First grand mal seizure 11th April.

[RobynM]

Hi Everyone,

I am a 24 year old female distance athlete who is a learning support assistant in a mainstream Secondary School.

As my subject title suggests I had a grand mal seizure 2 months ago now and haven't had a second one since (thank God). I have an appointment to an epilepsy first fit clinic 10th July, and was wondering whether anybody else has been to one of these clinics and could share their experiences of what actually happens in such a clinic please? Thanks!

I still think about it and worry that it is going to happen again. I didn't foresee it happening, and don't really remember too much about it to be honest! I just felt so drained after it for about the week or more afterwards. I just felt really light-headed and felt even worse when work colleagues were talking about our care for a few children in our school who have regular seizures!

I had gone up to Sheffield to meet with a friend, and then we were intending to travel to Edinburgh to meet up with another friend who has recently moved there. We never made it all because of me and my unideal situation! I felt so bad! Also to top that, I had only signed back with the doctor 2 weeks before since graduating from uni as I got a chest infection and had antibiotics the weeks preceding the seizure. AND, I'd never been in an ambulance before. An experience I cannot remember so not worth the fuss was it!? hehe. Could my antibiotics (Amoxicillin) have contributed or am I picking at straws?

Really appreciate any responses back!

Thanks in advance,

Robyn x

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Robyn, welcome to CWE!

At the First Fit clinic, you will see a neurologist who will ask you about your medical history and about what happened during the seizure. They will try and determine whether the seizure was a one-time thing, or may have had a non-epileptic cause. They may arrange for additional tests -- EEG, CT/MRI scan, blood tests -- to get more information.

Did they put you on any medication after the seizure, or are you med-free at the moment?

Amoxicillin isn't known for lowering seizure threshold, so it's less likely to have been a factor. Your chest infection may have played a role -- infections and other physical stressors (fatigue, dehydration, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies or imbalances) can often be seizure triggers.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[RobynM]

Thanks for the reply!

They didn't put me on any medication. My HR, bloods etc were all within normal ranges. I bit my tongue, made a weird noise before I fitted. My friend said it lasted approx 1 minute. I had amnesia, and was so out of it that I didn't know the date or month. And when I went to the toilet 3 times, I still couldn't find my way back to my bed 3rd time round! It really scared me as I am not the sort of person to even be ill at all. I never had a day off school from ages 5-18 or a day off of work. I was just so glad that it was in the Easter holidays!

Thanks again,

Robyn

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Robyn --

Everything you describe is "normal" for a grand mal seizure -- the weird noise is the sharp intake of breath your body does to send oxygen to the brain to protect it. And the short-term memory loss is standard too.

I hope your seizure was a one-off -- about 2% of adults have a seizure at some time during their life, and two thirds of these people never have another one.

 

[RobynM]

I am glad that it is deemed 'normal' and I too hope that it is a one-off as it really frightened me. It's just the not knowing and the fact that I didn't foresee it coming at all that still worries me.

Thankyou for your time

Best wishes,