Epilepsy, thyroid and adrenal

[Guest guest]

Ok Sheila, now the other Proud group co-owner is going to bombard you with questions!

Do you have hashimoto's? Have you been checked for other auto-immune diseases, such as lupus,sjogren's, MS, RA.... Behcets?The description of what happened in your childhood is ringing bells. Either in my research lately or what someone has posted,the episodes in childhood as you described are symptomatic of thyroid disease even in children.

The geographic tongue---do you have blisters there or elsewhere?

I will think of more questions.....

hugs

ThyroFeisty(Feisty)www.thyrophoenix.com

Re: Epilepsy, thyroid and adrenal

Hi Sheila,

Please don't attack me.. I'm offering this as a topic for us all to discuss... I'm not real familiar with Epilepsy, so if my thinking is off please tell me, okay?

We know that thyroid balance being off affects all aspects of the glandular activity of the body. It can really mess stuff up and it doesn't seem to affect everyone in the same way.

Can you give us a Epilepsy for Dummies explanation of it and let us relate it to what we all know of the effects of thyroid imbalance?

I'm not saying that it is related. But it's new for us to have someone here with that condition in the mix so it might be better if we could get a basic understanding.

Sleep patterns... Again, with the Epilepsy in the mix this may not apply, but the symptoms that you have listed sound very much like adrenal fatigue...

I'm gonna be shooting a bunch of questions.. if I'm crossing the line, tell me to shush!

Do you have the same 'go to bed' and 'get up' times everyday? When you lay down to sleep, do you feel tire with a racing brain? Is your body tired but restless? Do you feel too 'wired' to relax?

Do you toss and turn when you sleep?

One of the things that are affected by adrenal fatigue is the inability to get into level four sleep. The deep restorative sleep that we all need to heal and grow. Yep adults grow too, you grow bone, cartilage, skin.. everything that is damaged or worn during our waking hours is repaired when we go into a normal deep, natural sleep.

Some of this will be affected by your sleep med.. but, do you dream or have nightmares? One of the biggest things for me when I got my adrenal situation under control is that my dreams returned. My absolute clue that I was finally getting into level four sleep. That's when our brains repair themselves to. Dreams are what our brains due when they are doing their own self checks.... that is why I'm curious about Epilepsy. That, I think, involves bad firing of electrical circuits??? and you mentioned that lack of sleep increases your likelihood of having a seizure...

So... communal minds... what thoughts do you have about how the three may affect each other (low thyroid, adrenal fatigue and Epilepsy)?

I'd like to explore your sleep a bit more, if that's okay... I tried a few different things over the years that made my sleep a bit better.... then the adrenal support and adjusting how I took my thyroid was the final trick to get it working right again. (When there isn't a TV blaring in the next room, that is! hehehehehe). It's absolutely unreal what a difference a good night's sleep makes!

I'm one of the strange folks, I think. When I picked up a prescription I opened the bottle while still at the counter to check the pills. To make sure that they were to correct brand and dose. If that was okay, then I'd go out to the care and read the inserts and any paperwork that came with them.... If I had a question then I'd go right back in and ask. It happened twice, I think that was all, when I was given the wrong dose of thyroid (Synthroid) and it happened quite a few times that prescriptions were messed up for meds that I picked up for either of the women that I was care giver for or my dad's meds. I learned to be very careful with that.

Now I get my meds by mail. When I got my first bottle of Natural thyroid from Mexico I got on the manufacturer's web site to match the pills in the bottle to the pictures on the web site. They matched for markings, size and color.... Now, when I open a new bottle I check the new pills against the last pill from the previous bottle. Making sure that they match for color, markings and size.

I'm a chicken shit that way... I have to make sure before I swallow it.

Don't worry about being long winded, we learn from each other here. I have a feeling that you will be throwing some knew concepts into this mix - thyroid and how it affects us. You'll have a bit of a different insight, too, with your experience with the Epilepsy and I'm thinking a bit more knowledge about brain chemistry and activity?

What is a Geographic tongue? I've never heard that term.

I learn so much by being here and talking to all of you guys... it's helped me a LOT!

Topper ()

On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 13:40:19 -0500 "Sheila McLaughlin" writes:

You ask....Tell us a bit about your sleep patterns.... Do you go to sleep right away? Sleep through the night? Wake feeling rested? or ??????

I have to take Ambien to force myself to sleep. I am so tired of laying in bed and hoping to fall asleep. I wake up feeling terrible. So I hate the bedroom....

Sleeping is important for me because lack of sleep is one of my triggers for a seizure. I have Epilepsy.

I have almost 100% seizure control with my Epilepsy medication. Of course, I have to avoid the things that trigger a seizure.

I suspect that the Lamictal I was on started the immune problem.

My first symptoms were so server I could care less if I dropped dead.

I decided to go back and check the warning on my Lamictal pharmacy brochure over the internet. Sure enough they had an update... "Lupus like symptoms" warning which said if you experience these symptoms stop taking and see Doctor right away.

They were the same symptoms I was complaining about to any doctor that would listen. Not a one checked the latest news on any of my medications.

I had been taking the Lamictal for over 4 years when I read my symptoms on the brochure. Blew my mind !! Once I told the Doctor I suspected the Lamictal is affecting my joints and pointed out to the doctor what the drug company said, he tested for Lupus. I don't have Lupus but the test showed Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies in my blood.

After I got off the Lamictal my joint swelling went down within 3 weeks. I could actually walk from the front of the house to the back without stopping on the sofa for a rest.

I am now taking Neurontin for seizure control, it does a good job, and so far, no side effects.

I always read the pharmacy brochure when I get put on a new Rx and that warning was not there when I started taking it. While I was in pain and looking for answers, I checked to see when they updated that info. In the year 2000 they updated the warning on the Rx, but I was never told by Eckerds (my pharmacy). If I had been informed, I would have saved myself 2 more years of hell and damage from Lamictal.

The doctors had no clue what was going wrong, they blew me off. Even though I was limping, could barely think and looked like I died and forgot to fall.

When I get more of my "brain power" back, I am going to do something about that.

Most people don't read the pharmacy drug brochure, but I do. I love Chemistry and realize I am not your average person... do they figure people don't read it so why inform people??

There is a part of me that knows the damage Lamictal did created the problem, but I am more upset that I was never told that the brochure was amended with a new symptom warning.

Sorry to have gone on about this but I have been curious if there are any others out there that has suffered autoimmune problems due to Lamictal.

I am also left with a Geographic tongue. Anyone else have that problem??

You guys deserve an award for waking up every day and wanting to help others.

The only time I felt this bad was right after a seizure and only if I hit my head so hard that I had a concussion. I knew it would pass so I never had pity parties.

This does not pass -- I am ssooo impressed with you guys.

sheila