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Seizure

My DW (EOAD) had a seizure this morning while we were having breakfast. I had never witnessed a seizure before and it was very scary. Luckily I was with my MIL and she was able to call 911. She had a large contusion and we had a CT which found no bleeding in the brain. She is home now. My question is does having a seizure (first time) what happens to a LO after as far as progression. I’ve read that the disease can progress quicker. EOAD I’ve heard progresses faster than regular AD already.
has anyone been in this same situation.

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  • Quilting brings calm
    Quilting brings calm Member Posts: 2,728
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    edited March 31

    Did they recommend or do an EEG to see if she had abnormal brain wave activity? Did they suggest a cause of the seizure? Seizures are brain issues, and dementia is a brain issue. In my opinion, the seizure would indicate her dementia is progressing. The brain issues causing dementia would also be the cause of the seizure. I don’t think it’s that dementia progression would be the effect of the seizure. If you get what I mean?

  • BPS
    BPS Member Posts: 196
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    My wife would have small seizures and then pass out every few months, then would slowly come around and be very week for several hours or more and very tired. It did not seem to cause her to progress any faster. She had test and they didn't find a cause. In her case (which is not normal if there is a such thing as normal) a little over a year after the first time it happened she had a stroke (apparently unrelated) and has not had in seizures or passed out since and that was over a year ago. She is now mid stage 6 and in MC.

  • Crkddy
    Crkddy Member Posts: 100
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    My wife had two seizures within a few hours last year. She was hospitalized for several days and put on Keppra to prevent further seizures. The doctors could not determine the cause of the seizures, but said it was likely due from Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed with early onset 7 years ago. I did find out that a low percentage of Alzheimer's victims do get seizures. My wife was also diagnosed with a severe UTI while in the hospital for the seizures. I believe the UTI was the cause.

  • elainechem
    elainechem Member Posts: 187
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    My son has a seizure disorder which is undoubtedly related to his autism. When my hubby was in the early days of his EOAD, I brought him to the same neurologist that my son sees. He gave him an EEG and found that he had a little abnormal spiking and a generalized slowing of brain wave activity. The slowing was caused by his AD. The spiking could have been there his entire life, I don't know. I do know that brain damage from any cause can bring about seizures. I asked my friendly AI and it said that anywhere from 10-64% of people with dementia begin to have seizures. I guess it depends on who is asking and what criteria they use

    My hubby only had one real seizure that I am aware of and that occurred 8 days before his death. In his case, I think it was his brain saying, "I'm done here." He slammed against the wall and hit the floor hard. He managed to break his left shoulder and shattered his right shoulder blade. He was then put on morphine, hydrocodone, haldol, whatever they had to keep him somewhat comfortable.

  • MN Chickadee
    MN Chickadee Member Posts: 935
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    Similar thing happened to my mother. She had a seizure for the first time in late stage5 or early stge 6 of Alz. After she returned from the hospital she was very sleepy and out of it for about 2 weeks. Unclear whether it was from the seizure itself or the new medication (Keppra) they put her on to prevent more. She did finally adjust and mostly get back to her baseline. She had another seizure about a year later, but by that time there was so many complications going on with the Alz that it was hard to parse out what was what. Surprisingly she didn't have any major damage like falls and injuries from the seizures.

  • elainechem
    elainechem Member Posts: 187
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    When my son has a seizure, he needs a good night's sleep to recover. His medication does make him sleepy, so he takes it at bedtime.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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