my wife, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 7 years ago aged 57 recently had a seizure for the first time. Having never witnessed this before, it was terrifying. After a week in hospital I had been fearing a significant downturn in her illness. Strangely since coming home she is slightly more aware of things and even smiling a little. Has anyone come across this before.
Outcome of a seizure
- Thread starter rob Mac t
- Start date
Hello @rob Mac t
It is quite late so I doubt you`ll get many replies tonight. I hope you have `watched ` your Thread so you will have no problems finding it. Just click on the Watch Thread at the top of the page.
I have no personal experience but have heard of changes in demeanour following a seizure. Whether the change is temporary or permanent remains to be seen.
I do hope others with personal experiences will respond to you tomorrow.
It is quite late so I doubt you`ll get many replies tonight. I hope you have `watched ` your Thread so you will have no problems finding it. Just click on the Watch Thread at the top of the page.
I have no personal experience but have heard of changes in demeanour following a seizure. Whether the change is temporary or permanent remains to be seen.
I do hope others with personal experiences will respond to you tomorrow.
Hullo and welcome to TP, rob Mac t. I'm sorry your wife has had such a hard time, my partner had a seizure about 5 years and remember how scary it was. She has vascular dementia and it had a negative affect on her, so it's a relief your wife is no worse off for her seizure, and even smiling.
If you feel you need more support though as her illness progresses then https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you is worth a look. A carers assessment and a care needs assessment from your local social services are worth applying for if you have not done so already. Keep posting and you will find support here.
If you feel you need more support though as her illness progresses then https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you is worth a look. A carers assessment and a care needs assessment from your local social services are worth applying for if you have not done so already. Keep posting and you will find support here.
My husband has early onset dementia and last May he had a seizure in the middle of the night. I took him to the emergency department. They said seizures only occur about 5% of the time with Alzheimer's. They sent him back home later that day. Eleven days later her had another seizure. I talked to his PCP and he was started on Keppra, a seizure medication. Both seizures were what I would call Grand Mal, meaning whole body involvement.
I did notice that after each one, his level of dementia improved significantly ad lasted for a few weeks after. I don't have any rationale for it but it did happen. I think it may be a similar response people get from electro shock therapy for depression. The Neurologist didn't seem interested in it but ordered a PET scan anyway. That shows significant widespread disease. He hasn't had another seizure since. Hope this helps.
I did notice that after each one, his level of dementia improved significantly ad lasted for a few weeks after. I don't have any rationale for it but it did happen. I think it may be a similar response people get from electro shock therapy for depression. The Neurologist didn't seem interested in it but ordered a PET scan anyway. That shows significant widespread disease. He hasn't had another seizure since. Hope this helps.
My husband had seizures after having an operation. He would go pale and was ' out of it 'for about a minute or two. He was then violently sick and his bowels flooded open. At first this only happened when hoisted to a chair. He is now bedridden and it started to happen when sitting in bed. The GP started him on Levetiracetam gradually increasing the dose until they were controlled. He has only had one slight one in the past 6 months, they were previously happening 3 or 4 times a month. Following a seizure and cleaning him up he would sleep for 4 to 5 hours and never remembered having one.
A woman who attended my support group said her husband would have seizures and then be much improved for a week or two. This went on for a number of months. So it's not unheard of.
It's important for the cause of seizures to be properly investigated. My Mum had two episodes of unresponsiveness and on both occasions a heart problem was identified. However these episodes were subsequently deemed to be 'seizures' and she was 'diagnosed' with epilepsy (without a scan) and given anti-epileptics, apparently on the basis that "people with dementia can get epilepsy". The unresponsiveness and 'seizures' continued but have now stopped following treatment of the heart problem that had been identified more than 2 years previously......
I don't know if the fact that the 'seizures' were heart rather than brain related makes a difference but when she had the initial 'seizures' Mum had reasonably good cognition and no behaviour issues, and no improvements were apparent afterwards. The 'seizures' were quite rare, and when they happened later on that was during a time when Mum was being given various changes of medication so it was again difficult to judge as the medication seemed to be having an effect on her cognition. In addition, the heart problem she had can cause confusion/reduced cognition. It's been really difficult to 'baseline' Mum's cognition due to the various medication she has been on during the last 18 months. It would be interesting to see if her cognition has improved following the heart treatment but it's currently a work in progress!
My dad had a couple of seizures a few years ago and was worse for several days afterwards and then back to his usual self. He had another 3 weeks ago after being participularly bright since Christmas and much more alert and aware, but unfortunately he has not recovered so well this time, and is much more drowsy and leaning a lot, so much so the care home staff have found it safer to nurse him in bed. I’m hoping this is not the new normal.
When my husband had his first seizure his physical condition decreased significantly from the level he had been at, while his mental condition improved. After a couple of weeks, his mental condition went back to close to where he was prior but his physical condition remained much less than his previously level. It was the same with the second seizure. The same type of thing happened after I took him for a doctor appointment. We had to travel a distance and so the day was long and tiring and evidently the added stress on him triggered the same type of response. So, it seems every time he experiences a significant "stress" he loses ground. So I don't take him out to appointments any more. He's been pretty stable since we stopped pushing so hard, even for things like a shower which would tire him out tremendously.
