As the name suggests, they are seizures that happen during sleep, but this does not mean that they are limited to nighttime. They may also happen during a daytime nap [1]. Since nocturnal seizures mostly happen at night, they are less likely to be noticed, even by the person experiencing them [1]. Unfortunately, most cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy SUDEP occur after a seizure, and most deaths happen when people are in bed, supposedly sleeping [4].
However, if someone is there to provide first aid, keep the person on their side during a generalized seizure, or reposition them to keep their airway open , it may help limit SUDEP [5]. Another reason why nocturnal seizures may be dangerous is that people can get hurt: they may fall out of bed or have bruises when they wake up from injuries at the night. Since a lack of sleep can be a trigger for seizures in general, nocturnal seizures may also cause more daytime seizures [1]. However, there are some signs to help you understand whether you or someone you love has had one:.
It can be challenging to separate a nocturnal seizure from sleepwalking or night terrors. As with other types of epilepsy, having a good history of seizures or an eyewitness account is important for the diagnosis [1]. Your doctor may do an EEG electroencephalogram to see the electrical activity in the brain. If someone only has nighttime seizures, a sleep study may be done to rule out other sleeping issues, like sleep apnea [6].
The correct treatment can help someone lower or prevent seizures. A doctor will decide on treatment based on the seizure type, the cause, and individual patient characteristics. Some treatment options are anti-seizure medications, the ketogenic diet, avoiding known seizure triggers, a vagus nerve stimulator, surgery, amongst others [6].
However, those with nocturnal seizures can take some preventative measures to reduce injury:. It is important to recognize that there are no devices that have been proven to prevent SUDEP [7], but seizure alerting devices could help someone get seizure first aid more quickly [8]. If you are looking for a solution like this, Embrace2 may be able to help.
When it detects a possible tonic-clonic seizure, it sends a text message and makes a phone call to caregivers to alert them that you need help.
The text message also contains your GPS location, in case your caregiver has to find you or send your position to emergency services. In periods of rest, the false alarm rate FAR is low for both children and adults, 0. With a low FAR and high sensitivity, Embrace2 only calls for help when you need it. This way, you can sleep more soundly, knowing that your loved one will be alerted and can come to help you quickly.
This is perhaps a silly question, but how do you know if you are having nocturnal seizures if you live alone? I realize that if I wake up on the floor with a bloody nose it would be a good clue, but I have TLE with one grand mal 15 years ago. Sometimes I wake up feeling like I have been in the boxing ring for an hour, and once when I was waking up I felt really weird technical term and the right side of my body jerked downwards.
Not a silly Q at all, imo. I never did know that I was having complex partial seizures shortly after going to bed. My hub would have to tell me. He slept in a different room, or at a diff. Just last week on Sunday , I awoke with a bloody lip and dried froth around my mouth.
That was my clue. The sore on my lip fit one of my front teeth perfectly. I was tired Hub and I are now separated. There's no way I would know otherwise. That is definitely not a silly question. I never knew I was having seizures til I shared a room with my sister while staying the night at a relatives house. I ended up hitting her in the face and thats when my sister seen my eyes rolled in the back of my head and I wet the bed.
I was hospitalized and diagnosed with epilepsy. I just thought I was having problems waking up. I told my parents about it and they thought the same thing and said that I needed to go to bed earlier. I did not want to go to bed though because I would feel so bad the next day of my seizure and I was scared that I was going to have a seizure and I knew something was wrong.
Then I started having them more often and when waking up in the morning too because I was not sleeping. It is hard to know if you are having seizures in your sleep unless you are with someone. It's scary to think how long I was having seizures before I started medication and was diagnosed! I don't know if this helps but I have Right Temporal Lobe and the left side of my body jerks when I have a seizure.
I also have these jerks sometimes when I am trying to go to sleep. Hope I gave you some helpful info. You should probably talk to your doctor. I think it's a great question. My complex partial seizures are always nocturnal. I kept waking up, feeling like I was "jolting awake", many times during the night. It got so bad, I was only able to sleep for very short periods at a time, and I was exhausted all the time. My husband also reported symptoms to me, but I think that I would have sought medical care anyway, just from what I had noticed.
It would definitely be something to follow up on with your neurologist, I would think. Couldn't hurt. I knew I had nocturnal seizures due to the fact I would get up and somehow find my mother's room. She would wake up to my moaning. They can then work with you to develop a plan that helps you to sleep better without worrying that you might hurt yourself during the night. People with Epilepsy. Healthcare Professionals. About Epilepsy. Managing your condition. Epsy Community. May 18, Here is everything you need to know about seizures while sleeping.
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