"Putting off" seizures?

[Literophile]

Is it possible? I know if I take a nap or counteract an aura (rubbing my left arm or holding a certain pressure point) I can divert one. Any other ways you've found effective?

Also, when I divert a seizure for a few days, I've found it makes it worse when it actually happens, and the auras are more intense. Does that happen to anyone else?

 

[epileric]

I've known of a few things that might help fight a seizure.

I know during a seizure I hyperventilate so I try to control my breath.

A friend of mine who was more familiar with Asian medicine told me that during a seizure your eyes automatically roll back in your head so look down.

A neurologist told me to try & count backwards by 2's starting at 99. I never get very far but it's the trying to focus that stops or lessens the seizure.

There's a point that medics use on your upper lip under your nose that is also an acupressure/acupuncture point that is supposed to help seizures.

Recently Nakamova posted an acupressure trick where the therapist crosses their arms & holds the clients right thumb with their left hand & the clients left thumb with their right hand.

Also recently someone (I can't remember who) posted where some people that might smell something during the aura smell something else with the opposite qualities.

That's a few but I"m sure if you search the site you can find much more.

 

[triller]

I stopped one in 2007. I was on a motorcycle road trip on the blue ridge parkway and had stopped to get coffee as I was going back to the bike I felt a seizure coming on. I told myself that this could not happen as I was 400 miles from home as I kept telling myself that it stopped.that is the only time this has happened

 

[Rach_nc1984]

I could no disagree MORE with the posts within this thread. If it were the case that you could do this, then nobody would take meds, they would just put it off until later when it was a "better time" I am speaking as a person the could have DIED 2 times due to having a seizure while driving. My neuro even told me that he had 2 patients that drowned during a seizure. If it were possible I would most definitly not had any car accidents in which I even flipped my car, and I would not have fallen down half a flight of concrete stairs and I would NOT have smashed my tooth so far in my mouth that I thought I lost half of it and then later on have to get a root canal. I am sorry to say, but I think it is so ridiculous that people can actually believe something like this....it really frustrates me when I hear something like this becasue it makes me think that I am being told "you can put it off" or "you can will yourself out of it..." like I am just not trying hard enough. THE ONLY "SEIZURE" THAT CAN POSSIBLY BE "PUT OFF" OR "WILLED OUT OF" ARE PURELY PSYCHOLOGICAL SEIZURES...I hope that I am not hurting anyones feelings here, but I have very strong feelings about this sort of topic due to personal experiences that I have had.

 

[epileric]

Sorry Rach_nc1984, I did not mean to imply that anyone can overcome their seizures just by willing them away. I've been told that & I know that's not true.

A neurologist of mine has told me though that with partial seizures (psychological or not) focusing on trying to process something mentally will lessen the misfiring of neuron(s) and I've found that these methods sometimes work for me & my seizures aren't psychological.

 

[triller]

to rach_nc1984,you have stated your case well.try and keep a open mind on this.not everyone is the same.what works for one will not for someone else.meds do not work the samefor everyonenor are triggers the same,so this might not work for you. I had that happen once and not again.if doctors could know how everyones mind worked we would not have epilepsy tumors,strokes, and so on.one day this might be.good luck and stay well

 

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Reports indicate that some people have learned to interrupt their seizure process by replacing the aura-induced perception with another. For example, if the aura is a smell or odor, these people can often interrupt the seizure by immediately smelling something else (in general, something with a better smell than the aura).

Some people are able to take this interruption technique a step further. By simply relying on mental imagery (like remembering a pleasant, positive smell), they can arrest a seizure.

Take an absence aura which causes a tingling sensation in your hand. By applying firm pressure and rubbing your hand, you can help ease this and sometimes prevent the absence seizure altogether.

Really the key is taking control of your fear…distracting yourself…or changing your emotional state.

Focus on a pleasant experience and transport your mind there. Although you may not prevent the seizure, it can be much easier to deal with just by easing the tension. Plus, you can possibly make your seizures shorter in duration and frequency.

Other than that, all you can do is experiment, because what works for one certainly doesn't work for all.

References:

http://www.epilepsy.com/pdfs/journal/EJIS-Issue1-6.pdf
http://www.lef.org/protocols/neurological/epilepsy_02.htm

 

[Bernard]

Please see:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/tags/neurobehavioral therapy.html

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/index.php?p=cognitive-behavioral