This is my introduction, but it's also a question about my former epilepsy. I decided not to post to seperate threads, as I don't intend to be here a very long time. I just want to write this one post.
I am male, 15 years old and live in the united states. I had epilepsy for a few years, and was on medication for a few more until my doctor determined I no longer have epilepsy and could stop taking medication. I'm fine now, but I sometimes worry about having another seizure. Every time I get tired, feel a prickly/numb sensation, anxiety tremors, or a series of muscle twitches I can get worried if I think about my past seizures. I will tell my "story" and you can give feedback regarding how rational my fears are. I'm pretty sure they are irrational, I just think it would help to hear it (or not) from a community that likely knows more about seizures than I do.
I'm bad at remembering dates, but I think my first seizure was when I was about eight or nine years old. I was walking up the stairs, tripped, and hit my cheek on a stair, hard enough to knock a tooth out and leave a big bruise on my face. That night I had a grand mal seizure. One side of my face (I think it was the right, but I'm not really sure) went numb and I couldn't move. My dad told me he could hear me making choking noises, so he came upstairs and tried to wake me up. It took a while, but I eventually did. He looked worried, and had called 911 and gave me water. I didn't quite understand at the time. I felt fine afterwards, and I assumed what I experienced was just my cheek healing or something like that. The paramedic said that if I had a seizure, I would have a fever/other effects afterwards (which I didn't) and left. My dad decided I must have been choking on a leftover part of my tooth that had broken off...he decided to ignore the rest of the symptoms I described.
But another year (or perhaps it was later in that year...I'm really terrible with recalling dates) I stayed at my stepfathers house. It was hot there, and I didn't sleep well at all that night. Heat and lack of sleep were the two main triggers of my seizures. I walked out of the room to the bathroom, and my face went numb again. I went to sit on the couch and began to tell my mother, but suddenly I froze and couldn't move, talk, or breathe very well. I don't remeber the rest, but my mom said I then began shaking violently before passing out. This seizure was much worse than my first one. I was taken to the emergency room, where doctors determined I had a seizure.
The third time was when I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was tired, taking a nap on the couch, and I began having a seizure. Not quite as bad as the second but definately worse than the first.
I did a series of tests after this, and the EEG (scheduled after) showed I had a form of epilepsy. It was apparently age/growing related somehow, and the fact that I hit my cheek was apparently irrelevent. and the doctor said it would go away after a few years and that they weren't dangerous in any way...In fact, she said there's no better place (in the brain) a person with epilepsy would wish their condition to effect than the part I was effected. I took medication to reduce the likelyhood of another seizure, and eventually (a few years later) went for another EEG after being taken off medication. I kind of "cheated" and went to bed slightly earlier than I was supposed to (I was supposed to be deprived of sleep) but Im not sure if that effects the test results at all. Anyway, it was concluded that I no longer have epilepsy, and I haven't had a seizure since that last (third) one.
...yet I still worry sometimes. What if going to bed an hour early messed up the test results completely? What if I was misdiagnosed and my seizures were actually due completely to my injury? What if they happen again? Is this possible?
It might also be important to note that my aunt once had epilepsy and hers went away in a matter of years like mine, and never came back...not sure if epilepsy is hereditary though.
Sorry, this was a long post with somewhat uneccessary details. I added them just to be sure that the entire situation is being explained.
I am male, 15 years old and live in the united states. I had epilepsy for a few years, and was on medication for a few more until my doctor determined I no longer have epilepsy and could stop taking medication. I'm fine now, but I sometimes worry about having another seizure. Every time I get tired, feel a prickly/numb sensation, anxiety tremors, or a series of muscle twitches I can get worried if I think about my past seizures. I will tell my "story" and you can give feedback regarding how rational my fears are. I'm pretty sure they are irrational, I just think it would help to hear it (or not) from a community that likely knows more about seizures than I do.
I'm bad at remembering dates, but I think my first seizure was when I was about eight or nine years old. I was walking up the stairs, tripped, and hit my cheek on a stair, hard enough to knock a tooth out and leave a big bruise on my face. That night I had a grand mal seizure. One side of my face (I think it was the right, but I'm not really sure) went numb and I couldn't move. My dad told me he could hear me making choking noises, so he came upstairs and tried to wake me up. It took a while, but I eventually did. He looked worried, and had called 911 and gave me water. I didn't quite understand at the time. I felt fine afterwards, and I assumed what I experienced was just my cheek healing or something like that. The paramedic said that if I had a seizure, I would have a fever/other effects afterwards (which I didn't) and left. My dad decided I must have been choking on a leftover part of my tooth that had broken off...he decided to ignore the rest of the symptoms I described.
But another year (or perhaps it was later in that year...I'm really terrible with recalling dates) I stayed at my stepfathers house. It was hot there, and I didn't sleep well at all that night. Heat and lack of sleep were the two main triggers of my seizures. I walked out of the room to the bathroom, and my face went numb again. I went to sit on the couch and began to tell my mother, but suddenly I froze and couldn't move, talk, or breathe very well. I don't remeber the rest, but my mom said I then began shaking violently before passing out. This seizure was much worse than my first one. I was taken to the emergency room, where doctors determined I had a seizure.
The third time was when I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was tired, taking a nap on the couch, and I began having a seizure. Not quite as bad as the second but definately worse than the first.
I did a series of tests after this, and the EEG (scheduled after) showed I had a form of epilepsy. It was apparently age/growing related somehow, and the fact that I hit my cheek was apparently irrelevent. and the doctor said it would go away after a few years and that they weren't dangerous in any way...In fact, she said there's no better place (in the brain) a person with epilepsy would wish their condition to effect than the part I was effected. I took medication to reduce the likelyhood of another seizure, and eventually (a few years later) went for another EEG after being taken off medication. I kind of "cheated" and went to bed slightly earlier than I was supposed to (I was supposed to be deprived of sleep) but Im not sure if that effects the test results at all. Anyway, it was concluded that I no longer have epilepsy, and I haven't had a seizure since that last (third) one.
...yet I still worry sometimes. What if going to bed an hour early messed up the test results completely? What if I was misdiagnosed and my seizures were actually due completely to my injury? What if they happen again? Is this possible?
It might also be important to note that my aunt once had epilepsy and hers went away in a matter of years like mine, and never came back...not sure if epilepsy is hereditary though.
Sorry, this was a long post with somewhat uneccessary details. I added them just to be sure that the entire situation is being explained.
