boyfriend (23yrs old) 1st seizure. please read. need advice asap

[TheJediMasterCat]

So early this afternoon around 12:30 my boyfriend rolled out of bed wheezing and having trouble breathing.
He ran to the bathroom and after waiting a bit to check on him I went to see if he was okay about 2 minutes later.
(Before this we'd woken up around 9:00am and went back to bed at about 11:30amish)

More or less so this is what happened from his (and my) point of view, because he doesn't recall any of it.
There was a tingling, in his hands and feet as well from the time that he woke up.
He went into the bathroom and immediately defecated almost involuntarily.
He got up and went to the mirror
He looked in the mirror and his whole body was BEAT read. Including his eyes.
He then passed out on the floor.

When I came to check on him his heart was pounding
He was having a REALLY hard time breathing
His eyes were fluttering and rolling up in his head, which is why I thought he was conscious just not focusing.
I had to shake him several times to get his attention, and most of the time he was unconscious.
When he could speak he kept saying, "help me I can't breathe, I can't move my legs help me."
He was twitching and spasming much like a seizure, but it wasn't as extreme as I've heard seizures described before.
Mostly his arm was to his stomach, kept unclenching, clenching, same with his legs, which were spasming too.
He had no muscle control of his arms or legs
His body was still red. He was sweating pretty badly.


At the time I did the only thing I could think of, which was to grab my inhaler to help him breathe better whilst I had my roommate call 911.
My boyfriend slowly came into reality and coherence, but he was still having a hard time speaking, couldn't move his limbs which were exhausted, and etc.

The inhaler helped him some but he was still having trouble breathing.
My roommate and I managed to carry him to the bed because he could absolutely not move his legs, and the Rescue Squad arrived there 2 minutes later.
They checked his pulse which was 60/20 and took him to the hospital.
By the time he was in the ambulance he was more coherant.
Yet even when he got to the hospital he still described his brain as feeling like mush, although he was his usual joking, if not somewhat sick looking self.

This was my mistake, but I didn't tell them about the muscle spasms.
At the time, the rescue squad assumed because he was beat red, and having diarrhea, as well as trouble breathing it was probably an allergic reaction as well as an asthma attack.

The Doctor at the hospital suggested the tingling was a sign of something neurological but nothing connected...

Anyway, I didn't tell them about the spasms because I didn't realize he didn't know nor remember he was having them (which from what I've read is very common among seizures) so I assumed he told them himself.

It wasn't till we got home later where he was like, "Man, I feel like I was having muscle spasms or something."

And my response was "You were, don't you remember?"

And that's how we figured it out.

He has all the signs listed from:
epilepsy dot com

Racing thoughts
Tingling feeling
Fear/Panic
* Dizziness
* Headache
* Lightheadedness
* Nausea
* Numbness
# Black out
# Confusion
Loss of consciousness
# Convulsion
# Difficulty talking
# Eyelid fluttering
# Eyes rolling up
# Falling down
# Foot stomping
# Hand waving
# Inability to move
Incontinence
Sweating
# Twitching movements
# Breathing difficulty
# Heart racing
* Memory loss
* Writing difficulty
Difficulty talking
Exhaustion
# Headache
# Nausea
# Pain
# Thirst
# Weakness
# Urge to urinate/defecate

Even now it's an effort for him to walk to much or even lift simple weight, again it just happened this early afternoon.

Obviously, the next step is to go straight to a neurologist.
But I was looking for some information as to:
What type of seizure this is.
How often this might occur.
If it will get worse.
If I should take him back to the ER ASAP if its an immediate threat since it just happened today.
What may have caused it (Again, we don't know, all he did was wake up and BAM)


Also, it's important to note that he has a history of recreational drug use, but nothing for months. And nothing additively. Ecstasy (nearly a year ago), acid (months ago), and coke(months ago) were all used in the past. Could any of these drugs have caused potential damage such as this. Even if its been awhile since he's done them? Please don't give me just speculations on this issue, a website or reference would be great so I could show it to him myself.

Thanks. We're really scared and trying to deal with this the best we can. Any help would be amazing. Thank you!

--Cat

 

[RobinN]

Hi Cat! Welcome to CWE

Sorry to hear that your BF is going through all of this. Sounds pretty scary from your description.
Yes an appt with a neuro would be a good idea. We are on our third one so if one doesn't fit try on others for comfort. He/She will be able to tell you what type of seizure it is. There is not predicting how often a seizure will occur. He might be lucky and this will be the only one. Could he have a viral infection? Just a thought.
It could get worse or not. No telling. Wish there was a crystal ball... I wouldn't even charge.
I think since you aren't under a doctors care yet, if there is another event you should return to the ER. That is what I would do. But if he does have additional ones after you have a good doctor on board they can usually tell you what they are comfortable with. For my daughter we have a letter that states that 911 be called if the seizure is over 5 min. or if it is status (meaning one right after another).

In my mind there are many things that can cause seizures. I learn of new ones almost weekly. It might not be any one thing, but a combination of things. I have learned that we are all an inch away from a seizure. Some people just have a few too many triggers that push them over the edge. What my approach is for my daughter is that I am trying to raise her threshold higher, so that she returns to the health that she lived with for 13 years. I believe I will find her seizure free within the year.

Your questions about recreational drugs in my opinion would be a YES. Even foods we eat can be a trigger, so I suggest that he learn as much as he can so as to reduce his likelihood of continueing this pattern.

Hope he rests until you can see a doctor. Glad you felt safe to join us.

 

[Bernard]

Hi TJMC, welcome to the forum. :hello:

... When he could speak he kept saying, "help me I can't breathe, I can't move my legs help me." ...

That is not normal during any type of seizure that I am aware of. The symptoms you described sounded like complex partial seizures, but those involve impaired consciousness and people having them cannot speak coherently. Paralysis generally does not extend into post-ictal periods.

But I was looking for some information as to:
What type of seizure this is.
How often this might occur.
If it will get worse.
If I should take him back to the ER ASAP if its an immediate threat since it just happened today.
What may have caused it (Again, we don't know, all he did was wake up and BAM)

They *might* have been complex partial seizures.

Seizure frequency runs the gamout from multiple times per hour to once every few years. It really depends upon the individual's seizure threshold and lifestyle. If you continue to expose yourself to seizure triggers, eventually you are going to seize.

Someone who has uncontrolled epilepsy - repeating seizure activity - is at risk of a process called kindling whereby the brain "trains itself to seize". The neuronal pathways that are used during the seizure activity get strengthened and easier to "spark" - in effect, the seizure threshold diminishes and seizures can get stronger (more intense) or even generalize (spread to more of the brain) into tonic clonic (aka grand mal) or other seizure types.

It is generally recommended to call for emergency medical attention when someone experiences status epilepticus. If he sees a neuro soon, I'm sure the doctor will provide some clearer guidelines for his particular case.

Most people with epilepsy (especially late onset epilepsy) never determine what caused it. There are numerous possibilities.

I'd recommend you check out the epilepsy 101 thread for some good background info.

Could any of these drugs have caused potential damage such as this.

IMO, yes all three of them could have contributed to brain damage and lowering of the seizure threshold. Has he also taken part in recreational oxygen deprivation for a high? That can also be a factor IMO.

Life is too short and precious to waste on drugs. :soap: Hope he stays away from them.

 

[TheJediMasterCat]

Hi TJMC, welcome to the forum. :hello:



That is not normal during any type of seizure that I am aware of. The symptoms you described sounded like complex partial seizures, but those involve impaired consciousness and people having them cannot speak coherently. Paralysis generally does not extend into post-ictal periods.

I wouldn't say that he was able to talk during it. It was more like, he was having trouble speaking as it was coming on... and then nothing. Then he was unconscious, eyes rolling back in his head, fluttering eyelids, muscle spasms, etc etc etc.

About 3-4 minutes of that, and holding his head in my hands and trying to get his attention (didn't realize he wasn't conscious, since his eyes were fluttering) and saying his name he slowly began to try and talk, and the spasms slowed down. He told me he didn't hear a word I said until then, and at this point I was shaking him (probably not helping the situation I realize) trying to get him to snap out of it. I had my inhaler in my hand, so I was hoping to give it to him, which I did as soon as he was able to.

He used to have asthma as a child and had asthma attacks up until his teens so at the time, before we realized it was a seizure I thought it was just that.

After the seizure he was ridiculously weak and tired, couldn't move his legs well... at all, and he was trying. My roommate and I carried him to the bed and then the Rescue Squad was there, the whole event took about 10 minutes.

From the time he got out of bed. 3 minutes till he passed out. 2 minutes of consciousness and the oncoming seizure. And then unconscious for a good 4 or so minutes. And then conscious again.

I did read from the site I listed difficulty breathing was fairly common, and considering he also has asthma it wouldn't surprise me. From what I understand, it was like he basically lost all bodily functions and went into a seizure. Including being able to breathe.

From what I understand, I realize it possibly was not an epileptic seizure, but this is really the only place that I knew to go for help.

It's just so weird. All the foods he ate that day were common for him. Everything we did... common. He had 2 beers at around 10pm the night before, and then the next day at around 12:30 this happened.

He just... woke up with tingling in his feet and hands and then it happened.




As for the drugs, he's been off them for awhile. He never did anything except for on the rare occasion to begin with but he does have a history of taking a lot of LSD. But don't worry, like i said, he's been done with this for awhile so current use is not an issue at all right now.


He'll definitely be going to a neurologist sometime soon. He has no health insurance though, which is the biggest problem. He doesn't make the most money either, and paying rent comes first you know?

I plan to get in touch with some of the free clinics tomorrow to see what they can do though. I'm hoping maybe they could refer us to a neurologist who could get him medical aid or help even if its only working out a payment plan for the tests.

Seems like there's no other option with an issue this big of a deal.

What scared me most about the seizure was that he couldn't breathe, as well how much his blood pressure changed (60/20 when the rescue squad took it). While I realize the breathing thing might be extreme, when someone has severe asthma it doesn't seem unlikely at all.


Thanks so much for your responses.

 

[alivenwell]

Did he ever have his blood sugar level tested? He may have a low sugar level which can put somebody into a coma-like state. Just a thought. The alcohol would not help lower his sugar level, nor would it help his epilepsy.

I'd have him checked out asap on a regular basis with or without insurance. This sounds pretty serious. I've heard that people who have severe seizures do not always lose a significant amount of oxygen under certain circumstances. But, his asthma background might be a major factor here.

 

[RobinN]

My daughter had a seizure once where she was awake, conscious, and yet had difficulty breathing. I then went online and did a search and found this too can be a form of a seizure.

 

[stilldancing_98]

Over the years my seizures have changed a lot. They were localized and now are generalized. I do have less Tonic clonics though. Grand mal. But some I can talk a little while having them and am fully aware of what is going on. I told my Dr. this and he said that that is good because my seizure is partial. And that is why I am aware. It comes from my myoclonics.I still think that there are seizures that are not defined.If your son has a good regular Dr. I would be calling him or her now to see your son and get a good referral.If there is a seizure in the meantime take him into the hospital and maybe you will get some instant help.

 

[BuckeyeFan]

I hope you can find some help here. My personal advice in addition to those above.

1. Do call 911 until he has been seen by a neurologist or similar specialist. With these open ended symptoms, there are multiple issues he could be dealing with.

2. Be OPEN and HONEST about his history with the medical personnel. Believe me, they have dealt with it before and they need to know this. Yes, the LSD could be a factor.

3. Communicate all of what you told us to him. You may need to repeat it a few times over the next couple of days until it really sinks in how ill he was. During seizures, we don't have very much memory and it can take anywhere from 12-72 hours to recover fully.

Best of luck to both of you. It sounds like he is lucky to have you.

 

[debgra]

it may be a one time thing, but i would watch him 24-7, if it happens again call 911 and get a neurologist that you can speak to and relate all symptoms