First Seizure

[tahitahi]

For a whole week I had been experiencing dizziness, severe headaches, and black outs...I would get terrible pains in my head and would start to see black spots, and sometimes i would lose vision in the left eye..I thought maybe i was just having migraines...the other night i had severe chest pains, i felt like someone was crushing my chest, my hands went blue and ice cold and i was rushed to the hospital, by the time i got there i had a seizure...when i woke up from the seizure i felt almost like i was brain dead, and i couldn't talk properly and was throwing up, also my head pains were horrible...I had a bunch of tests, ekg and cat scan and blood work all came back normal so they sent me home. I'm still feeling dizzy with head pain and my arms sometimes go numb with a bit of chest pain every now and then. Why did i have this seizure and why do i still have headaches and numbness? Does anyone know why this happened, or has anyone ever had this happen to them before?

 

[Nakamova]

Hi tahitahi --

I know things must feel pretty scary and confusing for you right now. I send a big hug your way, and hope you can feel better soon. The effects of a seizure can take a while to wear off (it can be a few days or few weeks for some), but if you are still feeling pretty shaky, definitely contact your doctor and/or a neurologist to get a handle on what's going on. Did the hospital run an EEG? That would be a next step to potentially rule in or out something like epilepsy. Ordinarily a diagnosis of epilepsy isn't made until after more than one seizure has occurred, so it may be that your doc will want to "wait and see".

Mots of want to know WHY we have seizures. For some, there's a genetic link, for others perhaps a tiny scar or lesion on the brain from a head injury. The balance of neurotransmitters that manage the brain can get out of whack -- things like fatigue, or hormones, or food sensitivities or nutritional imbalances can sometimes push someone over the threshold. Unfortunately over half of epilepsy cases are considered to be of unknown origin. You mentioned migraines -- do you suffer from them? They are considered to be close cousins to seizure disorders. If you do, do you know what triggers them? It could be something similar that played a role in your seizure.

Feel better soon. And please keep us posted.

Best,
Nakamova