Have you bitten your tongue severely during a seizure?

Hi @royanthony - I thought that the topic of biting your tongue severely during a seizure merited its own discussion, so I've moved it here.

Was your tongue treated by a doctor when you had severe bites during a seizure? If so, how did they treat it?

Sorry for my delay response. Found your question in my Junk mail. I did not see a doctor as the damage was limited to cuts into the tongue. But, there was a lot of blood and had to stick to liquids for meals for a couple days. Very painful. I've seen some people on this and other sites where people lost actual pieces of their tongue. So, I was pretty fortunate. This is a major topic that the public should know about epilepsy.

I do bite my tongue during a seizure and I even did it during my visit to Mayo EMU. It was painful. My opinion is that I think it is advisable to sleep with a mouthguard. This protects your teeth and also minimizes the damage you can do. I also bite the side of my cheeks so the mouthguard is essential.

The holistic view of seizures also taught me to view this as just another part of our life and not to freak out about it. The nurses at the EMU told me that it is very rare for you to cause any significant damage because the pain that the biting produces oftentimes is mitigated in your brain to stop the behavior. They told me the only risk is a bite during a fall or the first bite. I hope that makes sense.

I also suggest being clear of some communities, especially on one particular platform we all know, that seem that they try to "one up each other" with the severity of their issues. Kind of like, you had a brain bleed in your front cortex, well I had a brain bleed here and lost all use of my legs...just on and on. That is what I love about this community. It's positive and self-affirming. Kind of like the whole Mayo philosophy of medicine.

Yep, every single time unfortunately. I always bite it in the exact same spot on the right side of my tongue. It’s happened so many times that side of my tongue looks like hamburger meat, all scarred, heals then happens again. No fun

Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, @lrk782. Sorry to hear about all the tongue bites over the years due to seizures.

What has your doctor suggested to heal your tongue you mentioned looks like hamburger meat now?

I had the first seizures hours after hysterectomy surgery. No bites then. Since then I have had my tongue sutured on the 2 other occasions. The 2nd bite was very deep and took weeks to heal. I've had to turn to mouth guards while i wait for my neurology appointment. I've read that having them in my mouth during tc seizures while I sleep may be dangerous.

@missmx
Good Morning!
Welcome to our community at Connect.
I was surprised to learn that your seizures began after your hysterectomy. As far as I know, it's unusual for this type of surgery to directly cause ongoing seizures or epilepsy. I'm truly sorry you're experiencing this, especially the tongue injuries.
I'm curious to know whether your surgeon offered any explanation for the seizures that occurred post-operatively. And are you currently taking any anti-seizure medication?
Wishing you strength as you navigate this challenging time!
Chris

@missmx In rare cases anesthesia can cause long-term epilepsy especially if there are underlying issues. It is also possible, but highly unlikely, you were given too anesthesia during the procedure. You may want to discuss the possibilty of your epilepsy being triggered by the anesthesia. That may lead to other treatment plans.

@missmx
i would think something like a face mask with attached mouthguard could be made and modified to make it work while you can sleep without swallowing the mouth guard.

@tonyde I was!!! First via the small of my back the plan was that I stay awake during the procedure. When that didn't work, GA was administered. I will raise this at my consultation. Thans so much for this insight.