seizures while sleeping

[tommo]

recently (last couple of months) I've been woken up by seizures (or at least my body is shaking violently). I am 23 and I only remember having one seizure before recently (when I was around 18), although I'm not sure I'd remember the ones that happen while I'm sleeping.

Does anybody have experience with this kind of thing? I hate seeing doctors. Is this something you absolutely must go see a doctor about?

[Parallax]

When the alternative is death, I would say it's a pretty [censored] good time to go see a doctor.

[Rootabager]

MY buddy was taken to the hospital when we thought he had a seizure while sleeping. He was having back spasms. hopefully it's that.

[Blarg]

Every seizure supposedly causes brain damage, or so I've read. You must see a doctor.

[growlers]

Almost all generalized seizures are followed by a postictal state where you are confused and amnestic of the event. If you are shaking "all over" I would guess 99.9% that the scenerio you are describing is not a seizure. The "all over" part is important because one can have a partial seizure and be awake and aware and remember it.
Are you waking up sweating and the sheets wet? If so you may be having nightweats with chills which would make a lot more sense. The causes of this are myriad.

You can PM me if you want to get further thoughts from me if you don't want to further bump the thread. I would need more details to help any further than the above.

(MD - and from your alma mater BTW assuming wustl means wash u)

[Quicksilvre]

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Every seizure supposedly causes brain damage, or so I've read.

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Holy crap, where'd you read that? I'm pretty damn sure that's not true; most of the men over 30 in my family would be senile otherwise.

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You must see a doctor.

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This, however, is correct.

[Blarg]

I dunno, but have read it more than once.

Btw deep sea diving supposedly does too. I think the thing is, perhaps like some seizure damage, it's not big. But supposedly it can add up, like with boxers. Burst capillaries from the diving, if I recall correctly.

[Quicksilvre]

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Death or permanent brain damage from seizures is rare, but can occur if the seizure is prolonged or 2 or more seizures occur close together (status epilepticus). Death or brain damage are most often caused by prolonged lack of breathing and resultant death of brain tissue from lack of oxygen. There are some cases of sudden, unexplained death in patients with epilepsy.

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Infrequent seizures may not severely restrict the person's lifestyle. Work, school, and recreation do not necessarily need to be restricted.

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Nat'l Insitute for Health

Forgive me for being sensitive on this subject, but almost all of the men on my father's side in his generation has epilepsy. They've had to deal with some crap from some people as a result.

I will concede that a major seizure can cause brain damage, but I suspect that most of the time, when brain damage and a seizure go together, the former caused the latter.

This is all moot in the OP's case anyway; it seems unlikely he suffered a seizure given the other responses.

[Blarg]

My sympathies. A good friend of mine has epilepsy, and it has rendered him almost unemployable at times. He dreads his first seizure on the job.

[starfish86]

hey i found this post because the same thing happened to me. i'm only 21. well, i didn't wake up but i happened to be sharing a room with some friends at the time, who saw me shaking all over while i was sleeping. they couldn't see me in the dark but could hear me moving my arms and legs really quickly against the bed, not just in shivvery movements. i slept soundly for the rest of the night and woke up in the morning cold and soaked in sweat. i'd been getting the night sweats for a few months though, and having bad nightmares because of something i went through in real life!

a couple of my friends reassured me that it probably wasn't a fit because they knew people with epilepsy and other conditions causing seizures, and they said that after a fit you feel very strange when you wake up the next day. just like growlers said. so i'm feeling alot more reassured now! it seems i was just having nightmares and chills.

i'd say you're probably just experiencing some kind of sleep disturbance. night terrors are a possibility if you're having nightmares or don't remember your dreams!