Non-Epileptic Seizures?

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When I'm really anxious I get tremors in my arms (usually the left one). If it's really bad, the muscles seize up painfully.
My neck also twitches, making my head jerk, usually to the left side.
When I'm on the brink of a panic attack I have sporadic convulsions usually affecting my limbs, but sometimes also my spine.
These attacks can be painful and I usually don't have much control over them. I've also accidentally hit myself many times.
Repetitive motions (like hand flapping) sometimes help a little.

What's going on here? Are these non-epileptic seizures? Can I learn to control them? Will I have to take anxiety meds (something I really don't want)?

Sounds like temporal lobe seizures. It's not epilepsy. Google "temporal lobe seizures and aspergers" or "seizures and autism" and you will probably find some information. It's thought that they are due to a low level of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, coupled with the fact that auties have more electrical activity in the brain than NTs.

I have had the "arm seizure" episodes too, though they happen very infrequently.

Recently I learned that sleepwalking sometimes results if these seizures happen during sleep. Ditto, I have had infrequent episodes of sleepwalking.

This isn't the same as 'standard' epilepsy.

the only way to know if they are seizures/attacks of a epileptic nature or NEA is to get an EEG done whilst triggering these attacks, will need to ask for a referal to a neurologist for the EEG.

non epileptic attacks are caused by a few different things;most commonly caused by stress/anxiety being converted into physical symptoms such as seizure like attacks aka NEAs.

NEAs arent a type of seizure,theyre closer to tic behavior than epilepsy,the old name for it was pseudo seizures which ended up with a lot of people stigmatised and accused of faking epilepsy,because the word seizure directly relates to the condition, which is why there has been a shift towards calling itself attacks instead.
neurologists will refer to anything suspected of being a seizure or NEA without EEG proof as being 'attacks' or 'episodes'.

in own view the description given sounds like they may be tics and/or a form of dystonia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystonia have a read and to see if relate and perhaps think about taking these issues up with the gp for further testing,only they can say what it is tbf.

It sounds like your twitches are associated with anxiety and panic attacks, is that true?

If so... maybe you are expressing your nervousness as physical symptoms. You know how, if people are really anxious, they might get nausea or even throw up? Or how you can get a headache just from stress? Maybe you are getting these symptoms as part of your anxiety.

Just twitching a bit isn't going to hurt you; it just looks odd. If it's a "non-epileptic seizure", as you describe, then it's way less dangerous than epilepsy proper, which comes from out-of-control neural impulses. Expressing anxiety as a physical thing, like twitching, is not generally dangerous. The underlying problem--the anxiety disorder--is the real issue.

It's not that this would mean that you can go without treatment, though. Those panic attacks sound nasty enough to regularly keep you from going about your everyday business. There's therapy for anxiety disorders that doesn't involve medication. Taking medication temporarily while going through therapy is also an option.

But... you should really check to be sure that you aren't having real seizures. Have you had an EEG or something like that?

How is temporal lobe epilepsy not epilepsy?

You can have recurring seizures that have a neurological basis that are not epilepsy. Epilepsy is really the disease and seizures are the symptoms. When there's not a neural cause they're called psychogenic seizures and are still very serious.

Stress and anxiety can trigger seizures though, even in epileptic people. I have temporal lobe which has a lot to do with changes in behaviour, visual/auditory hallucinations etc and secondary generalized epilepsy.

The kinds of seizures that OP described are sometimes designated as "subclinical electrical discharges", to distinguish them from the typical understanding of epilepsy (whole brain electrical storm, grand mal seizures). People on the spectrum tend more to "partial brain seizures - a build up of electricity discharged suddenly in the frontal or temporal lobe. The nomenclature differs between medical commentators - some don't consider the subclinical electrical discharges confined to a single site in the brain should be termed epilepsy. Some do.

we are missing the point here,attacks of any kind cannot be automaticaly assumed to be epilepsy-or not without EEG proof just because someone is on the spectrum-we can only make suggestions for the OP to read up on.
NEAs can appear to be like any form of epilepsy,and dystonia can be confused with NE attacks or seizures,so OP needs a neuro appointment rather than us to find out.

also,temporal lobe epilepsy isnt automaticaly the most common on the spectrum, within the low functioning spectrum its grand mal; and mine specificaly are grand mal, status epilepticus and petit mal [abscense].

@ OP: Make an appointment with a neurologist to get a neurologist's view on what you are having. If it is a sign that you are epileptic, then the best thing you can do is to take medication to control them.