Savoury
New
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
I've been losing consciousness about once a year, every year, since I was 5. I am now 20. When I was a child, the matter was never investigated as a result from a combination of busy and careless parents, and a family doctor who was convinced that I was faking everything that was ever potentially wrong with me.
I always know right before I'm about to faint - everything I see turns fuzzy and red, I get overheated, dizzy and extremely nauseous. The most recent time it happened was at my mother's salon - a couple of months ago. I knew I was going to faint (and have lost consciousness so many times I know how to manage it, or at least try to), I had a quick glass of water, and tried to walk over to a chair to sit in it, but apparently blacked out before I got there. I saw nothing, but someone was talking to me (can't remember what he was saying) and I completely forgot that I was at my mother's salon, or what I was doing. I just assumed I was asleep. I woke up a couple of minutes later feeling perfectly fine (except for where I'd hurt myself falling down) and urged an ambulance not to be called, but they already had. The paramedics checked my blood glucose and blood pressure, and everything was completely normal. A customer suggested epilepsy, and after some research, everything began falling into place and finally making sense, but I'm still unsure whether I'm making too much of this or not. A real reason for my fainting spells was never found, and always excused by our family doctor as "just growing up", or "spontaneous low blood pressure". The last time this was ever discussed with him was when I was 7 and had lost consciousness for a good 10-20 minutes in Italy on a holiday, where the emergency doctor there was moments away from pronouncing me dead, as my BPM had reduced to below 20.
Some months before I fainted most recently, at the start of this year, I began hearing voices in my head just as I was going to sleep; meaningless chatter between two or more people that I could never remember the next day (it was always grammatically-correct sentences with irrelevant nouns and verbs used, thus gibberish). I was conscious for it every time and could think clearly, but I was more in a waking almost-sleep. I have had auditory illusions whilst totally awake for a long time now, but never to this extent. Then the dreams started. I started having extremely vivid dreams where I would collapse onto the ground and start shaking vigorously.
In the same waking-sleep state as mentioned before, I would begin going through sleep-paralysis. I would be totally conscious, and know fully that I was going through sleep paralysis, but still could not move. Often during this paralysis I would feel extreme pressure of my teeth (the same feeling you have when you get your braces tightened, except so much worse), so much that it felt like my teeth were going to explode out of my gums. These episodes have been much more frequent since. Also for a few years now I have been feeling like there's scribbling in my head (I can't explain it any other way). I feel like there's someone scratching at my brain with a pen. It doesn't hurt, but it makes me feel extremely uneasy and anxious, like I'm on the verge of a panic attack, and when it gets really bad I just sit and stare and wait for it to pass because I don't know what else to do with myself to make it go away.
Now I get sleep paralysis about once a week, and just last night I had another sleep paralysis and seizure-dream, and felt so relieved both during and after.
I know I should see a doctor about this, but my only option is the same family doctor. I recently tried another doctor, who did nothing about it, and was convinced it wasn't epilepsy because I don't shake when I lose consciousness (which I know a lot of people with epilepsy don't shake at all). I want to be totally sure I have symptoms of epilepsy before I go to our family GP instead of prove him right that I am convincing myself I have something when I don't.
I don't know if these are symptoms of epilepsy, but I don't know where else to go, or what else to do. Researching the topic has proven both frustrating and frightening, and I figured those with real-life experience of this may be able to help me out. If you can, please, please tell me what this might be, whether you feel the same, or anything at all. I feel so desperate and sad and pathetic about this, because the sleep paralysis and sleep seizures are gradually becoming more frequent, and I'm worried I might lose consciousness again at a time that isn't as conventional or safe as my mother's place of business.
I always know right before I'm about to faint - everything I see turns fuzzy and red, I get overheated, dizzy and extremely nauseous. The most recent time it happened was at my mother's salon - a couple of months ago. I knew I was going to faint (and have lost consciousness so many times I know how to manage it, or at least try to), I had a quick glass of water, and tried to walk over to a chair to sit in it, but apparently blacked out before I got there. I saw nothing, but someone was talking to me (can't remember what he was saying) and I completely forgot that I was at my mother's salon, or what I was doing. I just assumed I was asleep. I woke up a couple of minutes later feeling perfectly fine (except for where I'd hurt myself falling down) and urged an ambulance not to be called, but they already had. The paramedics checked my blood glucose and blood pressure, and everything was completely normal. A customer suggested epilepsy, and after some research, everything began falling into place and finally making sense, but I'm still unsure whether I'm making too much of this or not. A real reason for my fainting spells was never found, and always excused by our family doctor as "just growing up", or "spontaneous low blood pressure". The last time this was ever discussed with him was when I was 7 and had lost consciousness for a good 10-20 minutes in Italy on a holiday, where the emergency doctor there was moments away from pronouncing me dead, as my BPM had reduced to below 20.
Some months before I fainted most recently, at the start of this year, I began hearing voices in my head just as I was going to sleep; meaningless chatter between two or more people that I could never remember the next day (it was always grammatically-correct sentences with irrelevant nouns and verbs used, thus gibberish). I was conscious for it every time and could think clearly, but I was more in a waking almost-sleep. I have had auditory illusions whilst totally awake for a long time now, but never to this extent. Then the dreams started. I started having extremely vivid dreams where I would collapse onto the ground and start shaking vigorously.
In the same waking-sleep state as mentioned before, I would begin going through sleep-paralysis. I would be totally conscious, and know fully that I was going through sleep paralysis, but still could not move. Often during this paralysis I would feel extreme pressure of my teeth (the same feeling you have when you get your braces tightened, except so much worse), so much that it felt like my teeth were going to explode out of my gums. These episodes have been much more frequent since. Also for a few years now I have been feeling like there's scribbling in my head (I can't explain it any other way). I feel like there's someone scratching at my brain with a pen. It doesn't hurt, but it makes me feel extremely uneasy and anxious, like I'm on the verge of a panic attack, and when it gets really bad I just sit and stare and wait for it to pass because I don't know what else to do with myself to make it go away.
Now I get sleep paralysis about once a week, and just last night I had another sleep paralysis and seizure-dream, and felt so relieved both during and after.
I know I should see a doctor about this, but my only option is the same family doctor. I recently tried another doctor, who did nothing about it, and was convinced it wasn't epilepsy because I don't shake when I lose consciousness (which I know a lot of people with epilepsy don't shake at all). I want to be totally sure I have symptoms of epilepsy before I go to our family GP instead of prove him right that I am convincing myself I have something when I don't.
I don't know if these are symptoms of epilepsy, but I don't know where else to go, or what else to do. Researching the topic has proven both frustrating and frightening, and I figured those with real-life experience of this may be able to help me out. If you can, please, please tell me what this might be, whether you feel the same, or anything at all. I feel so desperate and sad and pathetic about this, because the sleep paralysis and sleep seizures are gradually becoming more frequent, and I'm worried I might lose consciousness again at a time that isn't as conventional or safe as my mother's place of business.