This just crossed my mind....

[Rae1889]

we tell our patients in the ER or their family members to actually call immediately if u have an aura and know one is coming on to call or the minute someone around you sees you go unconscious to call

This would be fine and dandy except that my auras do not always generalize. I can have many mnay in a day, so i'd be calling all day long. Also the second I go unconcious is not helpful either as I do faint a lot

the reason we say this in a perfect world EMS would get to your house fast put as we all know that doesn’t always happen and if you wait until your are 5 or so min into it and then call outcomes are way worse and also got to remember just cause EMS is called doesn't mean you have to go to the hospital you can sign a paper and not go if it was a fast one

Well see, most of mine stop way before you can get through to someone on the 911 call. So there is nothing the EMT can do once they get there and the seizure is over. Also, where I am in Canada, they have to take you to the hospital. There is no release form. Seizures are even considered a non-emergency and a real ambulance doesnt even come out anymore. They now drive Prius's to your house and act like a home nurse. Just shoot you up with Ativan if need be and leave. If you need a hospital they call a Medi-van. EDIT: I'd like to clarify, that yes it is possible to be put on hold from our dispatch as we are the murder capital of Canada. They get ALOT of calls. So the seizure is 90% of the time over before they answer. so you hang up. if it lasts longer than the five minute you are on hold, you stay on the line.

unfortunately people are going to die cause EMS can't get to people fast enough

Death from a seizure or seizure related accident is extremely rare. This also usually happens when the person is by themselves, or has one and the person there does not know them or how to do proper seizure first aid. Most people you regularly hang out with know what to do incase of a seizure. People in random public places do not, so they can shove things in your mouth, hold you down, and keep you on your back instead of rolling you onto your side

just a thought to think about also when talking to dispatcher on the phone make sure to let them know exactly what is going on cause this determines if they send someone that has experience with basic life support or advanced cardiac life support and it makes a big difference there is not always a paramedic that is on board when answering a call it determines what the call is to who comes to your house

Here in Manitoba, ALL paramedics are trained for advanced life support, as even the smallest emergency, like a broken leg can turn deadly really fast. If they were not, most people would wait 15 mids or more for an ambulance in this city as they have to come from different areas as well as heavy traffic and ALOT of snow in the winter. Even the house nurses are trained in advanced life support and carry defibrilators etc. Again, just in case the scenario changes once they arrive. EDIT 2: Even people trained at a work place are trained on how to use an AED (automated external defibrilator, as well as all lifegaurds

also another fear is if you have eaten or drank anything that could cause u to aspirate even if you come out of it fast if you aspirate you need an advanced airway put in just thoughts for u all to think about

You can get fluid in your lungs just from inhaling your spit. or blood from biting your touonge.

 

[foreverdark]

check my signature.lol

If I could, I'd take Diabetes, but my mom already took that one

I don't want to sound as if I am making fun of Diabetes, I am not. It is also an awful disease. It's just, I have a sense of humor, which unfortunately insults someone most everytime I talk

 

[occb]

Seizures are even considered a non-emergency and a real ambulance doesnt even come out anymore. They now drive Prius's to your house and act like a home nurse. Just shoot you up with Ativan if need be and leave. If you need a hospital they call a Medi-van.

Huh, what an efficient idea with the Prius and such. We've had a number of "EMT Crises" here, because we don't have that option, and the EMTs can get stuck for hours at the hospital trying to admit patients lower on the emerge list (because they're not allowed to elave them before all the paperwork is complete). At times there have been as few as two or three ambulances available for a city of over a million people.

As for waiting on hold for 911, EGAD!

 

[Rae1889]

Yeah, my city only came up with this idea after teh stats came in from some research they did.
check this article out from my local paper: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/no-one-to-come-to-your-rescue-64719632.html

 

[Ruth]

All my life I've been known to "drift" or get sudden jerks somtime's making a small noise with the jerk.

Hi, I have sudden jerks, as well. My neurologist put me on Mysoline for it. It works, it is more like small shaking now.

I started taking clonozepam years ago. My seizures were not under control and I was always waking up in the hospital. When it first came out, my neurologist did not want to put me on it. I kept asking him to, since my seizures were so bad. He finally did and I had a lot fewer seizures. I am glad I am on it.

I hope I have been of some help. Ask your neurologist.

 

[Jessdenn82]

Ems

I can see where you are coming from if you have several auras in one day you are right you would be on the phone all day here in pa I know it is not the same in Canada have a few friends that live there and health care there is well a whole other story but here people can refuse to go to the ER and we can’t make them go has to do with whole pt rights things unless it is labeled as a psych pt then unfortunately they lose all there rights at the door the reason we tell everyone to call is cause of how long it can take for them to get there and the fear is if you don’t stop having the seizure and then EMS takes too long to get there well you see where the problem can lie I hate to say it here too that seizures aren’t labeled an emergency here either most patients are seen and released in same day which is not for me to determine if that is how it should be or not but that is our heath care system and we can only keep people in the hospital for certain things for what insurance allows sucky system and here as well some of or people that respond to 911 calls only have basic life support and though I don’t agree a paramedic is not always there either I agree that they should always have one on every call cause your right the simplest of injuries can turn bad really fast and what I meant by people can die cause of ems not getting there fast enough I didn’t just mean from seizures I meant from other illnesses as well our system is greatly flawed we had an ice storm a few weeks ago and ems couldn’t get to people in mva on bridges and such and we had such an increase of death on arrival and it’s sad and yes there is a risk of aspiration from those things as well but even though I am certified in ACLS, BLS, PALS and emergency medicine I still don’t put in advanced airways as the dr. and paramedics can do on the scene but your right we are trained in other areas and normally when ems is called here for seizures it is my experience that pt only come to the ER if they are new onset or if they couldn’t get them to stop seizing now I know this isn’t the norm and where I work I see things on the more extreme but again only my opinion