So I started on Zoloft 2 weeks ago. Doctor wanted me to start on 12.5 then raise to 25mg. I have also been taking .25mg of klonopin daily for maybe a month and a half (under dr supervision and was going to wean off within a few weeks) so it came to the point where it was time for me to raise to the full 25mg of Zoloft and stupid me went on google and found articles of people saying that after raising doses they started experiencing seizures. I know that is probably EXTREMELY rare especially in someone that has no other risk factors and is not epileptic like myself.. But it scared me out of continuing the Zoloft so I quit (gotta love anxiety)
And I've been terrified of having a seizure ever since.
I have never had a seizure, no one in my family is epileptic and I'm even taking klonopin which is an anti convulsant. It's such an irrational fear but I can't get it out of my head and now my anxiety is causing me to get weird sensations like headaches and my body feeling all shaky and whatnot.
And then my doctor brought up the fact that she doesn't want me to cause myself to have a "psuedoseizure" which set off my fears even more.
Now I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to wean off of the klonopin and just try to handle my anxiety in med free ways, but then another part of me wants to stay on the medications because to be honest they were helping me. But I know if I start up the Zoloft again that fear won't leave me.
Has anyone else ever had irrational fear of seizures? Sorry for the long post. This just sucks. I was doing so well then anxiety slapped in back in the face. Please no negative words either.. I'm just looking for some support.
At one point, yes i did have an irrational fear of having seizures myself! But trust me you wont have a seizure! A pseudoseizure is like a mimic of a seizure , which can cause your body to get jerky sensations and shake. I've had that many times.. I went to the doctor and she said there is nothing wrong what so ever. Klonopin can only give you seizures if your epileptic. And if you dont have epilepsy... I wouldnt worry. It could give you dizzy spells and chronic fatigue.. And weird sensations throughout the body and thats normal. Because i take klonopin myself!
As for the anxiety, i still have anxiety right now. Thinking that i'll get Pulmonary Embolism out of nowhere .. I've been to numerous doctors and the emergency room and they said that everything is ok. Just try to relax and not think about it so much. There is absolutely NO WAY you can have a seizure! But if you're that concerned.. Consult a doctor. If you have any questions just reply
Being indecisive is very stressful so you definitely need to decide how you are going to move forward.
I appreciate your fears concerning the Zoloft. On the plus side there is no family history of seizures otherwise the GP would not have prescribed it. On the other hand you fear taking after googling it , and now the doctor has mentioned psuedoseizure...the mind literally tricking the body...much like a phantom pregnancy for instance, this has added to your fears. Lots of physical symptoms can be generated in the mind, lets not forget that
Many meds do have side effects but serious side-effects are rare indeed. We cannot go through life refusing treatment for fear of this. Having said that only you can put those fears to rest...already it is negatively impacting on your anxiety, hence the physical sensations you are now suffering.
In some respects you answered your own question by saying that if you commence with the zoloft the fears won't leave you. There's little positivity in swallowing a tablet then being in a heightened state of stress, "watching" for signs of a seizure or any other ill-effect.
Once you make a plan of the steps you are going to take in dealing with your GD then much of the anxiety will evaporate because taking control enhances positiviety.
How doesthe Klonopin work for you? I've been thinking of asking my doctor to switch to it instead of Xanax because it is supposed to last longer. My only fear of seizures I have are from coming off the Xanax too quick without tapering.
Thanks everyone for the support! I agree with all of you. I want to get back on them because I know the possibility of me having a seizure because of them is like .2% lol but it always takes me a while to talk myself into meds! I didn't even have any side effects from the Zoloft and it was helping - I just scared myself out of them go figure lol
Those side effects are not written for you, thats the law. If you took any 1000 people and by now it millions and one had a seizure i doubt it even had anything to do with zoloft at all. If its something that can help you enjoy your life id say go for it but still learn self calming stuff.
My daughter was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder as a child and went through a period in which she had an irrational fear of having a seizure, dispite no family history and no EEG evidence. She is now 39 and the problem has resurfaced. I cannot address your medications directly but she seemed most stable when she was on a combination of Klonopin and either Prozac or Celexa. It is unfortunate that people who are prone to anxiety are often fearful of the medications that would make their lives tolerable. May it help to know that you are not alone and I sincerely wish you the best.
I have this exact fear I'm afraid of photosensitive seizures without ubtaining a seizure or an epileptic issue , I'm perfectly healthy but now I've gotten even worse in afraid about the new led lights my dad put in , but in my 3 years of this same exact fear , I've never had one even with all these dealings .... nothing , even going on and off medicine , I hope my feed back has gaven you some more confidence !
Oh my god, I'm going through this irrational fear myself. I can't stop thinking I'm going to have one even though I have no history of them except for fibrel seizure when I was 3. Never had them since. I'm so scared that I'm going to have a seizure at any moment. Please tell me I'm going to be alright and it's all in my head. PNES seizure I googled and that scares me even more. I've had all these tests done. My doctor says I'm fine. But I'm not combined. Help
You will be fine I promise! What helped me was just thinking about how I've gone almost 25 years without a seizure and reminding myself that there's absolutely no reason for me to have one.
Hi. I am dealing with the same fear right now with my anxiety. I have never had a history of seizures nor has anyone in my family but I am so afraid I'm going to have one it consumes my thoughts. I am even scared to watch movies or play video games because I think I am going to have one. Anxiety makes me feel so helpless like sometimes I just wish I could get a new brain or something or turn my brain off. I have Zoloft but I don't like taking it unless I have actuallt have a panic attack or I have anxiety before bed so I take one so I can sleep. I am scheduled to see a therapist soon. Is there any advice that you have to help??
I am sorry that you are dealing with this fear. I believe it is just one manifestation of generalized anxiety disorder. My daughter had this same fear during her teens. As a younger child, she had an irrational fear of vomiting in public. Both phobias severely limited her social life. All I can say is that she is now 40 and has never had a seizure. I believe what she was experiencing, was a panic attack, or possibly, a drop in blood sugar. I would advise you to eat a well balanced diet, particularly in the am. I hope you will follow your doctor's advise re medications and I wish you the best.
I have a fear of having seizures, the only difference is my family has a history of seizures and I have had seizures since I was eleven. I have grand-Mal seizures which are broken down to photosensitive, nocturnal and cateminal. The one that is a problem is having seizures in my sleep. Maybe it is actually having it in my sleep or passing out and feeling like I was asleep. Either way, I have no recollections of going into the seizure. For a long time because of that fact, I have trained myself to have problems sleeping. It is not easy dealing with something like this. I am sorry but no advice because I have not got rid of my own fear, but can talk if you want someone to talk to.
My wife has epilepsy. She had seizures 4 months after we got married. We went to the doc and he said its a one time thing so just gave relaxants. Then after 3 months she had another seizures. So the epilepsy medicine started. We had a baby boy one year after the second seizure and then the doc increased the doze. Then a year later we had another baby and she had a seizure again after a week. Then the doc said you shouldnt have more babies for 3-5 years. Because the body and brain is not prepared to handle that pressure. Its been 4 years shez on keppra. No babies after that and no seizures as well Thank God sooo much! Now recently the doc reduced her dosage from 500 mg to 250 mg. Increasing dosage on doctor advice is not harmful and you should not quit these medicine all of a sudden. You have to quit gradually. Dont worry..u dont have epilepsy. You wont get a seizure. But one thing id recommend, dont take these medicines without doctor approval. Or increase or decrease dosage without doc permission. Dont worry. Relax. You are perfectlt fine. Enjoy life
I am sorry, but something you said bothers me. Just because one does not have epilepsy does not mean someone can and wont have a seizure. Usually in order to have epilepsy some insist it has to be three or five frequent seizures. There is a reason for it, it could be something wrong with the brain or overdose. Anything can be strong enough to cause a seizure, it depends on what it is. Also, some doctors feel that being pregnant, which I know several people who have seizures and gave birth to healthy children is bad. No one knows how a seizure works and what it is capable of handling.
Hi. Sorry. I couldnt make it clear. I did not mean to say that you cannot have a seizure if you do not have epilepsy. You can have a seizure without epilepsy as well. Sometimes high temperature, medicine overdose also can lead to a seizure. But the person who mentioned did not have a seizure or had anyone in the family with epilepsy. She is suffering from anxiety. So i tried to calm her down that people dont just get seizures because they are afraid of getting them. And my advice was that dont start or stop these medications without your doctors approval.