds. You should comsult a doctor over the Internet though at one of the many ask a doctor sites.
@shilolo: my wife (no country2) just happens to be apart ofthe board you are trying to be a smart ass about. Can you say open mouth insert foot?

Pfff maybe I am on the board of the APA for all you know Shi – are you? Big and Shi, your answers above are totally chiding and condescening for somebody who is clearly freaked out and in search of sound advice, not a parental tongue-click. If you were in their shoes, would you find your comments very helpful? Hardly. Get over yourselves and have some compassion.

and also to shilolo i was aiming the judgmental comment more at big so idk why you got all defensive… unless you have some guilt or somthing???

When did I ever mention a board? What are you talking about? It sounds like the kid is in college so why not go to the student health center at least? I’m sorry if I was mean but if he or she is having seizures, they need to seek medical attention end of story.

Ok, you guys are right. “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

And, is the APA the American Psychological Association? Not to be confused with ABPN, the American Society of Psychiatry and Neurology?

Oh so you are, then Shi? I guess I stand corrected. PM your license #.

This question is like someone saying “I’ve been having chest pain for days, and now I can’t breath. When will this go away?” Please… Is the likeliest explanation a drug reaction. Yes. Are there more dangerous explanations. Yes. Sometimes, two events coincide, making one event appear to be caused by the other, when in fact they are not interrelated. That is what a doctor is trained to decipher.

Sure, I’ll happily give you my medical license number over the net. Would love to. Want my DEA number too?

Shi from your earlier posts I gather you’ve been in the medical trenches, which I have indisputable respect for, but if you were an actual board-certified neurologist I think you would have touted that long ago. My point was simple: fluther is for advice, not condensation.

I don’t tout anything. No point. But, if you must know, I am board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.

I also did not condescend. Seriously. Go back and look at my first and second posts. For all we know, night’s mystery medication was an antidepressant, which she took on her own volition which then led to seizures? Then, nighttripper provides more vague, hard-to-interpret information about the so-called “seizures” and then proceeded to insist that he/she knows they are seizures from web research. That is why I said “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” No one should diagnose and treat him/herself, even doctors (usually the worst at self-diagnosis). It is not possible, or safe, to give someone clearcut medical advice about truly serious medical issues over the internet. My agitation arises from the fact that if you (and others) provide reassurance alone, and nighttripper “waits” it out, that something bad could happen. I find that nonchalance to be unfair to nighttripper.

google/search for free clinics in the area. Yes, you can find transportation. Take the bus! I this gets worse call an ambulance. Seriously, I’m no doctor. I’m not boardfuckingtrained but from what I’ve read (and just common sense) seizures are serious and can lead to other serious conditions. Please, get the help you need. Good luck- and by the way.. Very interesting answers. Loved how judochop had his wifes back over the Internet! HAHA.. So funny. Oh, and shi- I really enjoy you’re answers, I’ve read a lot of them and glad you’re here on fluther.

@shilolo; I personally am grateful for your expertise and your clarity. I don’t understand the attacks on you here..please don’t leave. You are not the smartass here, IMO.

Nighttripper; whatever your living conditions are, you can dial 911 and have them send an ambulance. Hospital ERs have to treat everyone…insured or not. You mentioned friends. Perhaps their parents can help you? What about your family?

If you are serious about this question, act now. If you are pulling our leg or wasting our time, you are getting free and expert medical advice to no avail.

@Nighttripper; I see from your profile that you list your areas of expertise as “drugs and satanism,” FWTW.

@Gail and Haight. Thanks for the support. This thread all happened late last night (on the West Coast), so its hard to gauge exactly what the issues were. What got under my skin was the impetus of some members to “reassure” without knowing exactly what was going on. I mean, the logic of “waiting for X time to pass with new ‘seizures’” eludes me. You don’t need a medical degree to know that idea flunks the proverbial “smell test”, i.e. it just doesn’t smell right. I also have another useful medical test that this situation fails, which I like to call the “grandmother test” (but it could be wife, sister, husband, etc.). Basically, the test goes like this: Ask yourself, would you be OK with the plan if the “patient” were your grandmother (sister, wife, husband, etc.)? If my wife had new seizures, we would be in the ER immediately!

And back to nighttripper, I understand full well the lack of insurance. I really do. I have worked at two county hospitals here, San Francisco General Hospital and San Mateo County Hospital. The problem you face is one I have encountered too many times to count. People wait and wait, and finally when things become so unbearable, they finally come in with their medical issue. Often, this means that their pneumonia, heart attack, skin infection, diabetes, etc. has gotten so bad that they really put their life at risk. My point is that the longer you wait, the worse things could get. I’m not saying they will, and perhaps your “seizures” will go away over time (which would be great), but if there is a more serious underlying issue, then you are putting yourself at greater risk by delaying medical attention.

And what about “it’s probably a horse, not a zebra”?

And don’t forget the useful medical indicator that I call the ‘cat test.” Altho naive and inexperienced, I got my cat-lodger to hospital twice and was right both times. Something was the matter. I would treat a human the same way.

There are no horses and zebras in this scenario since it is impossible to know what is going on precisely. If night is truly having seizures, that would qualify as a horse (seizures are common enough).
Sounds like you have a good sense for these things. Sometimes people just know something is wrong.

my town doesnt have buses just farms. and my mom is the one that led me to using the pills in the first place she refuses to get me help for my insomnia (because I’m staying up all night of purpose she says because everyone just loves to be completly exhausted all the time right that makes sense shes a fucking retard I get dizzy spells sometimes and she says its because i eat pop tarts wtf?) so i decided to self medicate. its pretty sad when im swiping pills from cvs just to function (and they do help amazing amounts as i said most of the seizures are at night and dont interfere with anything) but i cant live on 3 or less hours of sleep a night neither is a healthy option

oh and at gailcalled yeah i know a lot about drugs (doesnt mean im a drug addict i honestly hate to be altered like that its quite unpleasent) and yes im a satanist do you have a problem with that?

What is relevant here is that you need medical help; no matter how many farms (my community has lots of farms and no buses either but I could get someone to help me), you can get a friend or his parents to drive you. If you feel that you are being abused by your mother, call Social Services, 911, police, local minister or priest, someone at your school, or another family member and ask for immediate assistance. (If you are serious, there is help available).

I have no friends left theyve all abandoned me recently they hate my bf theyre so retarded as for family they all hate my mom so they never talk to this branch of the family. shes not abusive anymore just shes retarded like i said about the pop tarts. she cant help her mental capacity.

i was thinking ill just wait it out and like if i start having them in public im sure someone would say something. I have a year left until i can leave and get my own doctor and whatever idk i am a little worried if ill make it

Whether you want to admit it or not, if you are underage and the adult in your life is ignoring your medical complaints or not capable mentally of taking care of you, then you have every reason to call 911, social services (as gailcalled suggested) or child protective services. It is obvious tha t you are crying out for help and need it badly. Members of this board have taken their time and care to reach out to you when you asked for help and advice. There are some very wise people here that have told you that you need to take action before it is too late. You need the help of professional people who can deal with you face to face and help you work through it. Ignoring a problem this serious is no way to deal with it. The help IS out there, you have a telephone, don’t you? Use it. Your survival may depend on it.

but shes not like abusive and im sure if i said something to like a guidance counceler she would be all liike no i didnt know she wasnt sleeping ill take he right away and act all like she cares then i would just look like a liar

@Nighttripper. I’m sorry your life is so complicated at such a young age. However, I remain concerned that you have an underlying problem that is going untreated. Your “seizures” began around the time you started taking the sleep medicine, correct? What we haven’t addressed yet is the insomnia, which drove you to take the meds in the first place. There are many potential causes of insomnia, but one you probably aren’t aware of is seizure activity itself. If you are indeed having seizures, they can disrupt your sleep to the point that you have insomnia. Then, you took the sleep medicines, which you now blame for the seizures.

Another possibility to explain everything is depression. You obviously have a difficult boyfriend/family situation, and perhaps you are depressed. Depression can cause insomnia, and depressed people can have events that they think resemble seizures, but are not. Other things include excessive caffeine intake (do you drink a lot of soda or coffee?) or other activating drugs (like amphetamines… recognize that I am not “accusing you”, just stating a known consequence of some drug use).

This is why I continue to recommend a true, thorough medical evaluation. I can only scratch the surface of your medical condition this way. There is really no way around it. I know you intend to “roll the dice” with this, and hope it goes away, but I cannot in good conscious concur with that plan.

Does your high school have a school nurse? Could you take your problem to him or her? He or she should maintain your confidentiality, and might be able to facilitate getting the help you need.

ive been diagnosed as depressed for some reason i dont really know why i’m perfectly happy i just hate my mom i mean when shes around yes i do get depressed but shoving pills down my throat (prozac) is not going to kill her so im not gonna get any happier you get what im saying? get rid of her and ill be fine but i dont want to take pills beccause i know antidepressants can make you dependant like once you take them like you need them to be happy after a while of taking them because they mess with your brain. its a situational depression not a brain chemistry thing so to change the situation would be a proper cure not change my brain chemistry

i dont believe i ever had seizures before apparently i slept normally as a baby but i cant remember the last time i fell asleep before 2 or 3 in the morning but once im asleep i dont wake up till i get myself up.

i figure once im 18 i can get a doctor to address the insomnia and then i wont need the pills anymore maybe idk

Well, you obviously have a complicated life. I wish you well. Good luck.

@night: you have gotten the best advise available. If you don’t care, why are you continuing to write (somewhat confused) responses. And no, I do not get what you are saying.

And you might want to check out how many people here (a random sampling) are on some kind of psychotropic drug.) I take a low dose of antidepressant (zoloft) and a low dose of amitriptyline to help with severe insomnia. I am neither in la la land nor have had a personality change.

I, too,wish you well. Best of luck.

edit: advice

i was saying i dont need the drugs i need my mom to not exist anymore. my anatomy teacher taught us all about antidepressants and how they change your brain. they make you have more happy hormones than normal which causes your brain to shut down some of the receptors for the hormones so that if you were to stop the drugs there would be less receptors to recieve the normal amount you have so it would be like having even less causing you to have a harder time getting happy without the flood that the drugs give you. so they permanently change your brain which i dont want because my brain is perfectly normal in that way im able to get happy normally just when this thing that makes me unhappy is around all the time obviously i am not going to be happy so get rid of the thing that makes me unhappy dont just shove pills down my throat thats not going to get rid of the thing that is making me unhappy

and only one person even made an attempt to actually answer my question and getting that out of them was like pulling teeth. everyone else just seems to be completly ignoring my question and giving me advice i cant follow.

sorry, but that made no sense and had several run on sentences….
nighttripper, what answer do you want?? you need help. I don’t know how you could’ve developed epilepsy (your question was “Could I have developed epilepsy) because I am no doctor, but like I said WHAT I DO KNOW is that you should seriously see a doctor!! You should see a doctor asap so you can know if you really have developed epilepsy. You have sleeping problems as well, and you need to see one for that too. If I could drive you to a hospital, I would. And you say you want to wait till you are 18 to see a Dr. How long will that be?

you’re just making it seem like its completely impossible to see a dr. We are answering your question: You will know if you’ve developed epilepsy by seeing one. Now I am repeating myself!!

i asked if its possible and how long it should be taking for the seizures to stop. the only answer i got was in another week from shilolo. everything else on this page doesnt have a lot to do with the answer i am seeking.

I’m asking on here because I can’t really ask a dotor my mom doesn’t like me to go to the doctor. I have no insurance of my own so if I did go i’m sure she would find out and be like wtf. it’ll be another year before im 18 i just turned 17 last week

@Nighttripper, Just to clarify, and not to be mean, but my response of one week was meant as sarcasm. I’m going to repeat myself for the last time. One, I have no idea if you have been having seizures and/or have epilepsy. Two, if you do, you need medical attention. Neither I, nor anyone else can tell you when they will stop. If you can’t go see the doctor, go to the school nurse or speak with your guidance counselor or principal and ask it to be confidential.

What more can I say? Here is a link from a medical website about epilepsy. I’ve taken the liberty of copying and pasting the possible causes of epilepsy and epilepsy like sydromes. Note under epilepsy how many of the items are life-threatening: meningitis, encephalitis, brain neoplasm (that means tumor), cerebrovascular disease (i.e. brain bleeding). Good luck with your self-diagnosis. I am no longer going to follow this topic. I’m tired of this.

Causes

* Epileptic seizure
o Prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal complications of pregnancy and delivery
o Febrile seizure: Distinguish a complex febrile seizure from a simple febrile seizure.
o Cerebrovascular disease such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, and venous thrombosis
o Head trauma: Head trauma is more significant when it occurs with loss of consciousness lasting longer than 30 minutes, posttraumatic amnesia lasting longer than 30 minutes, focal neurologic findings, or neuroimaging findings suggesting a structural brain injury.
o CNS infections such as meningitis or encephalitis
o Neurodegenerative diseases
o Autoimmune disease
o Brain neoplasm
o Genetic diseases
o Drug intoxication, drug withdrawal, or alcohol withdrawal
o Metabolic medical disorders such as uremia, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, and hypocalcemia

* Nonepileptic events
o Transient ischemic attack
o Migraine
o Sleep disorders
o Transient global amnesia
o Movement disorder
o Paroxysmal vertigo
o Convulsive syncope: Decreased cardiac output causes reduced cerebral perfusion with loss of consciousness and convulsive motor activity. In 1998, Scheepers et al found that cardiovascular disease was the most common diagnosis among patients whose conditions were initially misdiagnosed as epilepsy. Using a comprehensive battery of cardiovascular tests in a population of patients diagnosed with epilepsy, in 2000 Zaidi et al found alternative cardiovascular diagnoses in 41%.
o Psychiatric disorders such as conversion disorder (psychogenic seizures, pseudoepileptic seizures, pseudoseizures)
o Malingering

I’ve read that all before…

and I’m getting pretty tired of this as well i really wish someone was capable of just answering a question…

that someone capable of answering your question is a doctor- in person. Shi has given you the best info you can get.

People (strangers) have given you the best advice they can and are concerned and you just don’t appreciate that whatsoever.

Your mom can’t force you to not see a doctor. Waiting till your 18 is ridiculous because who knows what you could have, and couldve treated yourself earlier on.

she can’t force me not to see one but she can make my life suck more if I do. Besides I don’t even have a doctor to go to.

Ok.
1) An over the counter medicine could theoretically lead to “seizure activity.”
2) When you stop the medicine, the symptoms should go away quickly. Most OTC medicines have short half-lives, and therefore your symptoms should have gone away by now. Medication induced seizures DO NOT result in permanent epilepsy.
3) As far as seeking medical attention, let me ask you a few hypothetical questions. If you were pregnant, would you seek medical advice from Fluther, or a doctor? If you broke your leg, would you ask Fluther how to fix it, or go to a doctor? If you thought you had appendicitis, would you go to Fluther or a hospital? See where this is going now? IF IF IF you are having seizures, then you have a medical problem equally serious to all of the above that I listed. Get some help. Find a way. A nurse, counselor, free clinic, whatever. Just do it.

maybe I’m a bit warped, but i generally wait till I’m falling over in pain to go to a doctor. I wait till it interferes with my life and this isn’t really it’s just a bit annoying.

but thank you for the info the only thing I’m worried about though is if the seizures from the medication gave me brain damage then couldnt the seizures continue from the brain damage they gave me? I’m wondering if I’m slightly brain damaged

I suppose the question to ask yourself is: “Do you want to make it to 18 or not”. If you do, reread the entries above, plenty of advice has been given concerning how to go about getting medical treatment. I’m not saying what you might have is fatal, but it seems like you want to roll the dice and find out. If death doesn’t scare you, what about the alternatives that are a possibility from some of the listed possibilities, irreversible damage that will leave you with a bigger problem to live out your life with. Ideal medicine is preventative medicine.

Also, being afraid of a medication that may be needed because of an anatomy lesson from a teacher who was not trained thoroughly in pharmacology is not a rational reason. If I had followed your theory of waiting until I was falling over in pain before I gave birth to my son, neither of us would have survived and I would have missed out on the best years of my life and I hope many to come. So your theory doesn’t hold water. If your body tells you something is wrong, you need to act on it before it causes permanent damage that you have to live with the rest of your life. Fear won’t cure anything or solve any problems.

One of my best friends past away last month. At your age, she was one of the first kidney transplants in our state. She came back to school bloated, face with bumps all over, all reactions to the medications that saved her life. What I, and the rest of her classmates remember about her the most was not that, but her courage, acceptance she needed help and the constant smile on her face. We all thought she’d be dead by the time we all made it out of college. She was 55 when she died so she had that many more years for people to remember her smiles. Our lives wouldn’t have been the same without her. Point is, she didn’t wait until she was falling over in pain to see a doctor and she accepted their medications and their care. Do us all a favor and do the same.

I was just saying that about depression medication i’m not opposed to medication in general just depresssion medication because I dont need it and it would mess me up permanently and unnecessarily. I dont want to die but how do i know once its serious enough to need a doctor like the seizure things say that if you have a really long lasting one or a bunch in a row you should call a doctor otherwise dont bother and its not like im having them all in a row and theyre mostly small ones like the weird twitches in my face and zoning out

@Night. I am a doctor. Any new seizure activity in a young adult needs to be evaluated. Plain and simple. When you get to the point of having a bunch in a row, or something called status epilepticus (which is basically continuous seizure activity), you are then in bad shape and can die (or worse, which is to live but never wake up…).

What more do you want to hear? I know you are 17, and feel like “you know everything”, but you don’t. After graduating high school, I have been “in training” for almost 20 years. So, you can trust yourself, your anatomy instructor, or me.

k so if i did have to go how do i get my mom to let me? I can’t tell her about the sleeping pills and shes gonna say the same thing as when i was having dizzy spells and when i told her i couldnt sleep. she’ll say its growing pains, im delusional, and need to exercise more (because apparently the 2+ miles home i walk every day isnt exercise)

First of all, I’ve suggested this several times, but does your school have a nurse? Can’t you ask to see him or her during the school day? You could mention the twitching, the staring spells, and your concerns. That alone should trigger some action.

If that doesn’t work, you need to try and convince your mom that you are serious about having a real medical problem. I would leave out the sleeping pills for now though you should tell the doctor everything. You obviously have a rocky relationship with her, but it is something you will have to deal with. Don’t get into a fight about it. Say, “I am really worried about something that has been going on.” Then, give her the symptoms. If she is skeptical, say so up front. This always works. Something like, “I know you are skeptical, and think I’m delusional or crazy, but I am serious about this.” Then say, “I understand why you are skeptical. I would be too given some of the things that have happened in the past.” If you essentially put her words in your mouth, she CAN’T get mad. You can nip the argument in the bud right there. A perfect example of this is in the movie 8 Mile. Do you remember the movie? If you haven’t seen it, I’m going to spoil it for you. At the end of the movie, Eminem has his rap-off with his arch nemesis. Rapping first, he basically lists all of the digs that his opponent is going to say “I’m white trash, my buddy shot himself, you’re buddy slept with my girl, etc.” As a consequence, his opponent is speechless, and he wins the competition.

Bottom line, treat your mother with as much respect as you can muster. Use the tactics I suggested, and hope for the best. Worst case, go to the ER. They have to see you no matter what.