Does anyone else have any experience with this? Since I started working out again my wife has wanted to do the same thing. She did an aerobic routine for about 20 minutes tonight & about 5 minutes later had a pretty bad seizure. Is there a way for her to exercise safely? I want her to be fit (so long as she has the desire) but for those who haven't had to deal with it, seeing your wife like that will tear you up.


As a side not, anyone else have a real problem with sickness/disease or anything else you can't "fix"? Give me something to move, someone to beat down, whatever. These things that you can't fix drive me nuts, I'd do anything in the world to fix this for her but I don't know what to do.

Damn sorry to hear that Sumo2000. No one that I know of has anything like that. Prayers outbound.

Has she been diagnosed with epilepsy previously or is this new?  I know alot of epileptics that are very normal with normal lives and is controlled quite well with medication.  

A seizure is scary to watch if you are not familiar with what to do.  

My brother is serious about his girlfriend and she has epilepsy.  She had a siezure on him one night and that's how he found out!  He took it hard too.  Basically, meds to control it.  If the meds she is on don't work, I think there are a couple you can try.  She'll have to work closely with her Doctor.  The best thing you can do is be educated on how to handle the seizures in case she has one, and just be there and be supportive for her.  JMHO.

She takes meds and they work well normally (she rarely has seizures, but if she does something to get her heart rate up that gets her in trouble. Thats really the problem, if she can't get her heartrate up then she isn't gonna stay very healthy. As it is, she can't drink or anything because of her meds but the way things are looking, she can't run, or so anything that takes endurance.

Thekill, tell your brother to hang in there. Yea, the seizures are scary (even worse, its terrible to see someone you love in that condition) but it can be dealt with, I consider myself blessed to have my wife, epilepsy or not.

Have you tried long walks. Maybe try to include a new hobby into it or something ( Photography, bird watching ect). Those 20 min. videos would reek havoc on MOST of us even with out a pre existing condition. You sound like a great husband. My advice, dont kick yourself for not being able to fix something you didnt cause. Just do all the little things that you can, which it sounds like you are doing.

I have a good friend, a brother in law, and several students with seizure disorder and epilepsy.  It is a kick in the pants, scary at times, but manageable.  But you know all that.  As far as the exercise, she will have to take it easy, but just follow the doctors advice.  That is who she could consult for exercise options.  If she can't do the aerobic thing, just go for long walks.  It is all she really needs to do to stay healthy.  Good luck and God bless.

Thanks to all of you guys for the concern, I'll try the walks & ask her doctor about it. Your right, those videos are pretty rough, maybe she should have just done a few minutes and worked up from there.

This is so frustrating, sometimes I wish I could take it away from her and have me be the one with epilepsy, at least that way I wouldn't have to see her go through that. You know what I mean? I'm her husband, I'm supposed to protect her, but I can't do anything about this one[:(]

One of the other salesmen with my companyhas epilepsy.  At a sales meeting last year, he had a seizure in the parking lot.  Several of us old guys held him as best we could as we lowered him to the ground.  We restrained him as gently as possible so he wouldn't hurt himself on the pavement.  Then the ambulance arrived and they took him to the hospital.  Later than evening, he was much better.

It isn't a big issue at all at our company.  He is a good productive worker.  We look out for him in case he forgets to take his medicine or gets too tired.

I've seen my sister drown to the point of being clinically dead twice.  Before she was diagnosed with epilepsy, she would go swimming, have a siezure and just go limp in the water.  Fortunately, she was given CPR both times and recovered fully.  

She has epilepsy and tends to have siezures *IF*
- she forgets to take her medicine AND
-she is under some sort of stress (physical or emotional).

Take her to a good neurologist!  My understanding is that with the proper medication, people with epilepsy can be siezure free for years at a time.  Most of the medicines are also covered by insurance and relatively free from side-effects.

Good luck.  My thoughts are with your wife.

There was a basketball player for the Philadelphia 76'ers who had epilepsy, so your wife should be able to exercise with the right meds.  God Bless her.

I have heard good success stories about companion/seizure-alert dogs.
These are dogs that can be trained to recognize a pre seizure state in their owners, sometimes giving enough warning to get some meds on board and prevent the seizure.
Might be of some help, perhaps worth looking into.
Please send our best to your wife.
Both of you, hang in there.

Sorry to hear about that Sumo2000, I cannot offer any advice on this issue, but I will offer help If I can give it to you.

My mother-in-law has seizures, but it's not exactly epilepsy. She has a birth defect in the artery in her skull that swells and puts pressure on her brain causing grand seizures. It's pretty scary, but she has been able to control the effects of the defect via epilepsy medication. Apparently corrective surgery is extremely risky and there is no margin for error.

Funny thing, on Sat. nite 5/25, my oldest son was sitting in front of our dining room table, and he passed out and fell over like the guy in Black Hawk Down who suffered a siezure. I called the paramedics ASAP and they came within 5 mins. He regained consciousness while in the paramedic/ambulance. The paramedics, a fire truck, a PD car, and a PD sargents patrol car(I guess the PD were having a slow night) showed up. We had so many emergency vehicles on my tiny little street that the nieghbors couldn't get their vehicles thru temporarily. My son was later released with no further problems. The emergency docs said that my son suffered a siezure. They gave him some meds, and a prescription to fill control any future siezures and instructions to contact his primary care physicain the following workday. It scarced the living daylights out of my wife.

I agree with Hannah.  I have heard many great things about dogs that can be trained to not only detect seizures, but can carry meds and instructions, can be trained to go for help, and to pull the epileptic to safety if they end up in a dangerous area.  From what I understand, German Shepherds are the best for this work.  Often times, little known government programs or private organizations like charities or churches will step in to help with most or all of the cost involved in retaining this type of dog.  

I would certainly look into government help in getting a specialty dog.  They can and have saved numberous lives, and will provide the epileptic with a better sense of independence, since they can go out on their own safe in the knowledge that if they have a seizure, they have someone who will watch over them, and the dogs cannot by LAW be excluded from anywhere.  You have a very special case where you DESERVE to have help in this regard if you need it, please don't let pride prevent you from seeking this route.  

Good luck to you.  I have a friend with epilepsy, and through the support of her husband, she has been able to pursue a normal life.  Along with a dog, she has a type of life alert device around her neck at all times, so if she feels herself going into a seizure, she can press the button and alert help.  You will get through this, and the fact that you are willing to ask for help shows just how strong a man you are.  When she seizes, don't freak out, it will only make her freak out.  Be calm, and let her know everything will be ok.  You are already on the right path.  Good luck and God Bless.

I'd help you if I could man, but I can't.
So I have nothing to say here.

My brother is epileptic.  How it affects your wife will depend on her individual case.  Some people have very minor cases where it can be pretty much brought under full control with proper medication.

My brother's case is more severe and the medication does offer some control but not fully.

Your neurologist should be able to give you much better feedback as to how well medication will work for your wife.  If her case is not as severe as some, I believe she shouldn't have any problems with normal excercise routines.

Good luck and God bless.

well, you got the shit end of the stick with me, my entire family are doctors except for my dad and i, we just sell propane

both my cousin and my aunt are neurologists however, if you need a referal to a neurologist in your area just let me know

p.s., not epilepsy, but my 14 month old son has heart problems so i think i can safely say i know much how it feels

my brother has had epilepsy since his teens, they think he got it from spinal menengitus. he had a portion of his brain removed a few years ago and it did not help one iota but his epilepsy seems to have eased with age and he has only mild seizures.

shes in our prayers

I am not trying to scare you but my mother had severe epilepsy.  It killed her one night while she slept.  She had the most severe form and suffered Grandmal type seizures.  So bad in fact she would sometimes suffer 3-4 in a row.  One night nobody was around to help her and she died.  Medication helped significantly but the seizures were so severe that she was slowly loosing her memory capacity.  She also suffered severe depression.  It is very scary stuff but controlable.  Maybe talk to a counselor to deal with any anxiety.  

Proper medication and close monitoring is PARAMOUNT.  The drugs used to control the seizures are dangerous and deadly if not monitored by a Dr closely.

My mother's epilepsy started a few months after she had my brother.  After he was born she had a tubiligation done and while they were tying her tubes her heart stopped for several minutes.  This was in 1979 and I guess technology was not what it is today.  Her OB/GYN told her that she was dead for approximatly 5 mins. and that the anestesiologist(sp?) had administered the wrong dosage.  Said he was confused because they used her pregnant weight as a guide when she was actually 12-14lbs lighter.  Anyway the hospital destroyed all records of the operation room foul up but her OB/GYN said he would testify on the cover up and against the guy administrering the anestesia.  He made a point to put this in her medical records.  My folks did nothing and never realized what it did to her until her nuerologist asked if there was any head trauma or similar since nobody in our family had a history of the disease.  She went to every major hospital in Philly.  Hanneman, Graduate, you name it she was there.  

Anyway I know what you are dealing with.  Get a good nuerologist and work closely with him.  I understand that there are now operations that can actually stop the seizures all toh=gether in some cases and that these new operations would have worked for my mom but she died 134 years ago, a millenia in medical technology.

Due to a head injury I suffer from siezures. They also are brought on by strenuous activity. Also when I move my head around alot.

That is why I have gone from 230 pounds to 295 pounds.

I am now on a diet and a low impact exercize of my own design and am down to 265 pounds.

A couple of points to think on:

Talk to her doctors about her meds. Tell them exactly what happens when she is on them. Make sure the doctors listen to what you and your wife say (I've had several that just sat there and nodded their heads to let you know they were barely awake).
If you think the doctor is a quack, then he/she probably is. Find someone else.

Don't make jokes about your wife's condition with her, unless she starts it. Even then keep the jokes short. After years of hearing them, their not funny.

I hope some of what I have said helps.

Your wife and you are in my prayers.

ED

unotunatelt i have not the medical knowledge with the issue at hand,,,,i wish you the best of luck and may all be forever in your hearts

My girlfriend also has epilepsy. In the almost 6 years that we've dated, shes had, I think,  3 seizures. I've never actually been present at the time. The closest I've come is one time I was going to meet her at her work for lunch. When I got there, I called her cell phone for like 20 minutes and she never answered. I was so pissed. Then I called her work number and asked for her, and they told me she had just had a seizure. I felt like such a jerk for getting mad. Luckily she works at the hospital (she's an RN) so she was 2 minutes from the emergency room. It was very odd being around after the seizure. She couldn't remember where she was or what town we lived in or just about anything.

As far as meds, she takes Tegratol, which pretty much keeps everything in check. But if she misses taking it a couple times in a row, she starts getting headaches and getting paranoid. Maybe a different kind of meds will let your wife be a little more active?

The main thing is to be prepared for when it happens. Have a plan of action ready to go. It could mean all the difference in the world. I wish you both all the best.

Jake