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Exercise and Epilepsy- "Hallway Conversation 1/9/13"

Wed, 04/10/2013 - 15:42

Topic: Diagnostic Dilemmas and Testing

Hi all,

I am new here, and this is my first post. I am in the process of trying to figure out what is going on with my 9 year old daughter, and with abnormal EEG findings I think she will soon end up with a "formal" diagnosis of Epilepsy.

I just read one of the "Hallway Conversations" about exercise and epilepsy. While the content TOTALLY makes sense for the vast majority of all people, not just people with Epilepsy, I am looking for some clarification. One of the things that brought on abnormal discharges for my daughter in her testing was hyperventilation. She has always resisted any kind of intense exercise, complains that her head and chest hurt when she does participate. For awhile, she was participating in a physical therapy endurance group, which would almost always result in some sort of significant dysregulation that I am now suspecting is part of her symptomatology.

Given that info, my question is this. Is exercise beneficial for everybody with Epilepsy? Are there situations where it might be contraindicated? If hyperventilation can induce seizures or epileptiform discharges, how does one approach improving endurance and increasing the seizure threshold?

I appreciate any professional insight that anyone can offer me regarding this.

Thanks!!

Comments

Re: Exercise and Epilepsy- "Hallway Conversation 1/9/13"

Submitted by mereloaded on Wed, 2013-04-10 - 19:50

Hi, My son's neurologist said to me that exercise and sports are actually encouraged. Of course, that depends on the individual and the type of epilepsy as there is a broad spectrum of conditions and severity. One common trigger is fatigue, and in some, hyperventilation, but again, there are different triggers for different people. To some is flashing lights, lack of sleep, etc. etc. I know on the EEG hyperventilation is one of the things the use to set the brain off to acquire brain wave patterns. So in short, if hyperventilation is one of her triggers it is possible that certain types of harsh exercise may not be advisable. The only person that can tell you for your is your neurologist. Sorry if I cannot be of any help. Best of luck

Re: Exercise and Epilepsy- "Hallway Conversation 1/9/13"

Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Thu, 2013-04-11 - 02:13

Hi TZs Mommy, One major set of significant forms of cardiac dis-regulations often confounded and/or resulting in epilepsy are the Long-QT Syndromes: "Identification of a possible pathogenic link between congenital long QT syndrome and epilepsy" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677528/ I still haven't figured out if LQTS gave me epilepsy, or something else is related to both LQTS and epilepsy, such as, for me, a neurocutaneous syndrome like a moderately mild tuberous sclerosis (many matching signs and symptoms for myself). Sometimes, LQTS is called one of the epilepsies of the heart, as are many paroxysmal tachycardias that can be triggered by exercise. Tadzio

Re: Exercise and Epilepsy- "Hallway Conversation 1/9/13"

Submitted by Masterjen on Thu, 2013-04-11 - 14:34

I have found that daytime cardio exercise that is too intense can often trigger a nocturnal seizure that night. Sometimes I can just feel at the time that I am going at it too hard; I simply don't feel right and it isn't anything to do with excess or prolonged hyperventilation. Other times I didn't know that it was "too intense", and it is only when I ended up having a seizure in the night that I realize that the previous day I had a couple of other "stresses" in the day that by themselves would not be seizure triggers, but when combined with a heavy cardio session, I was put over the edge. While this may or may not be applicable for other people, or even most people, it might be worth keeping track to see if your daughter is more able to tolerate cardio exercise when she has had a good day with not too many stresses (eg. great day at school, no big arguments with friend/sibling, had a good night of sleep, no seizures in the previous day or night . . .). My seizures are also not under great control, so maybe poorly controlled seizures is a contraindication to intense exercise.

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