Traditional medicine

Epilepsy in children during sleep. What to do if you have an epileptic attack during sleep

There are many types of epilepsy, which differ in symptoms or causes. Some of them have nothing in common at first glance, but in fact they all fit into a certain category. This is a group of diseases in which attacks occur mainly in the evening and at night. What is nocturnal epilepsy in children and adults? What are the causes and treatment of the disease? What is the prognosis for the disease?

How are sleep and epilepsy related?

Epilepsy with nocturnal seizures is a type of epilepsy in which seizures occur during sleep, before going to bed, or upon awakening. According to statistics, about 30% of all epileptics suffer from seizures during sleep or before bedtime. Some of them also have daytime seizures, but most are susceptible only to nocturnal seizures.

Night attacks are often less intense than daytime ones. This is due to the fact that even in sleep our brain does not stop working, while the neurons around epileptic focus in a sleeping person they do not respond to surges in activity, which ultimately results in lower intensity.

This syndrome occurs predominantly in children 5-10 years of age and in adults up to 35 years of age.

How does a night attack occur?

Sleep time is divided into several stages, and at each of these stages, brain activity is different. Most often, nocturnal epileptic seizures occur in a mild phase: when falling asleep, upon waking up in the morning or at night.

Epilepsy attacks can be roughly divided into time periods:

early night attacks that occur an hour or two after falling asleep;
early morning seizures, which occur when waking up several hours earlier than usual;
simple morning cramps that occur two or three hours after waking up at your usual time;
cramps after lunchtime nap.

An epileptic attack during sleep usually begins with the patient waking up abruptly, feeling discomfort. Symptoms include shaking and chills, feeling nauseous or headache, for some, the muscles of the face and larynx cramp, which is why speech is impaired, and only quiet wheezing can be produced. Some patients suffer attacks in positions that are unusual for them, for example, standing on all fours. The seizure itself lasts from 10 seconds to several minutes. The long tone of all muscles is replaced by short and intense spasms. After an attack, many nocturnal epileptics remember their sensations. You can recognize a seizure in a dream by the remaining traces: stains from foam or saliva often remain, the patient’s bed is rumpled, and sometimes the consequences of involuntary urination are visible.

Some experience nocturnal paroxysms without convulsions. During an attack, the patient wakes up abruptly, the nervous system is excited, the person is seized with anxiety and fear, the pupils are dilated, the gaze is fixed on one point, while it seems glassy and foggy.

Symptoms of epilepsy can also manifest themselves in more than just uncontrollable seizures. Nocturnal attacks of epilepsy also include the phenomenon of sleepwalking. In this case, the patient moves in his sleep, not realizing what he is doing. People can move from room to room, sort through some things, and when they wake up, they cannot remember what they did. Sometimes sleepwalking in children is accompanied by nightmares and urination.

Many patients worry that attacks that occur exclusively during sleep can gradually turn into daytime attacks. But, as statistics show, the likelihood of this progress is very low.

What are the causes of nocturnal seizures?

The mechanism of occurrence of epileptic seizures during sleep has not been fully studied. The main cause of night attacks is sleep deprivation, that is, a sudden awakening, for example, from a sudden bell or loud noise. The intensity of seizures during sleep largely depends on the patient’s lifestyle. If a person often does not get enough sleep, his daily routine is not systematized, he often changes time zones, and may wake up several times a night, then the intensity of convulsions and attacks will increase. These factors also increase the frequency of attacks.

Causes of excitement nerve cells may also be hidden in alcohol, narcotic substances, mental and physical fatigue.

Treatment of seizures in sleep

Treatment epileptic seizures in a dream should begin with a thorough diagnosis. Nocturnal epilepsy attacks can be diagnosed using a sleep electroencephalogram or overnight video monitoring. During these procedures, the focus of the disease is identified, the area where excessive activity occurs during attacks. It is these data that make it possible to establish the type of epilepsy.

Timely contact with a specialist guarantees more effective and fast treatment. Epileptic seizures during sleep most often respond well to treatment, use anticonvulsants allows you to control seizures, gradually relieving the patient of them forever.

Treatment with medications begins with minimum doses. Many drugs cause daytime sleepiness. After quite a long course drug therapy Doctors examine the patient, studying concomitant symptoms and the frequency of attacks. If she hasn't gone down, healing effect is almost unnoticeable, then the dose of medication will be increased until the seizures begin to subside.

In some cases, treatment is accompanied by the use of other medications, such as antibiotics. This is possible if the cause of the underlying disease was inflammation or infection, trauma and tumors.

To get rid of seizures during sleep, you need to follow a daily routine. It is worth waking up and falling asleep at the same time, and trying to go to bed in a calm and relaxed state. The patient must ensure that nothing disturbs his sleep. You can leave your phone on silent and draw the curtains so that the morning sun doesn’t interrupt your sleep.

Epileptics should avoid drinking alcohol and limit the number of cigarettes. Treatment with antiepileptic drugs is a serious step, and toxins in the form of alcohol and nicotine can lead to serious side effects.

In order for epileptic seizures during sleep to pass without complications, loved ones of the epileptic should become familiar with the principles of first aid during a seizure.

Some people practice treatment for epilepsy folk remedies. The antiepileptic effect of herbs, decoctions, and tinctures is quite questionable, but they can be used as sedatives. You can drink a cup of mint or thyme tea in the evening to relax and relieve stress after a hard day.

Nocturnal epilepsy in children and adults is not a death sentence. Having noticed the first signs of epilepsy, consult a specialist; well-designed treatment guarantees a quick and noticeable rehabilitative effect.

Epilepsy is a brain pathology in which seizures recur periodically and begin suddenly. This condition negatively affects many important processes in the body and make the quality of life much worse, creating many problems for the patient. Every hundredth person on earth suffers from this disease, and it is one of the most common. Unpredictable attacks can strike a person at any time of the day or night.

Characteristic

Epilepsy attacks often occur at night. A seizure during sleep activates a group of neurons that are located in the focus of excitation, which provokes seizures. This condition occurs much more mildly during sleep than at other times of the day.

If epilepsy is in a generalized form, then convulsions occur at the moment of awakening and are characterized by trembling of some muscles. In some cases, facial muscles twitch, involuntary squinting of the eyes occurs, and limbs twitch. In general, it is difficult to describe attacks of nocturnal epilepsy, since everyone experiences them differently.

This syndrome very often worries people from 7 to 40 years old. There are cases when epilepsy goes away on its own during sleep. This may occur due to changes nervous system with age. The person gets older, the system improves, and the seizures go away.

If epilepsy attacks were noticed during sleep, then experts note that the focus is localized in frontal parts brain This pathology is called frontal lobe epilepsy.

Most often it has a hereditary basis and is initially noticed in adolescence. Such attacks can be very frequent and occur against a background of stress, nervous overstrain, experiences or consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Nocturnal epilepsy in children

Very often, nocturnal epilepsy in children occurs due to brain injury. Most often, this pathology develops after birth trauma, the appearance of an infection that affects the brain, head injuries. In some cases, this disease manifests itself as genetic. That is, a child inherits epilepsy from his parents or close relatives.

A child may experience nocturnal seizures and convulsions due to sleep disturbances, stress, or completely without visible reasons, as an age-related manifestation. Parents do not always immediately notice this pathology, since all signs of the disease appear at night, when everyone is sleeping. Therefore some children long time do not have supervision during attacks.

Forms of parasomnia attacks

Night attacks are divided into the following types:

Parasomnias. In this case, an involuntary shudder occurs lower limbs. Upon awakening, their temporary immobility is noticed.
Sleepwalking. This type of parasomnia occurs mainly in childhood and ends with growing up. In this case, the child suffers from nightmares and urinary incontinence. If sleepwalking does not go away with age, then a person in this state can cause bodily injury to himself and exhibit aggressive behavior while waking up. After a person wakes up, he does not remember what happened to him. The brain cannot control such a manifestation as urinary incontinence. When filling bladder automatically empties, but the child does not understand that he wants to go to the toilet and does not have time to wake up. This syndrome most often occurs in boys under 14 years of age.

Types of manifestation

Nocturnal epilepsy has the following forms:

Frontal.
Temporal.
Occipital.

But if we consider the disease in general, then this form of epilepsy is considered quite mild and has favorable prognosis and is easily treatable.

Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal epilepsy appears around the age of 7-12 years and is a manifestation of a gene defect. This pathology is characterized by frequent awakenings, dystonia, seizures. All this can happen several times a night.

Epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes is most common in children, most often manifesting between the ages of 5 and 12 years. In this case, problems with swallowing, convulsions, paresthesia, speech problems, increased salivation. The person is conscious at this time. This type of epilepsy is very often simply related to the age of the child. Symptoms appear in the first stage of sleep and before awakening. In most cases, the disease resolves on its own with adulthood.

Electrical sleep status epilepticus is an encephalopathy, which is also an age-related pathology. It manifests itself in delta sleep in the form of attacks. The disease manifests itself from 2 months to 12 years and can negatively affect the development of psychomotor skills.

The following also develops against the background of the disease:

aggressive behavior;
short-term muteness, talking, incoherent speech;
lag in development, mental retardation;
syndrome that develops from a lack attention;
strong excitation, nervousness.

Landau-Kleffner acquired aphasia syndrome. This type of nocturnal epilepsy occurs between the ages of 2 and 8 years. This pathology manifests itself in the non-REM sleep phase. The child wakes up for no reason during the attacks.

Idiopathic generalized epilepsy is noticed between the ages of 2 and 10 years. Basically, the disease is activated immediately after waking up. During an attack, the shoulders and arms twitch, and unconsciousness, sleep problems.

When do seizures most often occur?

Sleep has several stages. Most of the seizures occur at the moment of falling asleep, that is, in the light phase of sleep. Attacks also occur during awakenings in the middle of the night and in the morning.

Despite the fact that the pathology has not been fully studied, experts note that it is the brain and its activity that is directly related to seizures. There is an opinion that during sleep there is large number various changes and seizures occur in certain time sleep and wakefulness.

Cramps can become active at any time, but they were mainly noticed during the first and second stages of sleep. That is, most often seizures can appear:

In the 1st or 2nd hour after falling asleep.
If awakening happened 1-2 hours earlier than expected.
In the morning within 1.5 hours after the person wakes up.

Cramps may also occur after a nap.

Causes

Since epilepsy has not been fully studied by specialists, the exact cause of its origin is difficult to voice. But there are suggestions that can provoke pathology:

Hypoxia or oxygen starvation.
Ancestral injury.
Neoplasms in the area of the brain.
Inflammatory process in the brain area.
Pathological intrauterine development.
Infections.
Injury brain.

Patients with nocturnal epilepsy are advised to control their sleep time and not reduce it. Otherwise, it will provoke more frequent attacks. Such people are not recommended to work at night. Also, the causes of seizures include a very loud sound of an alarm clock and a change in time zones.

Symptoms

The main symptom of nocturnal epilepsy is seizures that occur only during sleep and awakening. Also, epilepsy during sleep can manifest itself as follows:

nausea and bouts of vomiting;
convulsions;
shiver;
conversations in a dream;
sleepwalking;
problems with sleep;
nightmares;
voltage all muscles;
involuntary urination;
frequent awakening, having no reason;
dysarthria.

In some cases, distortion of the face and eyes is noticed. The patient may involuntarily move in his sleep, get on all fours, and make other movements. The attacks do not take long and can last about 10 seconds.

How to stay safe

It has been established that wrong sleep, its limitation or deficiency can lead to consequences in the form of night attacks. Therefore, it is necessary to create all conditions for a patient with nocturnal epilepsy:

The best bed to choose low with a back trimmed with soft material. Two-tier and ra
Composite structures are not recommended.
It is not advisable to sleep on large and very soft pillows, which may cause suffocation.
It is best to place the bed away from different furniture, this will help prevent injury.
You can place it near your sleeping area mats or other protective structures, mats that will be relevant in case of a fall.
Lamps It is best to use wall lamps, and table lamps should be excluded.
Rough carpets It is best to remove it from the bed, otherwise rubbing against it may cause injuries to the skin.

By following safety rules, you can exclude unpleasant consequences seizures and convulsions.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is initially carried out by familiarizing yourself with the complaints and external examination of the patient. Also held instrumental diagnostics– electroencephalography.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the main methods that helps identify nocturnal epilepsy. This diagnostic method helps to detect high-amplitude peaks and waves that provoke convulsions and seizures.

Since the symptoms of the disease manifest themselves mainly at night, in addition to the daytime EEG diagnosis, a night EEG is also performed. They also suggest going through:

video monitoring;
teleencephalographic monitoring.

Also carry out differential diagnosis, which will help exclude other pathologies.

Therapy

Nocturnal epilepsy is one of the most simple forms The disease and treatment are not particularly complex. But if the patient does not want to take special medications prescribed by the doctor, then, most likely, attacks will begin to appear in daytime and the disease will develop into a more complex form.

Antiepileptic drugs are mainly prescribed, where the dosage is calculated for each patient individually, calculating the frequency of attacks and the duration of their duration.

During therapy, you must follow some rules:

If you experience drowsiness during the day after taking medications and insomnia at night, you should definitely contact doctor and tell him about it. Most likely, the drug will be changed to another
It is advisable to sleep go to bed at the same time and do not violate this schedule. The patient should get enough sleep to avoid daytime manifestations of the disease.
Prohibited to accept caffeine and sedative medications - this can negatively affect the entire treatment and interfere with positive results.

It is also worth taking care of safety rules.

Prevention

Prevention of nocturnal epilepsy is as follows:

Correct nutrition.
Active lifestyle.
Evocation alcohol.
Walks in the fresh air.
Exception stress, nervous overstrain, depression.
Refusal of night duty, 24/7 work.

And most importantly, we need to establish as much as possible night sleep and make sure that the person gets enough sleep. To do this, you can ventilate the room, choose the right bed sheets, mattress and pillow, do not wear uncomfortable night clothes, do not overeat before bed, drink a glass of warm milk.

Consequences and complications

If you start treating the disease in time and protect sleeping place, then complications and consequences can be avoided. But you should know that the disease is dangerous:

injuries;
chronic lack of sleep;
day lethargy and drowsiness;
attacks at other times of the day;
night nightmares;
oxygen fasting;
pain in muscles as a consequence of cramps;
bad well-being;
reduction immunity.

Despite the fact that the disease is no different high degree risk of development, it is not worth leaving it completely unattended. We must pass full diagnostics, improve your lifestyle and follow your doctor’s recommendations.

Epilepsy is a brain pathology in which seizures recur periodically and begin suddenly. This condition negatively affects many important processes in the body and makes the quality of life much worse, creating many problems for the patient. Every hundredth person on earth suffers from this disease, and it is one of the most common. Unpredictable attacks can strike a person at any time of the day or night.

Characteristic

This syndrome very often worries people from 7 to 40 years old. There are cases when epilepsy goes away on its own during sleep. This can occur due to changes in the nervous system with age. The person gets older, the system improves, and the seizures go away.

If epilepsy attacks were noticed during sleep, then experts note that the focus is localized in the frontal parts of the brain. This pathology is called frontal lobe epilepsy.

Most often it has a hereditary basis and is initially noticed in adolescence. Such attacks can be very frequent and appear against a background of stress, nervous tension, anxiety or drinking alcoholic beverages.

Nocturnal epilepsy in children

Very often, nocturnal epilepsy in children occurs due to brain injury. Most often, this pathology develops after a birth injury, the appearance of an infection that affects the brain, or a head injury. In some cases, this disease manifests itself as genetic. That is, a child inherits epilepsy from his parents or close relatives.

In a child, nocturnal seizures and convulsions can begin due to sleep disturbances, stress, or for no apparent reason at all, as an age-related manifestation. Parents do not always immediately notice this pathology, since all signs of the disease appear at night, when everyone is sleeping. Therefore, some children are unsupervised for a long time during attacks.

Forms of parasomnia attacks

Night attacks are divided into the following types:

Parasomnias. In this case, involuntary shuddering of the lower extremities occurs. Upon awakening, their temporary immobility is noticed.
Sleepwalking. This type of parasomnia occurs mainly in childhood and ends with adulthood. In this case, the child suffers from nightmares and urinary incontinence. If sleepwalking does not go away with age, then a person in this state may cause bodily harm to himself and exhibit aggressive behavior during awakening. After a person wakes up, he does not remember what happened to him. The brain cannot control such a manifestation as urinary incontinence. When full, the bladder empties automatically, but the child does not understand that he wants to go to the toilet and does not have time to wake up. This syndrome most often occurs in boys under 14 years of age.

Types of manifestation

Nocturnal epilepsy has the following forms:

Frontal.
Temporal.
Occipital.

But if we consider the disease in general, then this form of epilepsy is considered quite mild and has a favorable prognosis and is easily treatable.

Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal epilepsy appears around the age of 7-12 years and is a manifestation of a gene defect. This pathology is characterized by frequent awakenings, dystonia, and convulsions. All this can happen several times a night.

Epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes is most common in children, most often manifesting between the ages of 5 and 12 years. In this case, problems with swallowing, convulsions, paresthesia, speech problems, and increased salivation are noticed. The person is conscious at this time. This type of epilepsy is very often simply related to the age of the child. Symptoms appear in the first stage of sleep and before awakening. In most cases, the disease resolves on its own with adulthood.

The following also develops against the background of the disease:

aggressive behavior;
short-term muteness, talking, incoherent speech;
lag in development, mental retardation;
syndrome that develops from a lack attention;
strong excitation, nervousness.

Idiopathic generalized epilepsy is noticed between the ages of 2 and 10 years. Basically, the disease is activated immediately after waking up. During an attack, shoulders and arms twitch, unconsciousness and problems with sleep appear.

When do seizures most often occur?

Despite the fact that the pathology has not been fully studied, experts note that it is the brain and its activity that is directly related to seizures. It is believed that during sleep there are a large number of different changes and seizures occur at certain times of sleep and wakefulness.

Cramps can become active at any time, but they were mainly noticed during the first and second stages of sleep. That is, most often seizures can appear:

In the 1st or 2nd hour after falling asleep.
If awakening happened 1-2 hours earlier than expected.
In the morning within 1.5 hours after the person wakes up.

Cramps may also occur after a nap.

Causes

Since epilepsy has not been fully studied by specialists, the exact cause of its origin is difficult to voice. But there are suggestions that can provoke pathology:

Hypoxia or oxygen starvation.
Ancestral injury.
Neoplasms in the area of the brain.
Inflammatory process in the brain area.
Pathological intrauterine development.
Infections.
Injury brain.

Symptoms

The main symptom of nocturnal epilepsy is seizures that occur only during sleep and awakening. Also, epilepsy during sleep can manifest itself as follows:

nausea and bouts of vomiting;
convulsions;
shiver;
conversations in a dream;
sleepwalking;
problems with sleep;
nightmares;
voltage all muscles;
involuntary urination;
frequent awakening, having no reason;
dysarthria.

How to stay safe

It has been established that improper sleep, its restriction or lack of sleep can lead to consequences in the form of night attacks. Therefore, it is necessary to create all conditions for a patient with nocturnal epilepsy:

The best bed to choose low with a back trimmed with soft material. Two-tier and ra
Composite structures are not recommended.
It is not advisable to sleep on large and very soft pillows, which may cause suffocation.
It is best to place the bed away from different furniture, this will help prevent injury.
You can place it near your sleeping area mats or other protective structures, mats that will be relevant in case of a fall.
Lamps It is best to use wall lamps, and table lamps should be excluded.
Rough carpets It is best to remove it from the bed, otherwise rubbing against it may cause injuries to the skin.

By following safety rules, you can eliminate the unpleasant consequences of seizures and convulsions.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is initially carried out by familiarizing yourself with the complaints and external examination of the patient. Instrumental diagnostics are also performed - electroencephalography.

Since the symptoms of the disease manifest themselves mainly at night, in addition to the daytime EEG diagnosis, a night EEG is also performed. They also suggest going through:

video monitoring;
teleencephalographic monitoring.

Differential diagnostics are also carried out, which will help exclude other pathologies.

Therapy

Nocturnal epilepsy is one of the simplest forms of the disease and treatment is not particularly difficult. But if the patient does not want to take special medications prescribed by the doctor, then, most likely, attacks will begin to appear during the daytime and the disease will develop into a more complex form.

Antiepileptic drugs are mainly prescribed, where the dosage is calculated for each patient individually, calculating the frequency of attacks and the duration of their duration.

During therapy, you must follow some rules:

If you experience drowsiness during the day after taking medications and insomnia at night, you should definitely contact doctor and tell him about it. Most likely, the drug will be changed to another
It is advisable to sleep go to bed at the same time and do not violate this schedule. The patient should get enough sleep to avoid daytime manifestations of the disease.
Prohibited to accept caffeine and sedative medications - this can negatively affect the entire treatment and interfere with positive results.

It is also worth taking care of safety rules.

Prevention

Prevention of nocturnal epilepsy is as follows:

Correct nutrition.
Active lifestyle.
Evocation alcohol.
Walks in the fresh air.
Exception stress, nervous overstrain, depression.
Refusal of night duty, 24/7 work.

And most importantly, we need to improve night sleep as much as possible and make sure that the person gets enough sleep. To do this, you can ventilate the room, choose the right bedding, mattress and pillow, do not wear uncomfortable night clothes, do not overeat before bed, and drink a glass of warm milk.

Consequences and complications

If you start treating the disease in time and protect your sleeping area, complications and consequences can be avoided. But you should know that the disease is dangerous:

injuries;
chronic lack of sleep;
day lethargy and drowsiness;
attacks at other times of the day;
night nightmares;
oxygen fasting;
pain in muscles as a consequence of cramps;
bad well-being;
reduction immunity.

Despite the fact that the disease does not have a high risk of development, it should not be left completely unattended. You need to undergo a full diagnosis, adjust your lifestyle and follow the doctor’s recommendations.

2013-03-04 07:20:12

Evgeniy asks:

Good afternoon. I am 32 years old, two years ago I had an epileptic attack in my sleep with convulsions and occurred several times during the day, but without convulsions, falls, etc., just freezing for a few seconds. They diagnosed epilepsy and said that it was a result of birth or intrauterine trauma, although the birth, according to the parents, was without problems. The EEG and MRI were normal, and there were no head injuries. I take Finlepsin. Now sometimes, according to my wife, at night sometimes there are attacks with loss of consciousness but without convulsions, etc., just drooling and wheezing as if I’m not getting enough air, maybe 3 times a night. A day or two before the attack and usually when the weather or pressure changes, headache, arrhythmia, tachycardia (90-120 beats per minute), increased body temperature 37.3-37.5, bad dream, slight increase blood pressure. I asked the doctor to prescribe referrals for examination of blood vessels, blood and heart, as an option for what could cause attacks, but the neurologist says that the cause of the attacks cannot be due to problems of the heart or blood vessels, but tachycardia, etc., this is the opposite result after attacks . Please tell me, is it possible that the cause of my sudden onset seizures lies in some other disease and it is not epilepsy that needs to be treated, but something else? Thank you, best regards Evgeniy.

Answers:

Hello, Evgeniy. According to the above description, most likely epilepsy as independent disease and not as a symptom of another disease.

2014-09-03 10:33:09

Olga asks:

Hello. We don’t have epileptologists, even in the regional center, neurologists cannot answer. In order: I am 29 years old; at the age of 18, epileptic attacks began, preceded by an aura, loss of consciousness and convulsions. Occurs when overtired, lack of sleep at night or in the morning, happened 2 times in a row. Afterwards, sleep and (or) abstraction: I don’t remember I have to go to work, etc. The stronger the attack, the stronger the headache afterwards. MRI and EEG showed nothing except increased threshold convulsive activity. We began to look further for: grade 3 scoliosis, spondylolisthesis of the cervical vertebrae (consequence of an injury at the age of 11) and obstructed blood circulation in this area. All. There is no treatment, the recommendation is to turn your head less (that’s what they said in front of my mother, I’m not kidding). There is no frequency as such - it may not happen for several months, and then 2 days in a row. Using a trial method, I found out that to prevent it you need to drink Finlepsin 1/2-1 tablet or alcohol. I can’t constantly drink Finlepsin even at a dose of 1/2 tablet - the effectiveness of COCs decreases, and other methods do not suit me (I get pregnant with a spiral), but it is well tolerated and there are no attacks (at most I took it for 3 weeks). Go to large city on full examination and there is no such money for treatment. What do you recommend? I’m also planning a pregnancy - I’m thinking of taking Finlepsin retard 1/2 tablet at night and maybe supplement it with pantocalcin and glycine in 2-3 semesters?

Answers Maykova Tatyana Nikolaevna:

Olga, you don’t need an epileptologist, you need a normal neuropathologist. Alcohol brings an attack closer in 100% of cases. But you need to explain all this, so you need a normal doctor.

2013-10-10 21:21:27

Igor asks:

Hello. My wife and I have this problem. In 2009, my wife had a minor accident and suffered a minor accident. On January 2, 2012, she had an attack, accompanied by convulsions during sleep at night. They called an ambulance and said it looked like episyndrome, but we decided that it might be because of the champagne. Six months later, the attack repeated in a similar way in a dream. Then again in January 2013. The attacks did not last long. Afterwards, speech is difficult, a little lethargic and muscle pain (especially the neck). An MRI of the brain was taken. Conclusion: MRI signs of focal and diffuse changes no brain substance was identified. Removed EEG Conclusion: Moderately expressed diffuse changes bioelectrical activity brain. Epileptiform activity not identified. They immediately went to the doctor and said that he prescribed Depakine Chromo and Pantogam for epilepsy. They did not take such drugs. We began to treat ourselves with herbs, brew various mixtures and drink them, and found recipes. While we started drinking there were no attacks. Then the wife stopped and in July the attack began again. but the main complaints were about the neck. We decided that the problem was cervical spine spine. Because during an attack, the neck twitches and wheezes (as if there is not enough air). We underwent an MRI of the cervical spine. Conclusion: Initial MR signs of degenerative changes in segments C3-C6 (chondrosis). Small medial protrusions of the C3, C4, C4-C5 discs. They said everything seemed to be normal. In October I had another attack. The neck was squealing. Seizures only in a dream.... Is it epilepsy or maybe something in the cervical spine??? I don’t want to start taking these drugs. We thought maybe we should go to Professor Efimov (he describes this very moment so colorfully that I confuse epilepsy with problems with the spine), but it’s too much negative reviews, they say charlotan. I would like to hear the opinion of a specialist before starting medications.

2013-07-14 08:37:24

Vladislav asks:

Hello, my name is Vladislav, I’m 40 years old, I’ve had epilepsy since I was 3 years old, as I was told, because of scarlet fever, I’ve had it in different ways since childhood, recent years I take Depakine 300 mg, but I don’t take a more serious dose like 500, because... It affects me too aggressively (it just knocked me out on the street). Of course, I really want to be cured, now I have attacks at night during sleep about once a month, during the day the condition is more or less comfortable with 300 mg of depakine, even higher education I received it, but I still wonder if people like me still have it these days real options treatment? Thank you.
I saw “Alina” ask you (without personal information), so her problems coincide almost 100 percent with mine, although this is a purely individual matter.

Answers Maykova Tatyana Nikolaevna:

Vladislav, you are right, this is an individual matter, the genetic program can change, especially at a certain age. but you shouldn’t count on this, as long as depakine gives a normal effect, you just need to continue treatment.

2011-02-18 22:03:17

Lyudmila asks:

Good afternoon.
I really ask for your advice and consultation, because I am completely confused and don’t know what to do.
My father is 55 years old, two years ago he had his first epileptic attack after drinking a lot of alcohol. We went to the epilepsy center, the doctor assured us that dad should not drink at all and everything would be fine. But after half a year, nervous attacks began to occur (after a strong experience). Each time an ambulance, a hospital and discharge. But not a single doctor prescribed a clear treatment. In two years, we had three or four such cases. The attacks themselves are severe, with loss of consciousness, at night or in the morning, terrible convulsions, biting the tongue, holding your breath, then deep sleep. And constantly several attacks. IN last time The doctor from the neurological department prescribed carbamazepine. I didn’t have time to see the doctor, and my father didn’t clarify anything. And now I have absolutely no idea how long to take it. The prescription simply states three times a day.
I live separately from my father and now every day I’m all on edge, constant monitoring on the phone, eternal experiences. IN lately I just don't have the strength. And I don’t have time, since I’m taking care of my little son.
I kindly ask you to coordinate with me what to do, which specific doctor to contact and what our actions should be in order to correctly diagnose and prescribe treatment. And of course how and how much he should take the prescribed drug.
Thank you very much in advance for your attention. Lyudmila.

Answers Kachanova Victoria Gennadievna:

Hello, Lyudmila. You do not describe what examinations you took. This is very important. You should be observed by a neurologist. An examination is required. The prescription of the drug and the selection of the dose are made by the attending physician. It is also determined by the duration of use. If you are currently taking Carbamazepine, then continue to take it and at the same time find a doctor who will treat you. Unfortunately, I cannot do this in absentia.

2010-01-16 16:52:56

Alena asks:

Hello!
as a child, it often happened to me in the evening, i.e. before bedtime discomfort in the area of the heart (it feels like something is pressing on it... massaging it...) this continues to this day, only periodically. Cardiograms were usually good, the last ones were not so good. I didn’t go to the doctor specifically regarding the issue of the heart, only the nurse advised me to do an ultrasound of the heart (it seemed to say something about how it was beating faster than necessary, with the hint that the more often it beats, the faster it would exhaust itself)
once in my life I had an epileptic attack... and something else I’ve been noticing lately is that I feel like I’m a little short of air... I kind of want it more... but this is rare and not that important!
Should I worry and should I get an ultrasound? Thank you very much in advance!)

Answers Bugaev Mikhail Valentinovich:

Hello. Ultrasound and daily ECG monitoring It wouldn’t hurt to do a Holter test, but advice should be asked not from a nurse, but from a doctor, preferably a cardiologist. And about an epileptic attack, you also need to be examined.

2015-10-04 18:49:27

Angelina asks:

Good afternoon. Tell me what to do... I have no strength to watch the child suffer... My daughter was diagnosed with Rolandic epilepsy in early August. The EEG records the focus of epileptiform oscillations along the left central-temporal branches in the form of an acute-slow wave complex, followed by a slowdown in the rhythm to the theta and delta wave ranges. The first night attack was recorded in March 2015 during the flu (the child woke up at 4 in the morning, his nose was very stuffy, Nazivin was dropped, the daughter fell asleep, 15 minutes later we woke up from quiet sobs - the daughter was lying with her head thrown back and was suffocating, her face was very . pale, there was a gurgle in her throat, after the attack the daughter could not speak normally for about 1 minute) the pediatrician diagnosed this as laryngospasm, the second attack with the addition of vomiting happened at the beginning. August of this year - lasting about 5 minutes. We went to the doctor and did an EEG, which confirmed our fears. MRI is clear. Ospolot 150 therapy was prescribed for a weight of 22,500 kg. After a week of taking the drug, behavioral problems began to clearly appear: she does not particularly respond to commands, is very whiny, apathetic, and sometimes touchy for no reason. Appointed + Ignacia. At night, 10 twitches of the limbs began to be observed. And it started to worsen - nightly distortions of the mouth and tongue spasms appeared. During wakefulness, drowsiness and apathy. On September 18, there was an attack with multiple convulsions on the right side of the face, which began with twitching of the mouth, wings of the nose and spread to the eye. Specific wheezing and shortness of breath appeared. After this, the night twitches became more frequent up to 30-40 per night (mainly when falling asleep and before waking up in the morning). A few days later at 4 am it happened severe attack larynx, tongue and whole body with shortness of breath and loss of speech ability within 1-2 minutes. after an attack (duration 5 minutes). This is against the background of a sluggish current acute respiratory infection with nasal congestion and Nazivin drops. We contacted the doctor several times, she convinced me that this is possible with EC, but as far as I understand, such a course of the disease is not typical for classical EC. After overnight monitoring (“in a state of drowsiness, epipatterns sharply increase in frequency to the status course”), therapy with ospolot was determined to be ineffective and the drug Convulex Ratord was prescribed, 500 per night once a day. days. started 4 days ago smooth transition from one medicine to the second, but the frequency of night twitching increased greatly, frequent twitching of the eyelids appeared (20 minutes with a break of 15 minutes), chewing of the tongue, sharp turns in sleep of both the whole body and the head. Small twitches are characteristic of the period after falling asleep, and after 2 am, almost continuous convulsive manifestations begin. The child wakes up tired, sleepy all day, apathetic, does not want to communicate with children, reacts sharply to every irritant, with screams, sometimes begins to confuse letters in words without paying attention to it, grimaces, chews his lips (this is almost a year now, pulls earrings) . Everything is happening with a rapid increase... Today I called the doctor, the doctor said that I need to quickly switch to Convulex within 2 days. Please tell me if this is possible with RE, I have very serious doubts about this. Comment on the decision regarding rapid switching, drug, and dose. What other tests can be done for the cause of E and where (the doctor does not support me in this endeavor)... How effective is the ketone diet and what are its consequences for a child with an enlarged thyroid gland. glands, moderate heart failure, pancrenopathy... We so need hope...

Answers Starish Natalya Petrovna:

Switching to another drug in this case It makes sense to consider it as more effective in your case. I can’t write you a dose on the Internet - it would be wrong and unprofessional. The ketone diet is not entirely appropriate for your concomitant pathology; it is possible to use some of its elements under the supervision of doctors, but not on your own! In order to decide on further examination, answer my questions: How old is the child? How was the pregnancy, what was the birth like? Was there intrauterine umbilical cord entanglement?

2015-06-02 20:53:33

Irina asks:

Epilepsy since I was 20 years old, I had 6 attacks in a year, after that I went to the doctor, prescribed Lamotrin, now I’m 28 and on Lamotrin 100 mg I lived and was happy and didn’t even raise the problem of the disease, but this year the condition changed, at first it was like before bedtime I fell through, but I didn’t lose consciousness, and now it happens that even during the day I feel as if I’m about to lose consciousness, a big attack, but it’s as if I’m holding it back and then my pulse only increases, then my condition returns to normal. I have a question, what happened, why after 8 years normal life Changes came with lamotrine, I am very upset, I feel bad every day, although I increased the dose by 50 mg, I take 150 per day as prescribed by my epileptologist. I also have a problem, it’s been a year now low-grade fever, has not been studied. Maybe she influenced me, but for a year I felt fine with her. Maybe you can tell me something

Answers Starish Natalya Petrovna:

Do a control EEG, Doppler of the head and neck vessels, MRI of the brain. Regarding low-grade fever - general analysis blood and urine, blood for infections, hepatitis. Ultrasound of organs abdominal cavity. In any case, you need to do all this under the supervision of a doctor.

Epilepsy is called chronic disease brain, which is accompanied by periodically recurring attacks. It is impossible to predict their beginning. Seizures can strike a person at any time of the day. However, in some cases, the patient experiences an attack only during sleep. This pathology modern medicine called nocturnal epilepsy. At the same time, a person develops serious problems with sleep. You can cope with the disease if you promptly seek qualified medical help.

Symptoms of nocturnal epilepsy

Studies have shown that most seizures at night occur in people in the light phase of sleep. This means that the probability epileptic seizure is highest immediately after falling asleep and before waking up in the morning. Cramps can also begin while dozing, such as during the day. With epilepsy, the following symptoms occur during sleep:

Convulsive movements of the limbs;
Tension of all muscles of the body;
Spontaneous emptying of the bladder.

After the end of the seizure, the person may be in a state of mixed consciousness for some time, he also experiences weakness and headaches. Epilepsy attacks during sleep do not last long. Their duration can vary from 10 seconds to several minutes.