Does anyone suffer from Epilepsy?

Ok, I know this isnt directly related to bipolar, but they seem very closely related, so maybe someone here can answer this.

When I was diagnosed as bipolar, the doctor said that I might be epileptic. The EEG showed non-specific abnormalities in the frontal lobe. Then a friend's 14-year-old son told me that when they were at my house, they thought I "was having a heart attack from drinking too much Coke" - it apparently happened twice. Other things in my life are also consistent with epilepsy.

But how do you know if you have a siezure, especially if you live alone?

If something wakes me up at night, I often wake up in the middle of a dream that is related. So if the phone rings, I will wake up thinking that I was at work and a customer was calling me. I can think of loads of examples.

A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of a dream where I was trying to post something to a forum like this one, but the screen and me were shaking so much that I couldnt post anything. As I woke up, I felt like I had just touched an electric fence - just a single jerk, I think. I had a "numb" feeling in my one leg, and an acidic taste in that side of my mouth.

How do I know if I actually had a siezure?

Hi charlie123, it's strange you mention about a relationship between bipolar and epilepsy as I've been looking into that recently myself. I've had possibly two seizures as a child but a normal EEG at the time. I suffer from dissociative symptoms and bipolar disorder. On top of that sometimes I'll just blank out, not fainting though, or I'll become terrified and can't help but shout and scream then I'll feel absolutely exhausted and sleep for hours, which is similar to some experiences of epilepsy. I heard about a potential relationship between bipolar and epilepsy, that the two could be the same type of illness. Some seizure symptoms and warning signs can look very much like bipolar symptoms. I'm not sure of the sites that I was looking at though, so it is going to have to be left to google if you are interested... (I know not to believe everything I read but it does offer food for thought).

On the subject of knowing if you had a seizure and learning more about epilepsy there is a good site- http://www.epilepsy.com
Symptoms of a seizure- http://www.epilepsy.com/101/ep101_symptom
The electric shock and strange taste are listed in there. Not that you should diagnose yourself... Go see a doctor and discuss your concerns. Epilepsy med is used for bipolar too so you might be able to kill two birds with one stone.
All the best (hoping I don't sound like a hypochondriac internet addict, hehe)

Hi, I'm a 28 year old woman and I'm bipolar. I had juvenile epilepsy. I had 2 seizures the summer between my 8th and 9th grade year. Both of them occured at night while I was asleep. The first one was at a slumber party and we had stayed up really late. My friends awoke to me kicking my legs. When I woke up/came to, I was being loaded into an ambulance. The second one happened at night also. I was on vacation with my mom and grandma. I was sleeping in bed with my grandma so that's how we knew I had a seizure. The first EEG I had done didn't show anything. Then the doctors wanted to do another one but they wanted me to stay awake all night and have it the following morning. During that EEG, they flashed lights in my face and the EEG showed that I came close to having a seizure so they decided I had a form of epilepsy where sleep deprivation causes seizures. I had another EEG during my senior year and it no longer showed abnormalities so the doctor said I outgrew it and took me off meds. In regard to the bipolar, looking back, I think it surfaced during my freshman year of high school, but I wasn't diagnosed until about 2 years ago. Also, I have an autoimmune disorder called Myasthenia Gravis that I was diagnosed with at 12 years old. I have never thought that any of these three diseases were related, but is interesting to think about...