Hello and good afternoon

[Rikipedia]

Hello everyone, I'm very pleased to introduce myself to such a tight-knit and close community!
Like many here, I am here to share information and to keep myself informed, however I will openly admit that I am non-epileptic and have no immediate friends or family who are epileptic; I am here because I am a recently qualified paramedic here in the UK and I am keenly interested in educating myself in matters of neurology, as well as reception of treatment that any of you have received or heard of from the NHS Ambulance service.

If anyone would rather not have somebody with such motives within your community then I am happy to leave, however I am also happy to share stories (modified and/or abridged for patient confidentiality and data protection), as well as answering any/all questions from a prehospital primary healthcare setting.

I look forward to getting to know you all!
Thank you in advance
Rich

 

[Porkette]

Hi Rich,

Welcome to CWE! I'm proud of you for becoming a paramedic. I know over the yrs. that I've had epilepsy (45 yrs) so many people didn't know what to do if I had a seizure they would hold me down, put a tongue depressor on my tongue thinking I would swallow my tongue but that never would happen. My Epileptologist told my husband and family that if anyone has a seizure to lay them on their side, protect them from hitting their head or any other part of their body and never put anything in a persons mouth. If the seizure lasts longer than 10 min. then off to the hospital so the Dr. can get med into the person to help bring them out of the seizure. Here's wishing you only the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue

 

[seagull]

And good evening from fellow Brit.You don't need e to come on here fact you want educate yourself on subject.first lesson I am lady who has epilepsy not epileptic.most of us don't like that word and not being PC.see person not condition unless of course need medical help.
Always wanted be para medic but to late now..What area are you.The local university which east anglia near me do degree in subject.not easy.
Hope you stay join in.I learn new things all the time on here best info from others and many of us on same Meds but experience different things

 

[valeriedl]

Hello! I think it's great when people come on here to learn more about epilepsy. Read some of the posts and feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like. You might learn more when you're hearing the answers first hand from someone with epilepsy than you do from reading it in some sort of text book or being taught by someone who doesn't have epilepsy.

Nice to meet you!

 

[Rikipedia]

Howdy everyone! I'm pleased to receive such a warm welcome from you all

Also specifically to Sue, i'm pleased to hear that those closest to you are completely clued-up on the current management; I know over the years the preferred treatments and management of a person having an epileptic seizure have changed dramatically, but you'd be surprised how many people still say things like "someone put a wallet in their mouth!" in the heat of the moment!
At present our policy is exactly as you describe it, lay them on their side and protect their head, if I have a crewmate with me I can get them to do that while I try and get IV access and give an emulsion of diazepam (Diazemuls), or failing IV access we use rectal tubes of diazepam to control their seizure before we transfer to hospital; Thankfully I've only ever had to do that method once, as you can imagine it's an unpleasant thought for the patient when they're fully recovered, and though we do our best to gain privacy by covering with sheets or blankets where possible we can't always ensure it...

And to seagull thank you very much for correcting me, I can only apologise for using the term "epileptic" and needless to say i'll be adjusting my lexicon immediately, I can completely understand why it's no longer considered politically correct, people with diabetes also resent being referred to as "diabetics" for the same reason.
I studied at Stafford university and I work for West Midlands Ambulance Service, This means I can be anywhere from the bottom end of Derbyshire all the way across to Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Black country/birmingham, needless to say we cover an enormous area.

Thank you as well Valeriedl for the warm welcome! I'd agree completely, all of my lecturers both undergrad and postgrad were former paramedics or doctors which means that though they may be exceptionally clued-up regarding the treatment and management of epilepsy, they wouldn't know first-hand, I'm so happy to be able to speak to you and everyone here, I feel that any knowledge you can impart on me will help me immeasurably in the treatment of others who may also have epilepsy.

Again, if any of you have any questions about the ambulance service please don't hesitate to ask!
Kind regards
Rich

 

[seagull]

I just read on uk forum that quite often people coming out of sz often treated as drunk and para Meds or cops yank them down hospital and unlucky person comes fully round to see alcohol leiason person standing over them.
a person has sz some one gets ambulance time medic get to you you coming out of sz and to many they appear drunk for me I not so bad just bit confused to be replaced by stocking head ache.
Some para medics let person get act together give them option of hospital they may say in persons intrest go in but they always going to say that got cover your arse and all understand you have say that.and I sort of mean when happens in public if happens in own home proberly not get para Meds out.
Example this not because of e it was asthma but same scenario I fighting to breath one para med came on bike to access sitituation gave me nubulizer and 20mins I was ok.Nice guy asked if wanted go hospital no way mate it would meant being taken 12miles wait around then getting cab home.
I think I signed something para med phoned doc to get prednisone and anti biotic problem sorted.
Myself just rather sit in ambulance until all ok and most para Meds let you

 

[seagull]

Our local hospital has esulation area which para Meds only treat you and you wait before upgraded to the A&E.usually long line of ambulance waiting to off load.Very depressing that can be up to 5 hours.All those par Meds who should be out doing their jobs stuck in ambulance que or one or two in escalation unit run off feet being expected Do nurse and own jobs.It not right

 

[Rikipedia]

That's definitely true, unfortunately it's a difficult task to determine if someone is postictal or drunk, a lot of times we're not privy to too much medical history; however if for example we find someone unresponsive in public with pupils like saucers, bradycardic and damage to head and hands from trauma from the ground then I'd quite probably put a cannula in and convey them to hospital.
I do agree though, if a person who is known to have epilepsy has a convulsion and nothing was abnormal about it then i'd ask them the question as to whether or not they want to travel, and i'd be quite happy to leave them where they are if they're safe and they want to stay there.

 

[Rikipedia]

But i'd agree with that for sure, if the queue at hospital is enormous then there should be a better system for offloading to hospital staff and clearing the ambulance resource rather than waiting with several crews at hospital until the number is low enough that we can clear and go to the next one.

 

[Livernut]

Hi rikipedia,
I've just joined also and one piece of advise I would have for you is. When you arrive at a situation always listen to the people who care for the person having the seizure. Their imput is vital. I say this as I recently had a bad experience with an a+e doctor who didn't listen to me with the result she gave my son a med she shouldn't have and I had told her about. So always listen. Livernut.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Rikipedia]

Thank you Livernut, I always do my best to get as much information as I can from people who know the patient or were on-scene at the time, however all too often the people on-scene are panicking and at a complete loss as to what to do, they may know that the pt has epilepsy however they often don't know how to manage it, case & point you'd be amazed how many wallets we see in mouths and people "protecting their head" by holding on with both hands, it's incredible i've never seen a C-Spine fracture as a result of it!!
As a hypothetical, if I was to attend a pt who is postictal but slowly regaining consciousness, what would be the best terminology to use to get some information from their friends and family?

 

[Livernut]

Probably I would ask someone who knows the pt was the seizure a normal seizure type and if the seizure was the same as normal or had it changed in any way. Also the likelihood of the patient having more seizures as I find that sometimes I can tell if my son is going to continue to seize or if it's a one seizure episode.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Rikipedia, a belated welcome to you, and three cheers to you for seeking out more information about how to treat folks with seizure disorders. Although I've never been mistreated here in the U.S. by paramedics, it would be terrific if they and other ER professionals were as proactive as you.

To add to what Livernut has said, if you can find out how long the seizure has lasted, (though keep in mind that folks tend to mis-estimate the duration unless they're actually timing it with a watch.). I think some caregivers are more used to seizures than others, so there may not be any one best way to ask for info. Generally speaking, it's probably good to keep the lingo simple. For instance, I've noticed that docs like to say "m.i." or "mycocardial infarction", and though we've all watched plenty of medical TV shows, "heart attack" is probably easier to understand.

You probably have a standard set of questions for friends and family when you're responding to a call, starting from those about the event itself, to ones about the patient's seizure history, medication history, and overall health history. Many family members are very familiar with all this info and very knowledgeable. It's important to listen to whatever they have to share with respect. I realize it can be tough when you're under time constraints, but I know you'd do your best.

 

[slobbering at night]

Hi Rikipedia, I agree with so many of the others that the more you learn the better. I was, and still am, totally amazed at how few people, including myself before I started getting them, know NOTHING about seizure. I think the thing that shocked me most when I had my first big one was the total memory loss about it happening and the "reboot" time I have to go through after it stopped.
Funny that the drinking came up because I now know that I had two such experiences like that several years ago before I knew that I was having seizures and both ended up in TOTAL embarrassment by me saying that I hadn't done any of those things, but of course I had. Both times I had smoked small amounts of marijuana and my nuero now says that's probably what did it. I know that it helps some people but apparently NOT ME! LOL Good luck with your career I'm sure you'll do great.