Had a Seizure for First Time - Scared Now

[Whoshooter]

Hello there everyone.

I'm a 49 old married man and I had a seizure a week ago for the first time that was very scary for the entire family, and I suppose I am just coming to grips with it all. I have to admit that I'm scared.

Not sure what caused the seizure, and we're all just guessing so far. I thought I would list the situations surrounding me at the time and maybe you might know what kind of seizure it was and why.

1 - was really stressed out because we're moving and my parents were in town after not seeing them for 2 years
2 - was having a low blood sugar reaction that I've gotten since I was a child and was always fixed by eating some food
3- sat in RV for 10 minutes by myself and exhaust was coming in back window - enough that when my family came in they all complained about the smell
4- drove down the block and filled up the gas tank (big tank)
5- got back in the drivers seat to drive and started having trouble seeing straight - blinking my eyes to refocus but my eyes couldn't do it
6 - a second later I blacked out
7 - bystanders said I shook all over, face turned blue, and blood came out of my mouth from biting my tonque
8 - lasted for about 90 seconds
9 - I came to in the ambulance with oxygen and IV hooked up
10 - left hospital 7 hours later with bruised feet, cut up tongue and really sore back muscles

We discovered three days later that the battery in the carbon monoxide detector was in backwards and was not working.

Blood test, CT Scan, EKG, etc. show normal.

We are assuming that this was all due to a combination of fuel vapors, carbon monoxide posioning, low blood sugar, and stress - all in perfect concert in a perfect storm - a ONE TIME thing.

Judging by my description of the eyes going all wacky just before seizure, and my description(s), do you believe that we are correct in our assumptions, or I have I contracted a new thing in my late forties, and I will be having more of these coming my way.

Thank you for reading this story -

 

[WADriver]

hi - i had a very similar situation 6 weeks ago. wasn't in a car so carbon dioxide not an issue for me. i saw flashes in the lead up to my seizure, woke up in ambulance and suffered a bit tongue and a saw right shoulder for about a month. one thing they seem to be interested in for me is my head movements, tongue bite and slight leak of urine. hope that helps. as for diagnoses I've only had the EEG so far and awaiting heart scans and an MRI.

 

[Krista2882]

Hi, and welcome!
You mentioned having an EKG but not an EEG (unless you meant to say EEG- where they attach electrodes to your head and read the brain waves). And EEG is one of the key tests they should have given you. There is a chance of a false negative because it can't always read all the seizures if they originate too deep within the brain, but if they see abnormal brain activity on the EEG, there's a good chance you will be getting more seizures.
It sounds like that combo of things could cause a one-time seizure- the stress, and the blood sugar, and the fumes. But it would still be good to get an EEG done.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Whoshooter, welcome to CWE!

One in 20 people will have a one-off seizure at some point in their life. No way to know for sure if your seizure is a one-off, but I sincerely hope it is! Though the number of reported cases for this scenario is low, a new onset seizure with no other obvious cause occurring in circumstances in which carbon monoxide toxicity would be suspected can probably be attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Given that you were also stressed in other ways due to the move and your possible low blood sugar, then this seems a reasonable conclusion.

It doesn't hurt to play it safe -- as other suggest above, an EEG may be a good idea. And you should be especially careful to mitigate any stress in your life right now. Get plenty of sleep, eat and drink properly, etc.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[JillT]

Try not to stress about it! Learn about it!

I know you are going to anyway. After 26 years, I still would like to know why I have seizures. It doesn't stop me from being a mom and a wife. Since I don't wear a medical alert bracelet, I always have a buddy who can call 911 if I go down, excuse me, have an event.

Learn about it.

 

[JillT]

I hate it when I bite my tongue, which is almost always during a tonic-clonic/grand mal.

 

[Bathtub]

JillT wrote: Did you know that Seizures are named after Julius Caesar?

You know I just learnt that here. I almost picked Grandma Caesar for a username, sorry that's the level of my sense of humour, but I realised I would never be able to spell it...

I guess I must be settling in here if I can laugh about these things. Had lunch with my friend today who has to combine long-haul flights with insulin diabetes, and she manages.

I think you wrote on another thread about mentoring JillT, well sharing your knowledge and joining in the fellowship here is a good start! Thankyou

 

[qtowngirl]

Actually not the case, is a myth just like caesar salad.


from Dictionary.com-

seizure
"act of seizing," late 15c., from seize + -ure. Meaning "sudden attack of illness" is attested from 1779.

 

[JillT]

I need to go and check my history books.

 

[JillT]

Brain Fart. Sorry for the confusion. I checked and Julius Ceasar and Alexander the Great- they were both diagnosed after their deaths. It's been a year or two since I looked that information up. I guess I still have a bit of Swiss cheese brain from my concussion in April.

 

[Starfish]

1/10 people who don't have epilepsy will at one point or another experience a seizure in their life. You're probably just a memeber of that "lucky" 10% that gets to know what it's like to be like us for a few days.