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I was recently diagnosed with a seizure disorder with the doc saying that I had, “80 bursts of seizure activity in a two-hour period” from a sleep-deprived electroencephalography (EEG) while on the drugs Abilify and Seroquel. I was given Tegretol and asked if I was still on Abilify and Seroquel and I said no, but that I had switched to Geodon. So my neurologist asked, “What is Geodon?” and I replied that it is an atypical antipsychotic. He said in turn that it must be fine with Tegretol as they are both used in psychiatry.
I went home and filled the Tegretol prescription and soon I was taking my first dose. A day into taking the meds, I had an intense staring episode or seizure if you will as I am not quite sure what to call these spells as they were trying to decipher what these intense staring episodes were to begin with. I basically stare at tiny minute details and my brain functioning slows down drastically to the point that it is hard for me to hold a conversation. It is some sort of neurological malfunction.
I was having these intense staring episodes mixed with various kinds of seizures, everything from gritting my teeth, tremors, the shakes all the way to full-blown grand-mal seizures where I would shake all over. Then I was having strange seizures where I would crane my head into my back and my head would bob or that I would arch my back and tense all my muscles into strange contortionist ways.
To make this long story short, I had gone through hell in the past week and the doctor kept telling me to continue taking the meds as prescribed. Well, he finally called me in for an EEG and I had a major seizure on the table from an induced seizure situation where I had been "over-breathing" or hyperventilating and had a series of strobe lights before my closed eyes. Later the next day he called to tell me that the seizures were false and a product of my psyche. He referred to them as psychosomatic.
I am not against the idea of it being all in my imagination. The seizure symptoms went away or at least diminished once I got off of the drugs Geodon and Tegretol—a bad combo by the way! So, if the seizures were not "real" then why did they disappear when I went off of the drugs? In theory, I should still be having these "psychosomatic" seizures.
To be told that a potentially serious condition is the product of my imagination is truly disturbing and shows a lack of respect for people with mental illness. I was told to consult my psychiatrist and that my neurologist wanted nothing more to do with me. I could have "psychosomatic" seizures, but I think that without that drug interaction it would be hard to do. He just didn't want to be caught prescribing the wrong drugs at the wrong time, so he took the easy way out and told me it was all in my head.