Hello
Thank you for reading this. My husband had a atonic/grand mal seizure yesterday, and had never had a seizure of this type before. He was standing in shallow water and started rocking back and forth violently, then fell in the water and started twitching/jerking rapidly. I got his face out of the water immediately, neighbors helped me get him out of the water and ambulance took us to the local hospital where all blood and ECG tests were normal. I've been up all night reading about epilepsy and am wondering if he may have been having absence seizures in the past - every once in a while, always after dinner, I would be talking to him and he would look like he was falling asleep - staring and eyes starting to roll back. This would last less than 3 seconds and if I said his name he would always snap out of it and say he was just tired. Am I reading into this too much or does this sound like absence seizures?Also, very occasionally one of his hands or feet will twitch when he is sleeping and he has intermittent issues with restless legs. I would appreciate any insight, it was terrifying and we have a 20 month old baby and 4 year old as well who saw the seizure, plus I am concerned he will not be able to do his job anymore that involves lots of travel and driving. Thank you so much.

Hi bhnlh,

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear that your husband may be having seizures. I've had absence (petit mal) seizures for over 30 yrs. and just as you mentioned I will stare like someone whose daydreaming, continue to talk and then I will be out of the seizure but I don't remember anything. I will be confused for a few seconds and feel a little tired so take note if your husband ask you simple questions like: "Where am I? " "What day is this?" or "what happened"? Also take note if your husband is wandering around the house is a daze if this is going on it could be a complex partial seizure which I also have.

A few yrs. ago I had a grand mal seizure and it was caused by the seizure med called "Neurontin" the drug messed me up terribly and made my seizures much worse but once I was off the drug the grand mal seizures stopped.

Your husband should see an Epileptologist (Dr. specializing in epilepsy) and have him go to an Epilpesy Center which are usually at University Hospitals or Big Hospitals. The Dr. should do a e.e.g. , CT scan, MRI and a possible video e.e.g. where your husband would be on camera around the clock while in the hospital and the Drs. can see if he's having any seizures.
My advice to you now is to get him on vitamin B12 or B complex vitamins once a day, stay away from aspartame (nutra sweet) and cell phones because these things can cause more electrical activity in the brain and trigger seizures. The vitamin B12 or B complex helps reduce the seizures because it calms the nerves.
Also get a calendar and write down anytime your husband has any type of seizure be sure to write down what time of day/night the seizure happens along with a discription of the seizure. Take note if there's a low pressure in the weather because sometimes a low pressure can trigger a seizure for some people. If you live in the U.S. you can call the Epilepsy Foundation of America at 1-800-332-1000 to get info. about epilepsy and Drs. in your area.
Here's a list of things that can cause epilepsy:
trauma, a bad blow to the head, a bad scare, family genes, drug & alcohol abuse, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, scar tissue on the brain, MS , cerebal palsy, and heart disorders or any kind.
To find the right AED (seizure med) for your husband ask the Dr. to do a DNA test on him by doing the test they will be able to find what AED works the best to control his possible seizures with the least side effects. I wish you and your husband only the best of luck and May God Bless You Both!

Sue

Thank you so much for the information. I think he's very scared about what the underlying cause of the grand mal might be - he's 38 and this is his first seizure (that we are certain of). He's worried the scans will find a brain tumour since we had a friend that died of one - are there any reassuring statistics about how often seizures aren't linked to fatal things like brain tumors or how many seizures are idiopathic that I can tell to him to reduce his stress level? Thank you so much for all your insight.

Hi bhnlh,

I will admit that tumors can trigger seizures for some people but the main things that will trigger seizures for a person is stress and lack of sleep along with hormonal changes. I have had friends and family that have had brain tumors and sometimes they have had seizures and there have been other times when they don't have a single seizure at all much of it depends on the area of the brain where the tumor is. If I may ask has your husband had bad headaches, felt tired much of the time or had a hard time staying focused on things? These are all signs of a brain tumor. If your husband has been having migraine headaches this can also lead to seizures for a person. I will be 49 next month and this is what triggered my seizures first I started having migraine headaches and they turned into absence seizures. Tell your husband to cut back on the caffeine, starch foods, and carbs this should help his seizures reduce. I'm on the ketogenic diet which is much like the atkins diet and it helps build ketones in a persons system and reduces the seizures. Go on line and check out www.neurologynow. this is a great website to learn about tumors and other neurology disorders. Here's wishing you and your husband the best of luck and May God Bless You Both!

Sue

I don't think my husband has had any headaches at all recently, or tiredness/difficulty concentrating. He hadn't eaten all day and was working outside in very hot weather, building some steps, just before he had the grand mal seizure. I read that up to 70% of seizures have no known cause and up to 3-4% of people have seizures in their life - do you think it would be misleading for me to say that the odds are that his seizure was a one-off and that we can hope that the neurology tests show no serious problem, but we will have to be cautious and make sure he has a good diet, no caffeine etc? God bless you for all the kind work you are doing.

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Happy to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help. Sue gave you some great instructions on preventing to use for epilepsy seizures. I am one of the lucky epileptic thank has gone a time to go with one. Back after I had one, I would usually lay down and take a nap. I will at the fact to keep away for bright flashing lights, like in theaters.

Just let us know if we can be of any help, again looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene

Thanks! He slept most of yesterday but ate well. He has extremely bad cramping in his lower digestive system/bowels today but I assume that his system is still adjusting after all the muscle seizing? Also he complains of a metallic taste in his mouth that he doesn't think is blood. Perhaps that's an after effect of the seizure or from the vomiting during the seizure? But otherwise he seems ok, just very frightened by the seizure since he was underwater for a few seconds before I got to him and pulled him out. Thank you again so very much.

Hi bhnlh,

You mentioned that your husband was working outside in warm weather when he had a seizure. I was in a medical study last yr. and they found that heat can trigger seizures for some people and this is what might have happened to your husband. Tell your husband to take his temperature 3 times a day and each time after he has a seizure and write all the info. down, then have him keep track of how many times he yawns each day and write down what time he yawns they have proven that yawning helps cool the brain down so the neurons in the brain won't fire up and trigger seizures. Another thing your husband should do is take a cold washcloth and put it on his face and the back of his neck at least 3 times a day this helps calm the neurons down also. If your husband has been sick this can trigger seizures also because the body chemistry is off. If your husbands stomach continues to both him tell him to see a gastro specialist. I had to see one a few yrs. ago when I had bad cramps in my lower stomach and I couldn't hold any food in my stomach. It was then that I found out I had gastrolinteritos (sp?) I had to go on a low fat diet, drink only tea, and ginger ale. In regards to caffeine your husband can have at least 3-4 cups of coffee or tea each day but nothing more than that because it may trigger seizures. Here's wishing you and your husband the best and May God Bless You!

Sue

Dear bhnlh,

I am so sorry about your husband. I know how upsetting that must have been for you and your children. My 14 year old son had a grand mal seizure for the first time 1 week ago. I really believe that his was due to a sensitivity to Red 40 dye. Although he has had Red 40 in the past, he drank 2-3 cups of "Blastin' Berry Cherry" koolaid (Red 40 is the 2nd ingredient) for lunch and had a seizure 30 minutes later.

I will pray for you and your husband as you seek answers.

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy,

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Happy to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help.

There are great number and caring fellow members here to assist you. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Darlene