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antemeridiem
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27 Apr 2009, 1:01 pm

Is it possible for a sensory overload to induce a seizure (in an aspie who has epilepsy). For example I find heavily patterned surfaces difficult due to sensory issues through aspergers. If I walk around on these surfaces I often have seizures. After many years I have found that certain things that bother me as an Aspie bring on seizures. However I'm not sure if its the stress of the stimulus or if my body responds to overloads by having a seizure. Anyone got any opinions on this.



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27 Apr 2009, 1:22 pm

antemeridiem wrote:
Is it possible for a sensory overload to induce a seizure (in an aspie who has epilepsy). For example I find heavily patterned surfaces difficult due to sensory issues through aspergers. If I walk around on these surfaces I often have seizures. After many years I have found that certain things that bother me as an Aspie bring on seizures. However I'm not sure if its the stress of the stimulus or if my body responds to overloads by having a seizure. Anyone got any opinions on this.

antemeridiem,
it is possible to go into a seizure from sensory overload-am also epileptic [TC] and have been under EEG whilst forced sensory overload was carried out.
then again,am think stress chemicals will probably be part of the trigger as well.

Am recommend having at least a day long EEG,whilst having forced sensory overload carried out,that isn't very hard to do though anyway being in a hospital.


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georgetheaspie
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27 Apr 2009, 3:04 pm

I suppose it is. :) Aren't seizures more common in aspies? I had my first fit in the Co Op supermarket a couple of months ago, but I'm sensitive to sound and it was fairly quiet.



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27 Apr 2009, 3:15 pm

I've gotten plenty of sensory overloads, but never a seizure. In fact, I once tried to artificially induce a seizure just for fun (to see what I might experience during a seizure), but it didn't work. You have to be epileptic in order to get a seizure, since it's only light-related. A sensory overload happens when there's too many types of sensory inputs acting all at once, which is different because it has to do with too many chemicals produced in your brain all at once and is quite different.



KingdomOfRats
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28 Apr 2009, 9:29 am

MathGirl wrote:
I've gotten plenty of sensory overloads, but never a seizure. In fact, I once tried to artificially induce a seizure just for fun (to see what I might experience during a seizure), but it didn't work. You have to be epileptic in order to get a seizure, since it's only light-related. A sensory overload happens when there's too many types of sensory inputs acting all at once, which is different because it has to do with too many chemicals produced in your brain all at once and is quite different.

light related seizures/photosensitive epilepsy is rare and only one type of epilepsy.

Seizures in an epileptic [especially an autie/aspie eppie] can be triggered by high level sensory overload, meltdowns and shutdowns,am tonic clonic epileptic,and had been deliberately S/Od under a EEG,which triggered TC seizures,both the overload and the seizures were recorded.

Some people have non epileptic seizures,and can have the same sort of triggers but do not get much help from AE meds.

Both Autistic shutdown and zoning out from S/O could also be mistaken as seizures.


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MathGirl
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28 Apr 2009, 3:26 pm

Then what's the real difference between a seizure and a sensory overload?
I always thought that a seizure is a very violent reaction, while a sensory overload just causes you to blank out.



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21 Nov 2011, 12:53 am

Please, please does anyone have more information here! We have done 3 eegs currently. She just had the 6 hour done and OF COURSE SHE DID NOT SHOW REFLEX EPILEPSY that would have been too easy! She is obviously having some that are seizure and some that are sensory overload! As parents we are going crazy! Most people think we are nuts! And, generally, they actually state that to our faces. We have been told that we are causing her to act like this. That she doesn't do this at school. I recently told two people that they are playing a game of cards and one day soon she is going to have a big one and go to ER and then she will suffer and they will see that I am not nuts!! !! !! Please, what does one see when they have this type of seizure and what happens. Her's are most definite and are due to sound issues and at times can be due to something she sees. Don't laugh but it seems to be due to a cow sound! The 6 hour eeg finally showed that her brain "knows how to have a seizure", and enough so that the doc says she thinks that "she is having two types of episodes" one that is behavior or sensory and one that is seizures (although she didn't give what type and she (I think) said she is not epileptic (could that be true?). We are so lost!

Thanks everyone.



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21 Nov 2011, 1:10 am

I fainted once during a meltdown. I always assumed it was some kinda seziure.


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LjosalfrBlot
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21 Nov 2011, 1:21 am

There was this one night where I had a couple partial seizures and it was probably the most "wrong" thing that's ever happened to me. :o I honestly feel awful for anyone who has epilepsy.



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21 Nov 2011, 2:06 am

I have partial epilepsy. I don't really know when I'm having a seizure, which if nice if one has to have epilepsy. The worst manifestation of my seizures is pretty severe migraine headaches. I usually loose a day. I'm forced to lie still in a dark place for soooo long, which is distressing in itself because I have things to do... I've tried all the anti-seizure meds but couldn't tolerate any. I'm left with yoga relaxation techniques and other alternative options that don't involve prescription drugs.

I haven't had a lot of migraines in recent years because I've learned it's better to stop and take a nap and loose a couple of hours than to loose a full day - plus my kids are all grown and successfully on their own (so far...) and I've greatly reduced the amount of sugar I ingest (it might help - can't hurt.) My stress levels have greatly reduced.

Lights are my worst enemy, behind that loud bass music or high pitched, screeching sounds. I'm not sure if this is Aspergian or Epileptic. I also have major trouble if I don't get enough sleep.



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21 Nov 2011, 2:14 am

I should add, if only because it's interesting, at least to me... that I've had three, 3-day EEG's. The first one showed a lot of seizures and the second one showed none. The third showed the same amount of seizures as the first one. The only difference was that I tried medical marijuana between the first and second EEG's on the advice of an old friend's son. When I told my neurologist, he told me to quit and ordered a third EEG 6 weeks later. Then he recommended I continue using the cannabis. He's going to do another EEG in a few weeks.



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21 Nov 2011, 7:13 am

AutismX2 wrote:
Please, please does anyone have more information here! We have done 3 eegs currently. She just had the 6 hour done and OF COURSE SHE DID NOT SHOW REFLEX EPILEPSY that would have been too easy! She is obviously having some that are seizure and some that are sensory overload! As parents we are going crazy! Most people think we are nuts! And, generally, they actually state that to our faces. We have been told that we are causing her to act like this. That she doesn't do this at school. I recently told two people that they are playing a game of cards and one day soon she is going to have a big one and go to ER and then she will suffer and they will see that I am not nuts!! !! !! Please, what does one see when they have this type of seizure and what happens. Her's are most definite and are due to sound issues and at times can be due to something she sees. Don't laugh but it seems to be due to a cow sound! The 6 hour eeg finally showed that her brain "knows how to have a seizure", and enough so that the doc says she thinks that "she is having two types of episodes" one that is behavior or sensory and one that is seizures (although she didn't give what type and she (I think) said she is not epileptic (could that be true?). We are so lost!

Thanks everyone.


How can a person know how to have a seizure? You can't consciously give yourself a seizure unless under extreme stress - and who would inflict that on themselves? The doctor's are just making excuses for their own incompetence.

I've had many different types of seizures. I've blacked out suddenly and woken up (atonic) from drinking a few glasses of red wine. That scared me enough to watch what I drink. I've had temporal lobe epilepsy (my most common/ mild form) which involves hallucinations and behavioural episodes and is very hard to pin point a trigger. I know I'm going to have a complex partial or tonic clonic when I start smelling things that aren't there or seeing flashes of light or just being really slow mentally and physically.

I guess you could say they are triggered by sensory overload. I have photosensitive epilepsy where any type of moving light or shadow could trigger a seizure. I've had them from video games (excitement mostly), strobe lights, flickering TV light on the wall, moving patterned surfaces, and background noises.
Sensory overload does make me feel like I've just had a seizure too. I'm mentally slow, forgetful, can't move my limbs as fluidly as usual, may lose speech. I even have regressive behaviour.
Oh yes, I have had simple partials seizures too called automatisms that looks just like autistic stimming but it's almost impossible to control.
I think epilepsy has some kind of connection to autism but then again I love finding patterns in things.

If anyone thinks they may have epilepsy I must warn you: do not smoke marijuana; it lowers the seizure threshold. I have had the worse kind of seizures from smoking weed. I can't have any coffee any more too. I should stay away from rich foods and alcohol too, but you know, I'm still young and it's hard to always avoid it.


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