epilepsy

1. What exactly happens? Epilepsy to 25 years old women. After midnight I suddenly rise in the bed, scream, and then some force hits me back and convulsions start. Then I regain consciousness and deep sleep for three hours, sometimes all night.
2. Describe all sensations and pains. Sometimes I feel knife- like pain into my heart, it happens when I am at home with my family. The pain one time was so bad, that I almost lost consciousness. (Heart is healthy, hundred of medical tests were done). The pain is also very scary. I also used to have pain in my left ear for 4 years when epilepsy started. Doctors thought it might have been caused by epilepsy, because all the EEG activity was on the left side.
3. What causes the problem to get worse after it has started occurring? If I eat cheddar cheese, take cod liver oil or primrose oil capsules- it is 100% that I will have fit next night. Exhaustion too. Talking about sandwiches, when I was 10 years old and had loads of sandwiches I lost consciousness when my family was driving back home. Everyone thought I just choked and didn’t do any tests. Till 16 years old nothing similar happened.
4. What creates some relief for the problem? Interestingly enough I didnt have epilepsy fit for 4 months, when I had my first boyfriend (i was 22 years old). However, even though nothing bad happened between us, I did have one fit which led to status epilepticus and then coma of 24 hours. Afterwards I had to come back to family home, because he was too scared to live with me.
5. What triggers the problem into occuring? As I mentioned cheddar cheese (Pizza), cod liver oil and primrose capsules – these are hundred % triggers. I am trying to identify now other food, but it is very hard. I did loads of research and noticed that the main similarity between cheese, cod oil and primrose – is the amines tyramine, which has been noticed to increase EEG activity.
I have fits mainly during new moon. However, recently when my periods became out of balance (lost them for 3 months, then became normal and now is constantly bleeding), I have fit every week.
6. What time of the day or night does the problem occur? Night. After midnight, sometimes 1 a.m, sometimes 2 a.m. mainly new moon.
7. When did the problem start? What was happening in your life at that time? Did some specific event or treatment take place just before the problem started? It started when I was 16 years old. I attended best school in my country and was studying very hard. Used to wake at 5 o’clock, exercise for an hour and then go to school and be there from 8-4 o’clock, after coming back home, homework would take me 3-4 hours. My results were really good, because my memory was excellent. Had phobia on speaking in public, therefore, at school could not even read my homework without trembling. It was a huge stress. Did not have any friends or hobbies, just school and homework. I was planning to go study Physics to USA. However, after I started taking medicine for epilepsy I could not study- I took one year gap. 1 medicine caused me gain weight, while the other – for one year I could not eat anything, became anorexic. But doctors did not believe that I took medicine, because EEG became only worse, So I stopped taking them.(tried 5 different in 3 years) and felt much better. I still had 1 epilepsy fit, but I could finish school. Of course not with results I expected , because my memory has been affected, therefore had to study something I was not planning before.

8. As well as this, please describe any traumatic incidents that have taken place in your life. Discuss anything that has had a lasting impact on you mentally, emotionally or physically. The most traumatic event-has been my family and constant screaming between my father and mother. My father has always been dissatisfied with food and everything we used to do, He also has betrayed my mother with other women and it affected me a lot. Since my childhood I was very scared of boys and later of men. But anyway, even though I used to try to find boyfriend and talk to someone I liked-I ended up even more traumatic because guys would just laugh at me. Also the need to take gap year and bad memory affected by epilepsy has affected me a lot, because most of my friends have achieved a lot and I haven’t.
9. Discuss the way that you manage or deal with your problems, or any problems that occur in your life. I always fight till the end. I wanted to achieve career, therefore I applied for Masters degree and studied hard. I always try to find a way with my illness- I have read loads of books and new research on epilepsy. The way food affects it and etc.
10. Discuss any patterns you have noticed in your behavior especially concerning your disease. My behaviour has not changed, no one even believes when I say that I am epilepstic. I am shy, but at the same time I would stand for my position and am very hardworking as always.
11. Discuss any part of your life where you feel stuck or unable to change and grow, especially where this occurred around the beginning of your disease, or as the disease evolved. I feel stuck in finding my path. When I started suffering from epilepsy, I feel stuck in starting my own life. I am dependent on my family and it is killing me. I have Masters degree in Politics from London School of Economics (the LSE- top 4 universities in the world) and dream on getting a job in nongovernmental organizations, but I cannot get a job. I also suffer because I cannot find friends, as most people when hear that I have epilepsy stop talking to me. I crave for love too.
12. Describe your childhood and the kind of environment you grew up in, with reference to your relationships with your family, your school experiences, and any serious childhood diseases. I have one sister, who I have always protected and took care of. Relationships in the family were tense. I would always fight for my mother, when my father started shouting. When I was 14th, I spent all summer in bed because of stomach ulcer. I have changed 4 different schools because we moved to different parts of town.
13. The specific foods that you crave (not just like) or hate. I crave for pizzas, and potatoe chips, cheese (the one I mentioned that causes me fit), anything salty. I also love cookies and cakes, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peanuts butter, roasted meat, hummus. I hate oats and semolina (this was one of the main foods during my childhood). I always feel sick if I eat boiled egg, I only can eat fried eggs. I don’t like tomatoes, but like ketchup, don’t like grapes.
14. The specific drinks that you crave or hate. I love peppermint tea, red tea, coca-cola, kefir.I hate milk.
15. What your sleep is like. I do not suffer from insomnia, but I like to go to bed around midnight and sleep till 8. If i wake up before 7, I feel exhausted all the day.
16. How the weather and the temperature affects you. I cannot stand wet weather, because I feel joints’ pain. But at the same time it is really hard when the temperature is higher than 25 C degrees. I start sweating a lot and lose energy.
17. What kinds of things in the environment you are particularly sensitive to. I am sensitive to load music, it is hard to be in the club. But lights do not cause fit. I have spent most of my life indoors, therefore, now I feel strange outdoors. It takes several hours to become used to the open space. I am sensitive to new people, it’s hard to make contact.
18. What your general level of energy is like. I feel quite tired all the time, I „wake-up“ around 6pm and then have many ideas and can write a lot, speak, go to town. I have also always suffered from hypoglycemia. I have to eat every 3 hours, because otherwise colours do not look that bright and I do not have energy.
19. What your level of sexual energy or desire is like. Only till recently, I have always craved for sex and had healthy sexual desire. But at the same time sex is very sensitive issue and I feel constant phobia about it.
20. Describe your menstrual cycle. I used to have very heavy and very painful periods, which would last for one week from 14 years old. Only recently smth happened to my hormones and I lost period for 3 months, then it came back and now I am bleeding constantly not in a timely manner.

I tried cicuta virosa 30 but it caused electric like feeling and swollen hands. I ignored it and then after 7 days of taking it I had even 2 epilepsy fits during one night.

It happens during the sleep. People say that I suddenly rise, scream once, then fall on the back and convulsions start. I do not raise legs, its more convulsions which look like very strong all body tension, i still bite the tongue, if you touch me the body feels like a stone. It lasts around 2-3 min. Then I calm down, wake up, dont recognise anyone, go to sleep and in the morning feel really bad.
It never happens during menses.