Are You My Seizure?

[bentwanderer]

There is a toddler's book called "Are You My Mother?" It's about a baby bird that fell of its nest and is hopping around the woods asking all the other woods animals if they are her mother. Has a happy ending, baby and mama are reunited.

The connection to epilepsy is I'm trying to discern (am 68 and just diagnosed with CPS 2-1/2 months ago) what are seizures, what are post-seizure recoup, and what are medication side effects. Hoping someone(s) might help me figure it out.

Since my first CPS I have had no more of that flavor. But, I think I have had several (3) SPS or maybe Absence seizures??. I'll describe what I've experienced and maybe some of you can fill in some gaps for me.

October 6

• 1. Riding my bike (I ride 1,100 mi per month) I felt nauseated with a low grade headache in bilateral temporal/parietal areas
  2. Got off my bike and felt thick/fuzzy headed and a bit dizzy
  3. Rode on to a "safe" intersection and felt there was a disconnect between my cognition and my motor responses. Didn't feel safe riding on a 55 mph road with a very narrow shoulder, a road I've ridden regularly. Called my husband for a pick-up
  
  November 9
• • participating in a 12-hr Time Trial in California (I live in Tucson). Had every reason to expect I could complete 200 miles in the 12 hrs.
  • started struggling with nausea, headache (as above) at about mile 120. Pushed on to mile 153 and called it a day. Thick/fuzzy headed. Felt totally wasted
  .
  
  November 16
• *
  • At a PAC 12 football game, 74 degrees, sunny. Early in the 2nd half fell asleep (I guess) in my seat at the stadium. "Woke up"/came to with some lip smackin
  
  
  After all three episodes it would take 12-36 hours to feel normal again. Affect would be flat, super low energy, speech would be monotoned, would feel very inefficient, ineffective, unproductive.
  
  Thanks in advance for your help.
  
  Susan

 

[Janus]

Hi, welcome. I hope you have a chance to look around this site because it is full of descriptions very close to yours of seizures and the like. A common theme is physical depletion of some sort, usually regarding sleep deprivation but of other types too. Thats what came to my mind when reading your post. We all have first had experiences of all manor of seizures here and medications. We share what worked and what did not. It is a safe place to share and there is a plethora of past ( and not that old) notes to draw from. I hope you quickly find what helps you on here , and just by saying what you went through is great and helpful. Come back and welcome again

 

[bentwanderer]

Thanks Janus. Only been on the site for 2 days, so have much to explore and learn. Thanks for responding.

 

[Belinda5000]

Hello,
welcome to the board.
Look at the different threads and it'll help answer a lot of your questions.

It's normal to take awhile to get back to your old self after a seizure, it's taken me as long as 5 days before.

Crowds bring on seizures with me, so it can with anyone.

 

[bentwanderer]

Thanks, Belinda.
Susan

 

[chmmr]

Susan i would think based on your description the first two were likely med side effects, and the last one where you fell asleep, how long were you out for? The lip smacking can definitely be an automatism related to seizures.

Regardless of whether it's seizure activity, or med related though, because it is affecting your regular day to day living, i would definitely be mentioning it to your neuro so they can help you get to the bottom of it. Good luck!!

 

[bentwanderer]

Thanks chmmr, trying to get an appointment with my epileptologist. The reason I'm inclined to think that the first two were not med related is that after 24-36 hrs the total depletion lifted and I was back to my old, new self with no shifts in the meds.

Re: how long out, I would guess (don't really know) I was "fighting" to stay with it for 10+/- minutes.

Susan