First Seizure at age 32

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Hi All

Had very scary experince two weeks ago. Had just finished work and was walking down the road with a friend of mine at 5pm (thank god she was with me) when I suddenly felt dizzy and needed to sit down. Thankfully there was a bus stop nearby and thats all I remembered.....my friend and various bystanders witnessed me having a seizure for 30 seconds.. I came to in the ambulance and was very confused and disorientated. A very frightening experience. CT was clear. On waiting list for EEG. I wasn't incontinent and didn't bite my tounge. My calf 's were very sore for days afterwards and my jaw and teeth. To be fair..I had been burning the candle at both ends..had a biggish nite the night before, weeks of not sleeping properly (was taking sleeping tabs) relationship break up and not eating well and working in demanding job. Has anyone else had a similar experience? obviously the universe was trying to tell me something SLOW DOWN. Well it worked. Im just paranoid that it will happen again. Would like to be able to have a social drink without worrying so much. HELP!
 
There is good news, and some bad as well. I am 30 and was just diagnosed in June after having three tonic-clonics in one day. In my case the tests confirmed right away that it was Epilepsy when paired with the frequent deja-vu's and symptoms I was having.

From what I have heard, 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their life and not have Epilepsy. This would lead me to believe that at the least you have a lower seizure threashold.

Take it easy, wait for the eeg and don't worry too much, stress can also be a trigger as you jave already found out.

Good luck,

John
 
Hi Catherine - sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience.
It would be my guess, if you were my daughter that you had to be knocked on the head big time, to realize that you need to slow down. The body and brain are incredible machines, but we do need to honor them, and treat them with respect.

It is a warning... if you don't change some habits, you might be in for a reoccurrance. The brain has the ability to learn to release itself this way. This is known as kindling. You can google that to find out how that happens.

My daughter is not incontinent, and rarely bites her tongue. There are many reasons for people to have seizures. Your post hits on a few of those reasons.
 
:hello: Catherine,

I moved your thread over here, so that
others would welcome you to CWE. I'm
so sorry you've had to experience the
seizures. However, visiting this place
here would be a good start for you:


EPILEPSY 101
 
Hi Catherine ~ It's such good news your CT was clear.

When I first started having seizures (age 46) I did not lose control of my bladder or bite my tongue but I did continue having them. I sure hope you don't.

Take care of yourself and write notes about what's going on.
 
I also did not lose my bladder or bite my tongue during my grand mal seizure (had my first at 25-but did have history of partials prior to that). I think the worst part for me was all the testing and waiting to find out a diagnosis. Hang in there!
 
I had my first seizure at age 47 (this year). I have petit mals and have never bit my tongue, wet myself.
For me, lack of sleep is a huge trigger...but stress can be a trigger too. Some people can not drink as it is a trigger for them. I have a glass of wine about twice a year and it is not a problem for me.
The EEG will be a good tool to find out what is going on. Why are you on a waiting list to have one?
The one thing I have learned about seizures.....there is no thing as textbook seizures! They vary greatly from one person to another.
Welcome
 
Hi Catherine, welcome to the forum. :hello:

..I had been burning the candle at both ends..had a biggish nite the night before, weeks of not sleeping properly (was taking sleeping tabs) relationship break up and not eating well and working in demanding job. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I'm not sure what is the more common (or should I say more powerful) seizure trigger - lack of good sleep or high stress. Both together are a devastating 1-2 punch for folks with low seizure thresholds.

My wife has had her problems in the past with overloading schedule (taking on too many projects at one time) and sticking to a 9 hour a night sleep schedule, but when she is vigilant with it, she does very well with seizure control.

As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations."
 
Hi Catherine, welcome to the forum. :hello:



I'm not sure what is the more common (or should I say more powerful) seizure trigger - lack of good sleep or high stress. Both together are a devastating 1-2 punch for folks with low seizure thresholds.

My wife has had her problems in the past with overloading schedule (taking on too many projects at one time) and sticking to a 9 hour a night sleep schedule, but when she is vigilant with it, she does very well with seizure control.

As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

What's worse is when you have insomnia and you have to be at work at 5 am like me! I've noticed my auras have increased in the past year since starting this job. Luckily, my dad saw an opening at the company he works so I might have a day job soon (crosses fingers).

Welcome to CWE!
 
Hiya Catherine

I can relate to this, I find myself in similar situations to you regularly, I have a very stressful job, sometimes I work long hours (16 hour days), when this happens I don't eat right, but I always try to make sure I get a decent nights sleep and keep my meds in sync. Tiredness and stress are my biggest triggers, so I HAVE to try and cope with my job without getting to stressed out and I try to make sure I get 7 hours sleep a night (worknights) and loads and loads of sleep at the weekend to recharge my batteries (when I am not working). Problem is I have a slight insomnia problem with the meds I am on, so I go round in a vicious circle. Oh and just like you I split from my boyfriend as well.

I have absence seizures and they are uncontrolled despite trying several med concoctions since I was a child. I have never found alcohol to be a noticeable trigger for me. I have had a couple of larger seizures during the night where I have woken up with my jaw locked and the side of my tongue caught between my teeth, but it has never been painful or bleeding.
 
Hi Everyone
Thank you all so much for your replies. Robin, that is exactly what my mother said! That it was a warning to slowdown. I am on a waiting list and have been told I will get the eeg within 6 months but think I should get it sooner for peice of mind. Does anyone know what the cost is? Also...what exactly happens with aura's? yesterday in a meeting I completely zoned out, felt dizzy and like I was somewhere else. Then is passed. Had a terrible sleep last night as taking melatonin tabs instead of sleeping tabs and not working for me.
Sick of worrying about this everytime I feel dizzy. I also have very low blood pressure. 110/60. If I have another seizure, would I need to go to the hospital again? Its hard to as I live in an apartment on my own. Even if the EEG is clear, it doesn't mean that it won't happen again?
 
Catherine, do you take the time to really relax prior to bedtime? Do you "prime" the brain to understand that sleep is forthcoming?
Notes for the next day, bath (with others knowledge, might be difficult living alone), a routine, no TV, no caffeine. This might take hours, but you do let the brain know that it is time to turn off. Write your worries down, so that you can let them go, and not bring them to bed.

EMTs should be called if the seizures are longer than 5 min. Not sure how that is handled when others aren't available to help you.

I do know that a clear EEG is not an indicator that seizures will not continue to happen. It is one, and only one test to help the doctor diagnose your situation. Other tests are MRIs and MRAs, VEEGs.... 6 Months seems to be an awful long time to wait for this test. I would not be satisfied waiting that long. However, know it is not always going to give you the answers that you want. My daughter had one abnormal one, but the ones she had after that were not.

It is a long process, and takes some patience to figure out what and why it is happening.
 
Hi Catherine,

I'm also 32. I, too, find myself juggling lots of things at once. And, like you, I have low blood pressure. Both my "S" and "D" numbers are usually below 100, and at times so low I fall down. I'm sure you know this, but that could be a cause of the recent dizziness.

When pregnant with my son, I was staying shifts at the hospital with my mom (she had cancer, but is in remission now thank God). So there I was pregnant, sleeping in a hospital, worried over my mom, going to graduate school, working part-time, and "taking care" of my husband and my house. Yep, I learned right quick how big a factor stress plays...and the importance of taking care of MYSELF! :e::agree:

I wish you could get your EEG sooner! But as Robin said, one EEG may not show anything. They may need to perform a variety of tests to find where your seizures arise from.

My cousin had one tonic-clonic seizure during a particularly stressful time during her life, and she never had another one. I will pray this happens for you. :e:

Welcome to our forum "home" and please take care of yourself. We will be glad to offer any advice or support that we can. I know this is a tense time for you...waiting is never easy.

Try to sleep well tonight. -Julie
 
Thanks Julie! its so reassuring to get nice messages like yours. Im glad that your mum is ok now. I am a registered nurse from New Zealand..have seen plenty of seizures before but never thought I would be the one having one! I prey too that it was a one off occurance..and obviously I really needed to look after myself. Im not quite sure why it happened now as I have been living the lifestyle for quite sometime..but who knows..everybody as their breaking point and that was mine.

"To thine ownself be true" - William Shakespeare
 
catherine,
do you have government medical in New Zealand? Is that why they are making you wait so long? When neurolgist saw me and said I was having seizures, he got me in to have EEG and MRI the very next day. While it is not a guarantee the test will show your seizure activity, if they could do it very soon and find out if you should be on seizure meds...I am concerned that no one is doing anything medically to assit you....if there somewhere you can go to and get tested sooner. Have you followed up with a neuroligist?
As much as I complain about insurance companies, thank God I am able to live in a country where there is medcal treatent avaible.
jeninfer
 
catherine,
do you have government medical in New Zealand? Is that why they are making you wait so long? When neurolgist saw me and said I was having seizures, he got me in to have EEG and MRI the very next day. While it is not a guarantee the test will show your seizure activity, if they could do it very soon and find out if you should be on seizure meds...I am concerned that no one is doing anything medically to assit you....if there somewhere you can go to and get tested sooner. Have you followed up with a neuroligist?
As much as I complain about insurance companies, thank God I am able to live in a country where there is medcal treatent avaible.
jeninfer

All I have to say is that I hope to god America never adopts the same health care system as Canada and other countries have; AKA, universal health care.
 
I agree Googly...I had trauma in 2006 to my arm...came close to having it amputated...thank God for the special surgeon that did everything possible and saved my arm...he even had to forego pay on most of my surgeries (insert insurance rant here).. I try to remind people if I had my trauma under universal health care, I would be sitting here without my usable left arm.
 
I wonder if a low sugar level accounted for any of your symptoms. Try getting one of those glucose monitors and checking to see if your sugar levels are within a normal range.

From what you described, that sounds like an aura. Only testing will tell that.

If you were not eating right, it could have an effect on glucose levels.
 
Hi Jeninfer, yes we have a public health system in NZ which is sometimes just as quick as going privately if you go through a good doctor who will refer you urgently. I will follow this up. A CT scan was done straight away. From what I understand, a clear EEG does not necessarly mean I will remain seizure free but the sooner I get some answers the better. I did have my blood glucose level checked in the ambulance which was within normal limits. The only abnormal blood test was my liver - GTT which was slightly elevated. I had a few red wines the night before but nothing excessive (staying away from wine currently) i had also been sick with a chest infection, was run down and had lost weight. For a few weeks prior to the event...I was mixing up words in my emails or missing them out entirely. I also had twitching muscles occasionally. These must have been warning signs. I am feeling very dizzy today as had a bad sleep...worrying about all of this does not help. Just went for a walk at lunch time and was worried that I could drop at any time.
 
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