Download the free seizure report

THE FREE SEIZURE REPORT
By: Dr. Clayton Sullwold
What Is A Seizure?
Seizures result from an abnormal electrical discharge in the brain. This abnormal "short circuit" can cause a
change in behavior without you being aware of what is happening. During a seizure you may fall down,
stare into space, make jerking movements, or have a funny feeling in your stomach. You cannot control
what's happening while you are having a seizure. Your only memory of a seizure may be waking up with
people asking questions such as "What is your name?" "Where are you?" and "What day is it?"
Some seizures have “triggers” such as flashing lights, lack of sleep, stress, medications, or low blood sugar.
A seizure is the outward sign of a malfunction in the electrical system in the brain. Seizures that occur more
than once, without a special cause, are called epilepsy (also called a seizure disorder). Seizures may be
convulsions, brief stares, muscle spasms, odd sensations, or episodes of automatic behavior and altered
consciousness.
What To Do During A Seizure?
Most of the time a seizure lasts less than 3 minutes, so by the time an emergency medication is ready to be
given, the seizure is over. The most important thing during a seizure is for you to stay calm and protect the
person having a seizure.
The following guidelines apply to tonic-clonic seizures (convulsions, grand mal) or complex partial
seizures:
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Cushion the head. Banging the head against a hard surface during a seizure may lead to head
trauma. Use any available soft object, and, if needed, use your foot.
Loosen tight neckwear to ease breathing.
Turn the person onto his/her side. This position helps the tongue fall to the side of the mouth,
leaving the airway clear for normal breathing.
Do not insert any object into the person's mouth. An object in the mouth will not prevent tongue
biting, nor will a person swallow his/her tongue, as some people think. In fact, if an object is
placed into the mouth, you may cause more harm by breaking teeth or losing the object in the
throat, causing choking.
Do not restrain a person during a seizure unless there is a danger. They may become aggressive
if you do so. Allow them to do what they want to do. Talk to them in a soft voice to reassure them.
Afterward, tell the person that he/she has had a seizure and make sure they’re breathing normally. Check
the person's awareness by asking a few questions, such as, "Where are you?" or "What is the day today?" If
a tonic-clonic seizure has occurred, inform the doctor.
What Causes Seizures?
Approximately 70% of seizures have unknown causes. One in ten people will have a seizure during their
lifetime. Known causes include:
Neurological
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Lack of oxygen to the brain
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Poisoning (lead, carbon monoxide)
Head and/or neck injury or trauma
Genetic defect in the brain
Brain tumor
Arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
Post operative side effect; following brain surgery
Infection (meningitis, encephalitis, abscess)
Pressure on the brainstem
Cardiovascular
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Stroke
Irregular blood pressure
Irregular heart beat (arrhythmia)
Other
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Kidney or liver failure
Metabolism disorders
Low blood sugar (diabetes), hypoglycemia
Pregnancy
Withdrawal from drugs or alcohol
High fever (febrile seizure) usually in children
Psychological (non-epileptic attack)
Hysteria or panic attacks
Hyperventilation
Mental illness
Often confused with seizures is a condition called syncope, which is a fainting spell caused by a lack of
blood flow to the brain. Syncope can be caused by cardiovascular disease.
Types Of Seizures:
The most common seizure types are classified as either partial or generalized. Partial seizures arise from
one part of the brain and include simple partial and complex partial seizures. Generalized seizures seem to
involve the entire brain and include generalized tonic-clonic, absence, myoclonic, as well as tonic and
atonic seizures.
Generalized Seizures
If you have this type of seizure, your whole brain is involved and you lose consciousness. The seizure may
then take one of the following five forms:
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In a generalized tonic-clonic convulsive seizure (previously called "grand mal" seizure),
you become rigid, and may fall if standing. Your muscles switch between periods of
spasm and relaxation with jerking motions. You may bite your tongue. Your breathing is
labored and you may urinate or defecate involuntarily.
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In a tonic seizure, your muscles generally stiffen without rhythmical jerking. This
stiffening or rigidity also involves the breathing muscles and you may cry out or moan.
In an atonic seizure (also known as a drop attack), your muscle control is suddenly lost,
causing you to fall if you are standing.
In a myoclonic seizure, your limbs jerk abruptly. These seizures often occur soon after
you wake up, either on their own or with other forms of a generalized seizure.
In an absence seizure, your consciousness is briefly interrupted, with no other signs,
except perhaps for a fluttering of your eyelids. These seizures happen most often in
children and are sometimes known as "petit mal" seizures.
Type Of Seizure
"Grand Mal" or Generalized TonicClonic
Absence
Myoclonic Sporadic
Clonic
Tonic
Atonic
Symptom
Unconsciousness, convulsions, muscle rigidity
Brief loss of consciousness
Isolated, jerking movements
Repetitive, jerking movements
Muscle stiffness, rigidity
Loss of muscle tone
There are six types of generalized seizures. The most common and dramatic, and therefore the most well
known, is the generalized convulsion, also called the grand-mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the patient
loses consciousness and usually collapses. The loss of consciousness is followed by generalized body
stiffening (called the "tonic" phase of the seizure) for 30 to 60 seconds, then by violent jerking (the "clonic"
phase) for 30 to 60 seconds, after which the patient goes into a deep sleep (the "postictal" or after-seizure
phase). During grand-mal seizures, injuries and accidents may occur, such as tongue biting and urinary
incontinence.
While many types of repetitive behavior may represent a neurological problem, a doctor needs to establish
whether or not they are seizures.
Generalized seizures are characterized by:
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All areas of the brain (the cortex) are involved in a generalized seizure. Sometimes these are
referred to as grand mal seizures. ◦
The person experiencing such a seizure may cry out or make some sound, stiffen for several
seconds to a minute and then have rhythmic movements of the arms and legs. Often the rhythmic
movements slow before stopping.
Eyes are generally open.
The person may appear to not be breathing and actually turn blue. This may be followed by a
period of deep, noisy breathes.
The return to consciousness is gradual and the person may be confused for quite some time—
minutes to hours.
Loss of urine is common.
The person will frequently be confused after a generalized seizure.
Partial Seizures
Partial seizures are divided into simple, complex and those that evolve into secondary generalized seizures.
The difference between simple and complex seizures is that during simple partial seizures, patients retain
awareness; during complex partial seizures, they lose awareness.
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Simple partial seizures are further subdivided into four categories according to the nature of their
symptoms: motor, sensory, autonomic or psychological.
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Motor symptoms include movements such as jerking and stiffening.
Sensory symptoms caused by seizures involve unusual sensations affecting any of the five senses
(vision, hearing, smell, taste, or touch). When simple partial seizures cause sensory symptoms
only (and not motor symptoms), they are called "auras."
Autonomic symptoms affect the autonomic nervous system, which is the group of nerves that
control the functions of our organs, like the heart, stomach, bladder, intestines. Therefore
autonomic symptoms are things like: racing heartbeat, stomach upset, diarrhea, and loss of bladder
control. The only common autonomic symptom is a peculiar sensation in the stomach that is
experienced by some patients with a type of epilepsy called temporal lobe epilepsy.
Simple partial seizures with psychological symptoms are characterized by various experiences
involving memory (the sensation of dejavu), emotions (such as fear or pleasure), or other complex
psychological phenomena.
Complex Partial Seizures
By definition, these include impairment of awareness. Patients seem to be "out of touch," "out of it," or
"staring into space" during these seizures. There may also be some "complex" symptoms called
automatisms. Automatisms consist of involuntary but coordinated movements that tend to be purposeless
and repetitive. Common automatisms include lip smacking, chewing, fidgeting, and walking.
The third kind of partial seizure is one that begins as a focal seizure and evolves into a generalized
convulsive ("grand-mal") seizure. Most patients with partial seizures have simple partial, complex partial,
and secondarily generalized seizures. In about two-thirds of patients with partial epilepsy, seizures can be
controlled with medications. Partial seizures that cannot be treated with drugs can often be treated
surgically.
If you are having a partial seizure, the disturbance in brain activity begins in or involves a distinct area of
your brain. The nature of these seizures is usually determined by the function of the part of your brain that
is involved. For example, if the motor cortex area of your brain is affected, then your arm or leg may jerk
uncontrollably. Partial seizures are sometimes known as "focal." There are basically three types of partial
seizure: simple partial, complex partial, and partial seizures that develop into secondarily generalized
seizures.
In a simple partial seizure, your consciousness is not impaired, but either one limb (or part of a limb) will
rhythmically twitch or you will experience unusual tastes or sensations, such as a feeling of "pins and
needles," in a distinct part of your body. If a simple partial seizure develops into another type of seizure, it
is often called a "warning" or "aura."
Complex partial seizures differ from partial seizures in that your consciousness is affected. This type of
seizure usually begins with a blank or empty stare, and your awareness changes, even though the seizure
does not involve convulsions. You may fiddle with clothes or nearby objects, wander around, and generally
be confused. This type of seizure usually lasts 2-4 minutes and involves the temporal lobes of the brain, but
may also affect the frontal and parietal lobes.
If either of these types of seizure spreads to involve the whole brain, your seizure is called a secondarily
generalized seizure.
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Most seizures last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and do not cause lasting harm. However, it is a medical
emergency if seizures last longer than 5 minutes or if a person has many seizures and does not wake up
between them. Seizures can have many causes, including medicines, high fevers, head injuries and certain
diseases.
Only part of the brain is involved, so only part of the body is affected. Depending on the part of the brain
having abnormal electrical activity, symptoms may vary. ◦If the part of the brain controlling movement of
the hand is involved, and then only the hand may show rhythmic or jerky movements.
If other areas of the brain are involved, symptoms might include strange sensations like a full feeling in the
stomach or small repetitive movements such as picking at one's clothes or smacking of the lips.
Sometimes the person with a partial seizure appears dazed or confused. This may represent a complex
partial seizure. Doctors use the term complex to describe a person who is between being fully alert and
unconscious.
Absence or Petit Mal Seizures
These are most common in childhood. ◦Impairment of consciousness is present with the person often
staring blankly. Repetitive blinking or other small movements may be present. Typically, these seizures are
brief, lasting only seconds. Some people may have many of these in a day.
Absence seizures cause a short loss of consciousness (just a few seconds) with few or no symptoms. The
patient, most often a child, typically interrupts an activity and stares blankly. These seizures begin and end
abruptly and may occur several times a day. Patients are usually not aware that they are having a seizure,
except that they may be aware of "losing time."
Myoclonic seizures consist of sporadic jerks, usually on both sides of the body. Patients sometimes
describe the jerks as brief electrical shocks. When violent, these seizures may result in dropping or
involuntarily throwing objects.
What Treatments Are Available?
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe a drug called an antiepileptic drug, or anticonvulsant, used to treat seizures.
These drugs are taken every day, sometimes several times a day, for as long as needed. The drugs help
control the seizures. There are over two-dozen medications for seizures. Common anticonvulsants include:
Dilantin (phenytoin), Tegretol (carbamazepine), Depakote (valproic acid), and phenobarbital. Several
recent medications, such as Lamictal (lamotrigine), Neurontin (gabapentin), Cerebyx (fosphenytoin),
Keppra (levetiracetam), and Felbatol (felbamate), have been approved since 1993 for seizure disorders.
These drugs may be used alone or in combination with each other.
Your doctor may prescribe anticonvulsants briefly after you have had brain surgery, head trauma, or a
cerebral hemorrhage. If you have no seizures, the dosage of the drug is usually tapered until it is stopped
within a short time. However, that time period may vary, based on your condition and specific problem. As
with all drugs there are side effects and drug interactions. Most common side effects include fatigue,
drowsiness, nausea, and blurred vision.
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Surgery
If medications do not control your seizures, then surgery in the portion of the brain responsible for your
seizures (e.g., brain resection, disconnection, or stimulation) may treat the condition. Surgery is the most
invasive form of treatment and hopefully you do not have to resort to such procedures.
Upper Cervical Care
A less invasive option, which is becoming more well known and utilized, is called Upper Cervical Care.
Upper Cervical Care is a non-invasive drugless approach to helping seizure patients. It is a specialization
within Chiropractic. The goal of Upper Cervical Care is to remove subluxation from the upper cervical
complex and thereby release any interference on the brainstem.
The upper cervical spine consists of the top two bones in the neck where the brainstem sits. The top bone
is named Atlas. As in Greek Mythology, Atlas holds up the world, (the brain and skull.) Axis is the second
bone in the neck and is called Axis because it is the bone in which Atlas rotates around. These two bones
allow for 90% of head rotation. Minor misalignments in these two bones can cause subluxation and impair
nerve communication.
More About Upper Cervical Care
What is Subluxation?
Subluxation is compression of the brainstem due to upper cervical misalignments and shut down
neurological function of the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord. For optimal health, the brain needs to freely
communicate with the entire body. When neurological firing is crippled and proper communication is lost
from the brain to the body serious health issues may result.
How Upper Cervical Care Relates to Epilepsy / Seizures
Upper Cervical Patients have access to the latest imaging and diagnostic tools available. Most doctors use
Digital Infrared Spinal Thermography as well as Digital Radiography, which pinpoint minor misalignments
in the upper cervical complex and cause subluxations.
Upper Cervical Doctors examine minute misalignments to the upper cervical spine where the brainstem sits
and then deliver a specific correction to the misalignment to remove subluxation and brainstem pressure.
While the exact cause of seizures is unknown, medical researchers have focused upon traumatic brain
injury (specifically mild concussive injury to the head, neck, or upper back) as a risk factor for seizure
onset. Following the injury, seizures can be triggered immediately or can take months or years to develop.
The purpose of upper cervical chiropractic care is to reverse the trauma-induced upper neck injury; thereby
reducing irritation to the nerves in the brain stem and spinal cord that can trigger neurological dysfunction.
While many seizure sufferers recall specific traumas such as head injuries, auto accidents or falls, some do
not. An evaluation is necessary in each individual's case to assess whether an upper cervical injury is
present and whether benefit from upper cervical care can be achieved.
Even mild seizures may require treatment, because they can be dangerous during activities such as driving
or swimming. Upper Cervical Care Doctors have experience with epilepsy to help eliminate or reduce the
frequency and intensity of seizures, from children to adults. Removal of subluxation is the primary focus of
Upper Cervical Care.
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It has been noted that most people with seizures also do have an upper cervical misalignment, which puts
pressure on the brainstem.
Be sure to look back over your past history as many times trauma to the upper cervical complex is a major
component of the onset of seizures. Many people with seizures have suffered from whiplash, fall, auto
accidents, sports injuries and other head trauma.
The atlas is the lightest bone in the spine and encompasses the brainstem where it exits the skull. It holds
on the head, which can weigh 10 to 12 pounds. It is easy to see how the forces directed upon the atlas can
predispose it to misalignments compared to the rest of the spine.
For more information about Upper
Cervical Care, visit
durangochiropractor.com
Or, send an email to
[email protected]!
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About The Author
Dr. Clayton Sullwold D.C. practices in Durango, Colorado. In addition to
completing his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, he completed his postdoctoral
certification in Upper Cervical Specific Care through the Knee Chest Society. Dr.
Clayton is interested in working with people who have tried everything to regain
balance and quality of life and have not had prior success. He has worked with
chronic and debilitating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, migraines,
dystonia, seizures, equilibrium issues and other neurological conditions. Dr.
Clayton is also a certified animal chiropractor through the International
Veterinary Chiropractic Association.
Sources and Links
www.durangochiropractor.com
www.efa.org
www.epilepsy.com
www.erinelster.com
www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/default.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/default.htm
www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/default.htm
www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/default.htm
www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Seizure.htm
www.erinelster.com
www.erinelster.com
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