Diagnosed at 16 with epilepsy after a grand mal seizure. Controlled with Depakote until 5 years ago and changed to a safer anti seizure mediation and now take 50 mg of lamatrogine in the morning. Since i moved back to MI my sinuses hurt continuously and allergy type symptoms are constant. I feel like a seizure is going to occur at any time. I have been told numerous times they are not related in any way. I addressed this the last time I lived in MI in 2005. But is there anything I can do to reduce the risk? I have a constant fear of having a seizure.

I will be grateful for any insight, advice, or points of view. Thanks everyone.

shellbear31,

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Happy to see you have come to be with us. There are great number and caring fellow members here, you will see we are supportive and relaxing place. Just let us know if we can be of any help. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Taking vitamin B12 once a day helps reduces the chance of having one. Cut back on the carbs and starch foods because they turn into sugar which in turn can trigger seizures, cut back on caffeine, avoid bright light flashing towards you like in a theater (just cover your eyes as it happens.

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

Darlene

Hi shellbear31,

Darlene gave you some great advice vitamin B12 helps calm the
nerves which can trigger seizures for a person. Another thing you can do is cut back on the starch foods and carbs because they can trigger seizures for a person also stay away from anything with nutrasweet (aspartame) because this will cause more electrical activity in a persons brain and trigger seizures also.
If you are taking allergy meds check with your pharmacist because sometimes over the counter meds can interact with AED's (seizure meds) and trigger seizure. I've found taking Aleve for cold and sinus stops my seizures and helps me when I'm not feeling that great do to colds or flu.

I wish you the very best and welcome to the forum! May God Bless You!

Sue

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

If you seek medical attention for your sinus problems, be aware that fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause seizures in some people. So refuse them if offered. They also can cause nerve damage which is believed to be permanent at this time.
Use of steroids and or NSAIDs with them increase this risk.
So for a person who already is prone to seizures, this family of antibiotics may trigger further ones.

Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox are examples.

There is a book written by Stephen Fried called Bitter Pills which is about the author's experience with his wife who developed epilepsy from one dose of Floxin.
http://www.stephenfried.com/bitter-p...pillsbook.html

Carbs can also contribute to sinus problems. I had terrible sinus congestion from inflamed turbinates, resulting in repeated sinus infections, sleep apnea, and general misery. I had to cut the carbs due to diabetes and got relief in less than a week. I can breathe better, sleep better, think more clearly, allergy season is less awful...but the docs still think it's all unrelated.

There's a lot of evidence that blood sugar control will also help cut down on seizures (see, e.g., the ketogenic diet, modified atkins diet, and fasting), but that is, so far as I know, medically unproven.

My allergies & sinus problems got significantly worse in the early 90s when I moved to a new city & state to start my working life after college. At the time I thought it was just exposure to new allergens, but in retrospect it's clear that that was also the moment that I became much more sedentary (working a desk job) and all the other symptoms that cleared up when blood sugar was controlled, also worsened at the same time: anxiety, depression, moodiness, poor sleep, short-term memory problems...

No matter what the docs say, it's all interrelated, they just don't understand it yet.