Anyone experienced aura seizures with Parkinsons?

Be very careful of seizure medications. My husband was mis-diagnosed with a seizure disorder for 3 years. All they wanted to do was keep adding more seizures medications and the final doctor wanted to do an implant as the seizure medication was not working. It took 3 different hospitalizations in an epilepsy monitoring unit that his seizures was finally diagnosed as non-epilectic and possible post traumatic stress disorder due to an car accident we had years before but medicines he was own kept masking more of the Parkinson symptoms-hand tremors, headaches, vision problems. The seizure medications was actually making him worse and causing the seizures as his body was fighting the medications and causing grand mal seizures. He was diagnosed with Parkinson just over a year ago at the age of 53 but the symptoms go back much farther. What we thought was aura is part of the Parkinson hallucinations that can happen. Before they medicate with seizure medication, request an epilepsy monitoring unit. Since he has been off all seizure medication, we have not had a single episode of seizure, auras but more defined parkinson's symptoms.

1974son. Glad to see your Parkinson's post. It is such a strange disease that you never know what is happening. I know with my husband the hallucinations were horrible. They were much worse with the sedatives in the hospital and glad to have him home and getting slowly better. The neurologist said to keep the Parkinson drugs a little less for awhile. He is also on Cancer drugs and BP drugs so between all those the brain has problems. He is on the Sinemet and also Pramipexole. Both were cut by one tablet for the past 3 months and he is doing better without them than with them. The neurologist trusts me to regulate them as needed (with his guidance and opinion) and I do understand. He is a normal size man so I can imagine what the "heavy" drugs would be for you Mother who would be much smaller I am sure. I am grateful that there have been no seizures as yet.

My Mom is 75 and has had Parkinson's for 20 years. In August my Mom had a seizure and stopped breathing, lifeless eyes, lips turned blue and got stiff as a board. I had to give her CPR. According to her Doctor and the emergency room Doctors, I saved her life. Anyway.... she was in the hospital 3 days and got tested but they could not pinpoint seizure activity through a EEG (also she was totally confused with a UTI). She got discharged and was home for 12 days and the seizures, confusion & hallucinations started again so I called 911 and this time the emergency room Doctor seen her having a seizure. She was in the Hospital for 6 days and a rehab hospital for 9 days. During that time a UTI was still present and the Doctors put her on KEPPRA 250 mg tablet (Levetiracetam) at 9pm (bedtime) along with a Clonazepam. Since my Mom has been discharged there has been no seizure activity. She has also since been put on a LONG TERM anti UTI medication called NITROFURANTOIN MCR 50mg tablet. She takes one of those every other day to prevent UTI and so far so good with no side effects. Her Parkinson's medication was changed from Stalevo 75 to Sinemet 25/100mg along with an Entacapone 200mg tablet. Amantidine 100mg was cut from the bed time dose also because can cause hallucinations. Hope this helps anyone in anyway :) I have been my Mom's Caregiver for 7 + years. The last two years or so has been difficult because of a broken hip that she never really recovered well from and this most recent seizure / confusion activity. I think dealing with any kind of Confusion is extremely difficult. Never really got an answer from the Doctors on what was causing the seizures. They seem to think they are coming from deep inside the brain and said they are not going to drill holes to find out. The Doctors seem to think it was a mix of the UTI, Low Blood Pressure while standing, Dehydration and too much Parkinson's medication. Her Parkinson's medication was cut from 4 times a day to 3. (but everyones different)

UTI's can cause all kinds of things.
If the infection has cleared, then time to really examine why the seizure-like symptoms are happening. It may have nothing to do with Parkinson's.
Did they check for other systemic septic conditions??
They can sure dose anti-seizure meds, but that might cloud the picture, unless they know what's going on. But some Docs might give those drugs 1st. and ask questions later, IF the seizure activity is too harsh.
Not sure it's appropriate unless the seizures are really bad shakers....
she's holding her head, and seeing things that aren't there...might be something else entirely.
Seizure activity can take many shapes, and have many causes. Some in our family get mild tonic/clonic "subclinical" seizures sporadically...doesn't interrupt anything.
BUT...sometimes these can get worse, and take the form of:
--Inner Explosions: feels like a build-up/tightening of a wad of energy at base of skull/occiput, which reaches a certain point, then suddenly "discharges", complete with the sensation of a flash of light and sound which instantly spreads throughout the inside of the head, from back to front...like an internal explosion. These can be very bad or small ones. The inner light flash and pressure release can interrupt vision and hearing for a split second, and leave the person feeling like they can't exactly function well for a few seconds to a few minutes.
--Absences...can see and hear, but kind of locked inside one's head, maybe staring into space. As a kid, adults called it "daydreaming", as it seemed I was staring out the window.
Things like sharp light or blinking light can trigger seizure activity of all kinds.
Pinched nerves, though, can cause some things like that, especially if those are at the top of the spine, like at C-1 and C-2.
Could be nutritional deficiencies, particularly of B vitamins and Trace Minerals [there's a long list of them, and it might differ per person]. Or could be a need for Omega 3 good fats.
Other overloads a body is dealing with, can collectively make "too many straws on the camel's back", and then these happen. Infections, allergies, sensitivities, inadequate Probiotics in the gut [we all need broad-spectrum of good ones, daily], chemicals, flashing lights, all kinds of things.
All that stuff needs evaluated to see what's going on, really. A good neurologist should be able to help.

I happen to get ocular migraines but don't have Parkinson's. The thing that happens to your mother sound much more like TIA (mini strokes) to me. A close family friend would suffer them occasionally and that would be how I would have described them. You should definitely mention that to your Mother's doctor. I am sure he would be aware of TIA's.

Hi Muttilou,

Yes, caffeine can be pretty nasty for sure. However, there are also decaf teas and coffees and out there. In fact, I have some in the thermal pot right now. I fixed it last night and it's waiting now for me to have with my lunch. I will finish my detox today and hopefully be done by tonight. Most of it happened last night, so I'm hoping the detox will be done tonight. Doing an internal detox is very similar to cleaning the outside of the body, It's just done a little differently. If you ever even get a kidney infection, this will definitely work. Again, decaf is definitely out there, just look very closely at your labels and you'll find it.

I forgot to say that it sounds like UTIs don't necessarily affect everyone the same way. When I had mine, I had no behavioral changes or anything of the like, just lots of very sharp (periodic) pain

I have to be careful of caffeine, if I drink to much I get an UTI.

I don't have Parkinson's but I sometimes have auras right before a seizure. I have very quick myoclonic's that are just about on the borderline of painful if the electrical jolts get too strong. It sounds to me like your mom may have very well had either a seizure or an aura.
It's hard to describe what the aura feels like, except that it feels like your whole body is going to go off at once. This can make you tense up a bit. It's been said that you can actually take magnesium to help relieve seizures, because people usually have a magnesium deficiency when they have seizures. If the doctor were to run a special blood test on this person, I'll bet they'll find a magnesium deficiency, (just have the doctor look for magnesium levels).

As for the UTI, I've experienced one of those myself. I recently started noticing a recurrence, and I accidentally stumbled upon a very surprising discovery. While drinking a pot of Christmas tea this holiday season, I started noticing that my body was expelling toxins as I was drinking this tea. Yes, tea detox really does work! I was experiencing extreme gas and some bloating before last night's accidental discovery. Today so far, no gas! You don't want to overdo the tea without drinking a certain amount of water as well. This is not for long term, only when needed. Be careful about the caffeine though, it will definitely harm your bones if you're not careful. Definitely drink a certain amount of milk during your detox. Detox will definitely flush out any infection including UTIs, as I just discovered what was causing all of my gas. I discovered that when I have a UTI, I usually hurt on the right side of the back (but halfway through me). This pain is usually a very sharp pain that can make me pass out because it's that bad.

* Be careful, because this can usually be dismissed as just a normal back pain. This happened to me before the UTI was caught a year later when things worsened. If this happened to this other person, that may very well explain why the infection got into the bloodstream. UTIs can be very easily missed (except if it's spotted by either a blood or urine test). Starting on lots and lots of ice water will start the process of expelling toxins, but the tea detox actually does a little bit more of a thorough job. My discovery of tea detox came at a perfect time, and again, it really does work! Ice water will help to shrink any internal swelling as I also discovered. Shrinking of swelling will cause the body to start releasing and expelling toxins that can build up and cause infections. Combine drinking tea and water and that infection will be gone in no time flat. If you drink those liquids throughout the day or night, you'll be surprised very shortly after, depending on how much of the liquids are consumed. You can set a goal. You can start with about a gallon sized thermal container and fill it with freshly brewed tea. I would let it cool overnight and start drinking it by the cup next day, and keep drinking a cup each time you come back from the bathroom. You want to be sitting upright for this, because this is when it will work the best. I just flushed out a UTI last night, so I definitely know what I'm talking about.

I am allergic to sulfa. I learned of this with a UTI, I was given sulfa drugs. I was confused and halucinated. Lucky my daughter was home and called doc. Just a thought.

I also heard that coconut oil 3X daily will lessen the symptoms of Parkinson's I have a staff member who was just diagnosed, but he's having pretty bad symptoms. He is going to try it. I'll keep everyone posted as to how it works. My staff member is only 62.

I am very sorry to hear about your situation. It is good that your mom is in the hospital, receiving tests and a medical evaluation. If you, and/or your mom, have any friends that are in the medical field (nurse, therapist, etc.), it would be great if one additional person can be available for you and your mom, during this decision making process. You and/or your mom, can inquire about the name of the Neurologist on her medical team. It would be wonderful, if the Neurologist is also a Movement Disorder Specialist (specializes in Parkinson's and other related diagnosis). If a Neurologist has not been assigned, please request one. It's not uncommon to see an increase in behavioral changes with those who have recently been diagnosed with a UTI. Once the UTI is cleared, the individual usually returns to baseline (how they were before the recent behavioral change in status). A good medical team should be able to tease out the causal factors. Anti-seizure meds are usually administered after a definitive diagnosis is made (based on clinical tests and at times clinical observations). I am not sure where you live, but I recommend you call the National Parkinson's Association, or local association, to see if they can provide resources to you and your mom. They should have the names of Neurologists with specialty credentials for Parkinson's in your area, etc. After your mom's medical situation is stable, you can ask her Neurologist about the value of exercise (evidenced-based research supports it). In Boston, Dr. Terri Ellis (B.U. PT) has been actively researching Parkinson's and developing exercise programs. I am not affiliated with this program, but I referred someone, and noted a positive outcome. I wish you and your mom all the best.

Mother's neurologist told us that the seizure meds are worse than the seizures. He did not want to put her on them. I ended up curing my mother's recurring UTIs with 3 tsp colloidal silver per day for 10 days. She had been on every antibiotic around and the infections became resistant to the antibiotics. The silver worked. It was confirmed by her urologist - she had a culture which showed the UTI and another one at the end of the silver treatment. Before antibiotics, doctors used colloidial silver.

I assume that a repeat urine culture was also on your Mom. UTIs can cause many behaviors. Also make sure a neurologist checks her meds which she must be on for her Parkinson's. My husband had some wild hallucination issues until his meds were adjusted. Don't just rely on general hospital staff to know. They sent him home with a UTI diagnosis once and no treatment which quickly worsened. The staff also were not aware apparently of the need for timely medications for his PD. It can get tricky. Hope she has a good neurologist to sort this out.

How long before results are in? Seizure meds do have significant side effects so you want to cover your bases. Are you seeing a neurologist or just a GP? She is really young relatively with Parkinson's. I would have a good work up with neuro and see what is really going on if you haven't already. Best of luck. This is a very difficult disease to deal with.

Start the anti-seizure meds. Better safe than sorry.