Can autism cause epilepsy or epilepsy-like symptoms? Can autism cause seizures without having epilepsy?

This a snapshot of what I’m going through:

(Edit: I have diagnosed autism, ADHD, PTSD and asthma)

For the past few months, I have been visited by the ambulance several times. At first, they/we thought I was having a meltdown/panic attack, but that changed when one of the operators I spoke with investigated deeper, asking me many specific questions, and based on my answers became quite convinced that I was experiencing seizures of some kind. He implored me to get tested for epilepsy.

I got a referral to a neurologist and did an EEG a couple weeks ago (no results yet).

These episodes happen regularly and besides being agonizing they worry me because I don’t know if they are harmless or dangerous like causing brain damage.

I got one of these attacks exactly two weeks ago and the day before yesterday (Thursday). On Thursday, I had a huge meltdown the moment after coming home from my day program, collapsed, took a bath, collapsed again, and woke up to on the floor to my neighbors and ambulance breaking in to help me.

That was somewhat traumatic in and of itself. I am very distressed by the ambulance coming — strangers interrogating me and flashing lights in my face when I am already overbooked and vulnerable.

Hi, i've just took a deeper look for a german Epilepsy Group and could not find one. Am i blind or am I right?

Anyway, I am about to create a german community atm in order to share information and emotions.

@mod/ admin: Are llinks allowed?

Thanks in advance

Hi new hear to the community.

I don't want to share the details of my life experience but I was recently diagnosed with Occipital epilepsy (had it since childhood but was super shy)

I just need someone to talk to about this, someone who can really empathize cos they have been through it.

I've discovered recently that any type of body weight workout gives me seizures. If you've had similar experiences please share, if you have advice definitely share.

I'm just gonna continuously push through by doing body weight exercises and walking never working up a sweat but always a seizing.

"It's about the journey and not the destination"

GrandMal TCs Generalized Epilepsy on Levictatram and Zonisamide but seizures every 20 days unless I go for a walk then it's 20 mins after that.

Had seizures since 2016 no triggers or auras just blackout 🍻

Curious if this has happened to anyone else ?

Is it possible this could be medication or seizures? I

I've also been uncontrolled and drug-resistant.

40 years old and never had this even brought up before in my life.

Alright yall im at a wall with my medicine. Tl;dr. I’ve been living with this disorder for 20+ years. I’m now almost 31. I am sick and tired of taking pills every day I’m riddled with the side effects ON TOP OF BEING MENTALLY ILL too which is common amongst people with epilepsy. Depression and anxiety is higher. 🍃I am a consumer of 🍃 as well I just can’t afford to be a full time user. Basically I came here to complain into the void that is the Internet. I take 5+ medicines daily. Anyone feel annoyed daily because they take so much? Ugh.

Hi, I’m 17 and was diagnosed with focal epilepsy this past September at 16. I was put on oxcarbazepine and had multiple breakthrough seizures and dealt with unpleasant side effects of other medications with a relatively uncaring neurologist. I switched neurologists in March and am very pleased but that’s not the point. There is a history of epilepsy in the family and I’m relatively confident that I will outgrow the condition as all of them have. But I feel disappointed and discouraged this condition has affected school, friendships, home life, and disrupted life in general. I had a seizure at school and basically broadcasted the epilepsy to everyone it was even posted on my towns Facebook gossip page. Needless to say I’m discouraged I have been from the start and I just feel like there is no end. This is more of a mental health post than a serious one sorry for the long read.

My question is simple

I take Depakine(Valproate) and this is used for Bipolar Disorder as well,so how should I look at this,since I don't have Bipolar Disorder,is it controlling my mood too?Would I act differently without taking my meds(not planning to ofc).What do u guys think,really curious about how u guys see this.

In 2016, I (27F) got dizzy, threw up, and the light bugged my eyes so bad. I couldn’t stand up straight or anything. I got diagnosed with a 5mm white abnormality in the frontal lobe of my brain. It didn’t really mean much because it just was what it was. I took migraine medication and moved on. Ever since then my migraines occasionally get so bad that I have weird seizure like activity. I’ll wake up and half of my brain will feel like numb…. the same type of feeling you get when you lay on a limb too long and move…. Yeah that type of feeling…. It’ll go away and then 3 hours before my seizure like thing happens I get this massive migraine and aura which then spirals into my eye drooping on one side, unable to speak, nausea, and then eventually passing out. I rarely get these episodes. I had one after work a month ago and got my license suspended due to medical clearance being needed. Every neurologist I have been to tells me that they don’t know what it is, I don’t have epilepsy, etc. and have dropped me as a patient since they claim it’s just a migraine but now that I need that medical clearance to get back to work I’m not going to be cleared for a minimum of 6 months. I feel like I’m going crazy. I don’t know how to go about this….. obviously I can’t drive because that’s dangerous in itself but I don’t feel like even if I see a neurologist that anything will be done about it and I will be stuck fighting a losing battle. I need advice. How do I go about this? Does this sound like epilepsy? I’ve lost everything due to this and I just want to get my life back on track….

Sorry for it being so long. I have no one to talk to about this. I just am looking for answers….

I had a pretty rough t/c a few minutes after I clocked into work today and to be honest my brain still feels kinda foggy. I'm not really sure what happened or what brought it on. I took my meds this morning and I made sure to eat before I took them. I guess I'm just upset because I'm tired of missing work because my brain decided the best time to have a seizure is when I'm working.

Hey!!!! Before last year I was seizure free for around 8 years and my doctors thought i outgrew my epilepsy after puberty (i am 18 now). Last September however I had my first seizure in years and I just had another one yesterday. Obviously I don’t have it as difficult as most people with epilepsy however it is really disappointing after the neurologists told me I outgrew it just to go through all this again. I just need a little upliftment! Everyone on this thread is extremely strong and I am proud of all of you. Keep Fighting!

it’s a bad habit but sometimes i miss doses and i feel like i get really depressed the same day. like super depressed. i take it 2x/day 150mg. just wanted to see if anyone else gets this.

So my son has been having seizure like episodes enough that our local pediatric neurologist is concerned, they are starting him on Keppra until he can get in for an appointment. Since they are the only Pediatric Neurologist in town im being told they are booked out to DECEMBER. so it might be a while before he MIGHT be formally diagnosed with epilepsy. all that being said, should i get him a medical ID now or wait until we have an appointment to see if he is formally diagnosed?

I was talking to my neurologist this week, generally, about all the pre-surgical tests available and he said that there's also this option available to explore the brain and pinpoint the exact origin of the seizures. He didn't exactly say it but it seemed like he preferred this method over SEEG. However, it's clearly much more invasive than SEEG and I can't find a lot of info on the web or direct experiences from anyone.

The St. Louis Children's Hospital describes it this way:

The neurosurgeon will make a temporary window in the skull, expose the involved area of brain, and lay down specially-tailored electrodes directly on the brain surface, and in some cases, deep in to the brain tissue. The temporary bone window is replaced, and the incision is carefully closed. The electrode wires come out through the scalp, and the child is then monitored.

It's also an older technique. So, honestly, I don't know. It's so scary!

My medicine is taken at 7am and supposed to be taken at 7pm for my nightly dosage. While in the morning i am consistent taking them at 7, the time of my night dosage varies. I have what my family calls a “witching hour” where i begin to feel aura like and like I’ll have a seizure starting around 4:30 and sometimes as early as 3. All my seizures have occurred around that time. My doctor added an afternoon dosage but that hasn’t helped.

Does anyone else begin to feel aura symptoms before their dosage is meant to be taken by several hours?

I used to get dozens of myoclonic seizures a day before I was diagnosed and on medication. When I would sleep better I would get little to none but when I slept bad I would get dozens and even stronger ones. I remember I was walking on my university campus and suddenly fell to my knees because my legs stopped working. I then had a seizure in summer because I had only slept a few hours the night before. Thats when I was diagnosed and put on medication. The medication completely stopped all the myoclonic seizures but I have had 3 more seizures in the past 2 years since I have been on medication. All 3 of those occurred while or shortly after playing video games for a long period of time. 2 of those seizures were while I was playing Fortnite with a friend and I would play that game pretty competitively and drink caffeine but i got bored of the games newer content so I stopped playing and I was seizure free for over a year but recently had another seizure in beginning of march 2024 while playing Hell divers II. I have now limited the amount of time I play to 2 hours max and really only play 2-3x a week now and no longer drink energy drinks. I try to sleep better now too. I don’t know if my triggers are video games or playing video games while drinking energy drinks or just both those things and lack of sleep. What are your triggers? Does having a seizure while I am on medication mean my medication doesn’t work?

Oddly enough this has happened only when I have seizures when I'm alone. I'm pretty sure it's a made up memory. It involves the name of a nearby city where my dad works at, one or two of cousins freaking out, and my aunt saying everything will be okay and to not worry, being reassuring, etc. This scenario has never happened in my life and I'm not sure why it's always this exact thing. Also my cousins and aunt have never witnessed me have a seizure. So this is weird. It's just an audio hallucination while im still kind of blacked out and coming out of a seizure.

Hello Everyone, my husband had a seizure recently (not his first but the first that doesn't have a suspected cause. Long story, see below for background). And we are struggling with the decision on if we should sell our rural property and move back into the city. We live about 35 minutes out from our closest city and have no public transport. Currently I am driving him where he needs to go and it is working ok. In our province, he should be getting his license back after 6 months, but we still need to confirm. I am also pregnant with our first child and will be going on maternity leave 1.5 months after we think he will get his license back. So in the event that he has another seizure after i give birth, it will be very difficult to get him to work.

Our concern with selling is we love the place. It is amazing being out in the country and so calming. We have a big garden and fruit trees that we love spending time tending to in the summer. We have a back pasture that is on a hill an treed that we can hike through. We've dreamt about raising kids out here and what kind of life we can make for them. We've discussed getting some farm animal like chickens and goats but haven't done it yet. We've also only been at our place three years and it was up for sale for 5 years before we bought it. We've put a bunch of money into repairs and likely wouldn't be able to recoupe any of that. It also realistically could take awhile to sell so we may have to rent a place in the city while we try to sell. We have a dog which makes showing more difficult when you can't just run home over lunch to get the dog out of the house. The idea of trying to sell our home while off on maternity leave with a newborn also has me worried.

I'm looking for some outside perspective as we keep talking ourselves in circles. Realistically how long can people with epilepsy go without having seizures? Right now we are both very nervous about the idea of him driving alone or with kids when I'm not there. Does that fear go away?

I know we can make a happy life together wherever we are but we are really struggling with the idea of selling something we worked hard to get and love.

Background: husband had a seizure 3 years ago, hospital did a bunch of scans and found what they thought was a meningioma. Was put on anti-convulsants and waited for surgery. Had surgery just over a year later and doctors didn't find anything. Had another seizure a week after surgery that doctors thought was related to the surgery. Came off the medication a year later and was good for about 6 months and had another seizure. Back on the medication (been just over 3 months) and no seizures so far. Doctors haven't found anything like the first time and think it might just be epilepsy now. His first and most recent seizures were grand mals.

Started lamotrigine about 7 weeks ago and I feel nauseous. Anyone else have this side effect and for how long? I don’t really wanna eat or even drink water this week

When I started my low dose i was already really nauseated from being in severe pain from an injury(seizure related). I’m mostly healed from that but still feeling sick.

Thanks friends 🙏

I live in Germany and we're having a big festival right now. All my friends are there, not me. The party is all about alcohol. It's 4 days of drinking. I don't really feel like going.

What would you do?

So my mom has a history of seizures.

She had a heart valve replacement in 2015 that was successful. Unfortunately, while she was mending the nurse gave her too much cumadin and caused a stroke that now causes grand mal seizures.

Her seizures are fairly well managed by keppra, but the last time she had one it was from the stress of learning her sister was in the hospital dying.

Well, today I came home from an appointment and she was all childlike and upset.

She said that she just realized that I was moving and that she’d never see me again.

We’ve been talking about me moving for several weeks now, and have all the dates I’ll be gone on the calendar so this wasn’t new information.

She kept asking who else knew and why was she the last to know.

She seemed all dazed and confused and it struck me that this is how she acts when a seizure is coming on.

Me moving is going to be very stressful because it will be the first time she’s ever lived by herself ever.

I messaged her neurologist just now, made sure she had taken her dose of morning keppra and am staying close to her, but is there anything else I should be doing?

She’s sitting next to me resting now.

Is there anything besides keep a close eye on her that I should do?

Although my epilepsy isn't nearly as bad as other people's (Even my biggest seizures, I don't lose consciousness, only have issues controlling my muscles), today, I got one such seizure, and, though I took a mg of clonazepam, it took what felt like ages for the seizures to stop.

What are the odds of one time just... Not coming out of it? My brain just... Giving up on itself?

How do you people cope with the risks? Also, my neurologist never got one of these large seizures of mine on an eeg, "only" an aura...

I'm unable to hold a job but don't qualify for disability and hubby has been missing work due to me so we're a little behind. I'm hungry and we need stuff for the house desperately. What do yall do to bring in money?

So I was working out at the gym today and as I was doing my set, I feel like an aura is happening but when I stop working out and start breathing then everything went back to normal. It make me feel panic and unsafe :/ confusing whether I’m about to have a seizure or not.

I usually just use ketamine, but I really want to try 6apb. I had one convulsion 3 years ago and the doctors didn’t know if it was a seizure.. I got tested and there weren’t any abnormalities. I haven’t had anything like this since (except fainting because I had the flu and took a hot shower). I used to bingedrink every weekend and tried cocaine a few times without any problems. I’m I good?

Has anyone been able to find a safe or safe-ish way to ride as a passenger on a motorcycle and minimize the risk of falling off if you have a seizure? I’m particularly curious about Harley Davidson bikes. We have a Heritage Softail but I’m open to upgrading if I can find a safe set up. I miss the open air. I am not allowed to drive anything anymore but I would love to be a passenger princess. I am triggered by flashing lights and certain noises like squeaky brakes or sirens sometimes. I usually have some warning before.

Edit: typos

Hi there, happy to have found this thread. I am a 25 yr old F, diagnosed w/ epilepsy in 2021 at 22.

Majority of my seizures are temporal lobe focal aware and in the AM, but they can continue all day and if so, it can be ~10 episodes a day. I now have klonopin for a rescue medication which just makes me more tired and my day is stuck in bed.

After about 6 months of medication changes because my body had become accustomed to Keppra - I am now on Keppra 1500mg XR AM, trileptal 600MG AM, and trileptal 900MG PM (recent change as of 5/13 due to episodes continuing + my neuro wants to remove the Keppra)

The only known trigger is my menstrual cycle and all testing returns normal.

I AM FRUSTRATED THOUGH. My quality of life is declining and I am scared I am going to lose my job. I took short-term disability from February-March of this year. I don’t know what to do and I barely have the energy to make lifestyle changes at this time. Thankfully my family is local to help with meals and driving at this time. But of course my appetite also sucks!

I am looking for any tips or tricks, or anyone that has found something helpful during a similar time. Plus any resources on working with a chronic condition (I am trying to find a fully remote job rn, but I can barely even work with the fatigue currently).

Thanks all

I have to have a video EEG soon for further testing. I have had other ambulatory EEGs in the past, but this is the first one with video. Call me crazy.. but the thought of video kind of creeps me out! I of course like the idea of them being able to see if I have a seizure, but the thought of them watching me kiss my husband, pick my nose, listen to all of my conversations, etc. just freaks me out a bit lol. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this? or can you maybe help ease my anxious mind with good experiences? I’ll do it regardless of course because epilepsy sucks, but I hate dreading it for a week before. Thanks in advance guys!