I had my first grand mal when I was 71 years old. I am lucky to have waited so long, but I feel a bit odd and don't have many people that I can talk with about epilepsy, so I am very happy to discover you. Before the GM, I had three lesser seizures that involved flinging myself out of bed (and knocking over heavy night stand and lamp), sideswiping a parked truck, "losing my balance" and hitting the wall really hard, but I was diagnosed with a middle ear infection and then a middle ear disease. After a year of being uncomfortable with the diagnoses, I had a grand mal while I was driving over the crest of a CA hill with a 400 ft drop and discovered I was losing motor control and consciousness. I ricocheted from barrier across two lanes into mountainside with damage only to cars (VERY lucky). But I still didn't get diagnosed until 2 MDs later.
I had viral encephalitis in 1961 (in Detroit, MI), had a fall with a concussion in 1978, and nothing else neurological. After multiple tests, my neurologist (who is very supportive) diagnosed me as epileptic partly because the proportion of healthy brain tissue to old scars changes with age and partly because of my experience of memory deficits following the accident. (I REALLY hate how I feel after a seizure.) I am on medication and have had to increase the dose this year following three "absence" seizures (I am glad to have a name for them.) I am driving again after six months off for the 2nd time (we use a paid driver--a very expensive solution). My husband has Alzheimer's disease and is dependent on me, and I feel very capable again now that it has been ten months since I've had any problem. But I worry that I may be wrong, even though my neurologist thinks I'll be fine. What else besides absence seizures may be in store for me?
I had viral encephalitis in 1961 (in Detroit, MI), had a fall with a concussion in 1978, and nothing else neurological. After multiple tests, my neurologist (who is very supportive) diagnosed me as epileptic partly because the proportion of healthy brain tissue to old scars changes with age and partly because of my experience of memory deficits following the accident. (I REALLY hate how I feel after a seizure.) I am on medication and have had to increase the dose this year following three "absence" seizures (I am glad to have a name for them.) I am driving again after six months off for the 2nd time (we use a paid driver--a very expensive solution). My husband has Alzheimer's disease and is dependent on me, and I feel very capable again now that it has been ten months since I've had any problem. But I worry that I may be wrong, even though my neurologist thinks I'll be fine. What else besides absence seizures may be in store for me?