It scared me

[valeriedl]

Over the weekend I had a grand mal. I don't know when the last lime it was that I've had one that bad, it's been at least over a year but probably longer than that.

The seizure its self lasted around 10 minutes. My mom called 911 because I usually come out of them in only a few minutes but this one kept going on. I don't remember anything that happened during the seizure. When I started coming out of it I was on the ground, not knowing what I was doing down there just making noises as people were talking to me. I knew what they were saying but I just couldn't respond in any way. I really didn't know what was going on.

My dad asked me if I wanted to sit in the lawn chair that he had brought over to me. I wanted to ask him where the chair was but I only remember standing up and staring strait off into space as he moved me to the chair and helped me into it. I know he was asking me how I was feeling and general questions like that but I just couldn't answer, I just kept staring.

I remember seeing my mom running over to my house, but I didn't know why. She came out with my husband a minute later.

When the ambulance came I could hear the siren and my mom saying they were here. The emts asked me to give them my arm so they could take my blood pressure. I tried to lift it but it just wouldn't move.

Finally after about 10 or 15 minutes I finally got to the point where I was able to move and talk. I was still a little confused about some things but at least I had control of my arms and legs. They asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital but I knew I was going to be alright except for the horrible headache that was already starting. Plus I didn't want to have to sit in a bed in the er for 5 hours only to be told it was ok for me to go home.

I've had seizures before where I knew I was trying to say things but I couldn't say them or they wouldn't come out right, but I've never had a seizure that I've been aware of the fact that I had no control over my whole body.

This one really scared me.

[Nakamova]

Any idea as to why this seizure was particularly yucky? Did you miss a dose of meds, or were you under unusual stress? My worst seizures have occurred when I had low blood sugar and/or was dehydrated.

Anyway, I'm glad you're basically physically okay. And I hope you can shake the memory of that fear -- I know how nightmarish the sensation is of not being able to speak or move.

[epileric]

As scary as it might be to be aware that you had no control over your body, isn't it likely that you've had no control over your body during previous tonic-clonic seizures but that you just don't remember them?

Could this not be an improvement?

[Rae1889]

My fiancee and I have worked out a sort of gauge on how bad my seizures were based on my post-ictal effects. and to be honest it doesnt seem to matter if they were 45s long or 10 minutes long, or if one was more violent than another. It just seems to depend on how bad it attacked my brain, whehter it was visible or not.

we know that if i sleep it off immediately without waking and if i am non-verbal after it was a bad tonic clonic.

[valeriedl]

As scary as it might be to be aware that you had no control over your body, isn't it likely that you've had no control over your body during previous tonic-clonic seizures but that you just don't remember them?

Could this not be an improvement?

In a way I did think of it as an improvement, a scary one . I usually don't know what was going on around me until I come out of it completely, but this time I was aware of things I but I just couldn't do anything.

I had been doing a lot of house work, scrubbing and cleaning, I've also been doing some yard work, picking up sticks and other things the few days before the seizure. I don't know if I could have possibly over exerted myself and that could have brought on such a strong seizure. Do you think this is a possibility?

[epileric]

I had been doing a lot of house work, scrubbing and cleaning, I've also been doing some yard work, picking up sticks and other things the few days before the seizure. I don't know if I could have possibly over exerted myself and that could have brought on such a strong seizure. Do you think this is a possibility?

I think it's a definite possibility but I also think that nobody has a better idea how likely that is to have provoked a seizure than you.

For myself, I know that when I strenuously exert myself physically for a certain amount of time it's likely to provoke a seizure but if I do it regularly (like going to gym 3 or 4 times a week or when I worked on a farm daily) my tendency to have a seizure just drops dramatically.

[Nakamova]

It could be -- fatigue, over-exertion, and dehydration can be triggers. Or maybe something outside -- allergies? smells? barometric pressure?