[Doh2007]

I'm trying to help my sister. She won't tell her doctor that she's having convulsions. Her arms will suddenly flail and then the rest of her will shake. It comes and goes. She's conscious, but very distressed.

It seems to happen when she's repressing emotions. Also, I don't know if it's because she's taking meds or because she doesn't take her meds.

It's so hard, because her pdoc won't return anyone's calls.

[ECHOES]

You can let her doctor know. Her doctor can't disclose her medical information to you, but he can receive information from you. He definitely needs to know.

Why does she not want to tell him?

yeah, why doesn't she want to tell him?

what medication is she on?

what is she being treated for?

(some medications can cause movement disorders or seizures and it would be important for her to contact her doctor ASAP to check because if this is what is going on then the sooner she comes off the medication the more likely it is that the symptoms won't be perminant)

are you able to help her monitor her meds? tick off a chart when she takes them or something?

so you can tell whether it is related to the medication or not?

[obsids]

I went through a long period of what the docs called "pseudo-seizures." It was like grand-mal seizures without the epilepsy part. I didn't understand it at the time. I think I do now.

I repressed, stressed, tried to keep everything locked away inside, and it began to destroy me from the inside out. Sometimes it would just flat-out overwhelm me physically and neurologically.

If this is what is happening to your sister, it is not harmful, per se. Stay with her during the episodes, make sure she doesn't accidentally injure herself... especially her head. Talk to her, and tell her she is safe and needs to come back. Try massaging the back of her neck if you can.

Also, as she begins to come out of the episode, see if you can get her to slow her breathing, focus on your voice.

I hope this helps a little.

[DePressMe]

Doh2007--I am sorry you are going though this--it sounds very distressing. I don't know much about medical reasons for the shakes/seizures, but I do know that if I had a pdoc that did not return phone calls, I'd get a new pdoc.