Seizure on Tuesday and scared

[sinistergurlie]

I had a seizure this past Tuesday in my bedroom, alone, during the day. And now I feel so scared to be in my room. I'm fighting it, but being alone keeps me reliving the seizure. My heart races and I can't seem to get the image of my mom yelling at me out of my head. She says she has to raise her voice with me right after a seizure or I don't understand her. I wish she wouldn't yell. It's scares me and makes me feel like I've done something wrong. What should I tell her is a better way to handle it?

[Loopy Lou]

I'm sorry about the trouble you're having. You're going to have to sit your mum down and say that she needs to wait for you to come round a bit before she starts yelling at you and tell her the way you feel about it.

[Meetz1064]

confused. Have you had seizures before this? If so, I would think that your mother would be a little more adept at handling herself after one of them.

What she SHOULD do, especially if it is a tonic clonic, is to turn you on your side in a recovery position, loosen any clothing, take off any tight clothes (ties, shoes, glasses, etc) move anything sharp (tables, other furniture, etc) and then put something soft under your head. THEN she should let you run your course through your seizure.

Once you are done, she SHOULD speak to you quietly so that you can attempt to re-orient yourself. If you have bitten your tongue, she can give you a mixture of salt water, or water and peroxide to swish around in your mouth to help it heal .

You haven't done anything wrong.......just make sure you take your meds on time.....and if you are, and are still having seizures, it's time to talk to your neurologist about upping them AND considering some dietary changes, too. Check out the links here:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...gard+diet.html

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...enic+diet.html

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...lgit+diet.html

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...kins+diet.html

The following would also be good information to look into. It is about neurofeedback. Both RobinN, one of the supermods, and Bernard, our host, are excellent sources of information on this subject. Robin actually does NF with her daughter at home to help control her daughter's tonic clonic seizures.

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...ofeedback.html

Hope this helps.

By the way, welcome to CWE. Hopefully you find all the nooks and crannies here chock full of information, such as the Kitchen and the Library. The Padded Room is great for venting when you need it, too.

Take care.

Meetz

[Jfpinell]

I don't know who ever taught her to yell at anyone in a seizure. It's 1 of the worst things you can do! A few years ago, I had 1 in a restaraunt and the police later told me it took 3 officers to get me on the cot to the ambulance. Gee, I wonder why! All the while the paramedics were down there yelling "JUST STAY STILL! WE'RE TAKING CARE OF YOU!" on, and on, and on! It's like, I as a First Responder know you don't do this...you as a paramedic should know!
Then I had 1 out in the parking lot in college 1 day, and, to get to the point, if the school nurse wouldn't have been there telling the officer to quiet/calm down, frankly, I probably would've wound up explaining to the D.A. that "Hey, I had no idea what I was doing taking a swing at him!".

[knothing]

You have to bear in mind when talking to your mother that her reation was out of extreme fear and anxiety of the unknown (even if you have had them before). She needs to train herself like mentioned by Meetz on how she should react. Some people have the ability to handle without training and other do not. When I had a grand mal at work they reacted properly considering the suprise it was to them. Only issue I had was the oxygen the paramedics gave me on the ride to the ER was making me feel aweful and so the medic and I had it out.

My wife has a great method.
1. She removes any object that could cause me harm
2. She waits patiently for it to end
3. She constantly tells me what happened in a calm voice over and over. Also telling me I am alright.
4.She stops me from(because of my have to get up mentality) to stay down until she says so.

Another thing that helped in the one at work a coworker of mine kept saying "Your going to be alright, dude." in a calm tone. It seems to help being reassured that I will be alright, it allows me to be calmer and get so much in a panic myself.

[Nakamova]

Hi there --

Any way to have your mother join this site, too? Or show her what folks have written above? She might get some reassurance -- she's not alone, what happens isn't unusual, there are lots of folks with coping strategies to offer to both of you, and a place to vent when things get hard.

Best,
Nakamova

[sinistergurlie]

Thanks for all your replies. I'm going to explain this a little better: Mom starts raising her voice and asking me questions right as I'm becoming conscious, right after the tonic clonic (grand mal) seizure. I think she just freaks out and that's what causes her to go off like that. Her intentions are not mean. She does everything else right. I haven't talked to her yet about this, but I plan on it.

The ironic thing is...........I had just gotten off the phone from scheduling my bi-yearly check up appt. with the Neurologist when I had this seizure. Go figure, eh.

Thanks again,
Lisa

[eslucas]

Hi sinistergurlie,
You haven't done anything wrong! It sounds like she's afraid and doesn't know how to handle it. The others have given you some great advice on how to educate your mom so she can do what's necessary when you have a seizure. I know exactly how you feel about fearing your room. I've had seizures in bed and I'm afraid to go to sleep without my husband. I'm 45 and I sleep with two night lights in our room and I leave the door ajar. Fortunately the fear decreases a little at a time as I'm sure it will for you too. Hang in there.

[sinistergurlie]

Hi sinistergurlie,
You haven't done anything wrong! It sounds like she's afraid and doesn't know how to handle it. The others have given you some great advice on how to educate your mom so she can do what's necessary when you have a seizure. I know exactly how you feel about fearing your room. I've had seizures in bed and I'm afraid to go to sleep without my husband. I'm 45 and I sleep with two night lights in our room and I leave the door ajar. Fortunately the fear decreases a little at a time as I'm sure it will for you too. Hang in there.

Thank you so much. The bedroom fear part is beginning to wane and I am feeling better