First seizure?

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

A

ArietisAurora

New
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hello,

On Thursday 21st Jan I had the most scary experience. I was sat at my desk in work and I had felt fine all day. All of a sudden I felt a "rush" of something over me, like dizziness or a bad feeling. I have to mention I have had that sort of feeling before on occasion but it always passed after a few seconds. I stood up and thought id get a glass of water. I took about 5 steps before it felt like I wasnt in control of my body anymore. My vision went all blurred and I felt like I had a strong vibrating feeling through my whole body. I couldnt speak or move. I was totally conscious the whole time and didnt fall over. I remember standing there thinking, "Why cant I speak?! Whats wrong with me?! Am I going to die?!" It felt like it lasted forever but colleagues who came to my aid said it was about 2-3 mins.

They said my head was right back (chin pointing to the ceiling) and my eyes were rolling in my head and I was shaking crazily. When I came out of it, I was able to speak again but it was all slurred for few seconds. I burst into tears and never felt so scared in my life.

Paramedics came and tested my heart (ECG), blood sugar, eyes, checked all my limbs for muscle weaknesses and found nothing wrong with me to explain why this happened.

I went to my GP yesterday and she thinks I could be anemic (but I was only checked for anemia 2 months ago and I was fine) Please help me understand what happened? I have no ongoing medical issues, I have not been recently sick and have never had anything like this before.

Since it happened I have had a headache, dizziness, tiredness and lack of appetite.
 
Hi, and welcome. Sorry you had this scary experience. It could have been a seizure, but as your family doctor mentioned there may be other reasons for it as well. keep on top of things by requesting general health tests from your GP to find out what might have happened, and in the meantime keep track of how you feel in a journal. Symptoms you've described can happen with low blood pressure (may have returned to normal by the time EMTs arrived), vertigo, migraine, side effect of a medication/drug, etc. but can also be seizure related. If you have these symptoms again and the tests via your family doctor have turned out to be normal, request to see a neurologist.
 
Welcome to the forum Arietus Aurora! I had a few of the "episodes" like what you are describing 13 years ago before I had my first grand mal seizure...I remember we were building a log home, and I was doing the roofing portion or it... I would get a heavy pounding in my chest and I would have to stop shingling, and just lay down on my back on the roof and just stare up in the sky because I would lose all concentration and control and not speak, and strange smell and taste would come over me.......I didn't know at the time that they were seizure related...and didn't know that a grand mal was soon coming a few weeks later...and didn't know about this wonderful forum either...all I wanted to tell you is that you may go to the doctor, and they may run all kinds of tests, and find nothing...and you may have a seizure...and they may still find nothing in the tests results...I've had all kinds of tests..and they can't find anything....at first I didn't really know what to think, but I guess I was relieved that they couldn't actually find any scar tissue on my brain...and I try to take the lowest dose of medicine that I can get by with in this lifetime....there's some harsh stuff out there....I wish you the best of luck and hope that your mild episode doesn't turn into a major one....and if it does...you have TONS of people here to talk to!
 
masterjen said:
Hi, and welcome. Sorry you had this scary experience. It could have been a seizure, but as your family doctor mentioned there may be other reasons for it as well. keep on top of things by requesting general health tests from your GP to find out what might have happened, and in the meantime keep track of how you feel in a journal. Symptoms you've described can happen with low blood pressure (may have returned to normal by the time EMTs arrived), vertigo, migraine, side effect of a medication/drug, etc. but can also be seizure related. If you have these symptoms again and the tests via your family doctor have turned out to be normal, request to see a neurologist.
Click to expand...
Everything masterjen just said. Plus I wondered if anyone had checked for signs of a TIA.
Other things that could cause this would include electrolyte imbalances. Also some specific nutrient deficiencies such as B12 could cause these problems.

Although this is easier said than done, try not to freak out. Masterjen's suggestion about keeping a journal is a good one. It will let you see patterns and correlations over time between your symptoms and what might be causing them.
E.g. alcohol consumption can cause you to lose magnesium.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I'm glad to hear that sometimes just a vitamin deficiency could cause this. The Paramedics did mention a TIA (as apparently my face did go a bit lopsided according to my colleagues) but they said that you don't recover in minutes from a TIA? I am only 29 so they said I am far too young for that?

I dont drink alcohol or take any medications or drugs, I dont even drink coffee or energy drinks.

My blood pressure is a little low (110/70) ? But it always has been low.
 
110/70 is within the normal range. Blood pressure is considered low if systolic (the top number) is below 90 and the diastolic (the bottom number) is below 60.
 
110/70 is quite healthy. But if something else temporarily pushed it lower, that could be an issue. One of the things that could do that is dehydration.

It's great that you are not into overdoing alcohol, caffeine, or other energy drinks. Those are all things that can lead to dehydration but there are other things too.

Minor (in the bigger scene of things) illnesses like a urinary tract infection that has you peeing all the time or a digestive upset giving you the "Tiajuana trots" can also cause dehydration. Or simply not drinking enough when working out or out in warm weather.

As to TIA's , I'm glad someone else thought of that too. There really is no hard and fast rule about how long one takes or how fast one recovers. That's why the T in TIA stand for "Transient".
Yes, they are unusual in someone as young as you but not unheard of. And if someone relatively young and healthy had one, the recovery time would probably be shorter. The EMTs are not used to seeing them in someone your age but that doesn't mean they can't happen. There can be blood vessel abnormalities in the brain that are congenital.

I'm sure (or I hope) that someone asked you if you have ever had a bump on the head injury growing up. Scar tissue on the inside of the skull from an even minor bonk can get in the way of blood flow and cause a TIA or even a full stroke. It can also cause seizures. This is why an MRI could tell you more.

All of this is not to tell you you definitely have one thing or another. We are not doctors. We are just saying there are a lot of things that could be causing what happened to you and you really should get checked out by a specialist.

The more information you have, the better decisions you can make.
 
Thank you very much :) Nobody asked about a head injury, I dont really remember one though I did have a nasty bump on the head a few years ago. I am going to go back and see a different GP tomorrow about it all and see about what they think. Plus I have had a constant headache and slight nausea since it happened :/
 
Urg. That sounds unpleasant.

If I were you I would insist on an MRI and a referral to a neurologist. GPs are great people but they deal with sprains, scrapes, and sore throats. You need a specialist.
 
ArietisAurora said:
Nobody asked about a head injury, I dont really remember one though I did have a nasty bump on the head a few years ago.
Click to expand...

Welcome ArietisAurora,
I never had a head injury, stroke, meningitis, encephalitis but started having seizures out of the blue when I was 22 years old. Initially, the doctor said I was hypoglycemic because the seizures started as SP. But over time, they increased in severity and went on to become CP and secondary generalized TC. But for me, they did happen around that "time of month". Catamenial seizures. Hormones can play a HUGE role in those of us who have E. So as suggested, you need to see a specialist.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Sadly guys I saw a different GP today with hope of a referral to a specialist but they still seem to think it was some kind of "faint" even though I was conscious the whole time.... :( Sadly you cant get anywhere near a specialist in the UK unless you pay for private or you can somehow convince your GP you need to be seen.

I had blood taken today to check electrolytes and iron... maybe if they are OK then they will send me off to see one.
 
ArietisAurora said:
I had blood taken today to check electrolytes and iron... maybe if they are OK then they will send me off to see one.
Click to expand...

Sometimes electrolytes can be off, thus cause weird feelings, even seizures. Hopefully they will get you in to see someone.....
 
Aurora,

I have never experienced the UK system. That said, I hope you don't hesitate to be "the squeaky wheel" when it comes to demanding proper health care for yourself.

It seems to me that some very basic diagnostic questions are not even getting asked in your case.

The resources are there. Your taxes pay for them. You just have to stand up and insist on your share.

We will be cheering you on from across the pond. :)
 
Bloods came back all OK. Need to speak with GP tomorrow to discuss referral. In the meantime however because I cant stop panicking I have booked a private Neurologist appointment for tomorrow morning because I cant cope waiting much longer. Thanks all x
 
Take a deep breath. It's going to be fine. You are taking the steps you need to get this taken care of. Like the front cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy says, "Don't Panic" :)

Keep us posted on how it turns out.
 
The UK system is really good - everything is free. ArietisAurora take some time to research this yourself. Before starting on any medication google all of the choices for side effects and make your own decision on which one might be right for you. Read through all of the possibilities for diet changes within this website and online in order to determine if that might be the way you want to go. It sounds like a huge amount to deal with, but if I could make the choices now that were made for me after a car accident when I was a teenager, I would have done things differently. The choice is totally yours but you have time to decide. Take Care.
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone and thanks again for your replies and support.

I have seen the Neurologist and he said he doesn't think it was anything sinister and that it was possibly something to do with a drop in blood pressure. He did a basic Neuro exam with reflexes and co ordination etc.

Didnt think I needed any other tests at all.

I should be pleased but I can't understand that just a drop in blood pressure could cause loss of sight, unable to speak, unable to move or feel your body, eyes rolling in your head and apparently, I was picking at my face for a few moments as well which I do not remember at all (as I couldnt feel my body)

Sigh.
 
Maybe a drop in your glucose level. Sometimes even for those without diabetes this can happen if you have not eaten for a long period of time. Or even a sudden drop in blood pressure can do this if you go from sitting to standing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom