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New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?
Thu, 05/22/2008 - 23:46
Hi, New here: A little background 1st:
I had my 1st seizure about a few weeks ago. My husband called 911 when he woke up to hear me making sounds and struggling. He said I was jerking, eyes rolled back, moving everywhere, not responding, no clue he was there. I didn't respond to 4 paramedics, an ambulance ride. When I came around I didn't know where I was and my tongue was bit up. I couldn't hardly talk. My blood sugar was very low and I had a headache on the left side of my head. I did not know where I was which caused hyperventilation. With not one around, not memory of what happened. My husband was still at home waiting to come and have someone stay with the kids. Once we were all settled and my husband could get there and tell what happened, I got the full work up. MRI, EEG you name it they did it. I stayed at the hospital for 2 days. My EEG spiked and I had a seizure with that. So Complex Partial Seizure left frontal lobe with secondary generalization. I did a sleep study, results soon. On Depakote, no driving for 6 months. I have had simple partial seizures after the hospital visit.
My son has seizures as well and on Depakote/Tegretol. He had a stroke at birth so they say my seizure and his seizures are not related. His is due to brain injury at birth. The Dr. feels that I am under stress...well yea stay at home mom to a boy that had a stroke, not to mention other stuff. The Dr. said stress triggers seizures. They said I could be having tiny seizures in my sleep then the big one the other day.
Questions:
Many of my friends are asking me if adult onset seizures are common? I forgot to ask the Dr.
Will this be the last big one? Or more to come? If I have another one the 6 month driving starts over so did some of you not drive for a year?
I am depakote and they will raise it up to the right dose for me gradually. I am bit overweight anyway....I heard it makes you gain??
If my sleep study comes back saying I have sleep apnea which caused the seizure, won't a cpap machine help and I really don't have a seizure disorder??
Thanks for reading!
Comments
Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?
Submitted by jderry on Fri, 2009-04-10 - 11:39
Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?
Submitted by notfishbait on Fri, 2009-04-10 - 18:00
Hello, my situation is very similar. Diagnosed same way, after grand mal in morning discovered by husband. However, there was someone around to watch the kids so that was lucky. As far as will there be more?, I had simple/complex after and still. I didn't think I would have anymore grand mals, but after a year (almost to the day) I had another, and a month later, another. But these were classified as "provoked " since I was getting very little sleep with a newborn. If there seems to be no reason for your first seizure I think the doctors always send you away with "it could be your stress threshhold, you might not have anymore"..but if your having the simples now, that's when I was "diagnosed". Didn't drive after the first one for 6 months. After my 2nd and 3rd a year later, I chose not to drive until they were under control, but also thought I was not allowed. But, recently at my neuro's appt. He said I could've been driving all that time since it was "provoked" . The doctors always seem to give mixed messages, and contradict themselves. I think many of us with epilepsy have to figure alot out ourselves. Not much info is given via dr.s. Atleast that's how I felt, sent out the door with this huge new thing to wrap my head around, filled with worry and uncertainty, insecurities, fear...etc.
Hang in there. Do some more reading. Ask lots of questions, even when dr. seems extremely disinterested.
Thats all I can offer. Don't have any info on sleep apnea and such. -k8
Hello, my situation is very similar. Diagnosed same way, after grand mal in morning discovered by husband. However, there was someone around to watch the kids so that was lucky. As far as will there be more?, I had simple/complex after and still. I didn't think I would have anymore grand mals, but after a year (almost to the day) I had another, and a month later, another. But these were classified as "provoked " since I was getting very little sleep with a newborn. If there seems to be no reason for your first seizure I think the doctors always send you away with "it could be your stress threshhold, you might not have anymore"..but if your having the simples now, that's when I was "diagnosed". Didn't drive after the first one for 6 months. After my 2nd and 3rd a year later, I chose not to drive until they were under control, but also thought I was not allowed. But, recently at my neuro's appt. He said I could've been driving all that time since it was "provoked" . The doctors always seem to give mixed messages, and contradict themselves. I think many of us with epilepsy have to figure alot out ourselves. Not much info is given via dr.s. Atleast that's how I felt, sent out the door with this huge new thing to wrap my head around, filled with worry and uncertainty, insecurities, fear...etc.
Hang in there. Do some more reading. Ask lots of questions, even when dr. seems extremely disinterested.
Thats all I can offer. Don't have any info on sleep apnea and such. -k8
Re: New Here: First Seizure Questions: Adult onset?
Submitted by mandrin80 on Thu, 2009-04-09 - 22:31
Hello, new here. My younger sister just had a new onset seizure at the age of 27. Scariest thing I have ever witnessed. All of these stories sound so eerily familiar. My sister was under a tremendous amount of stress, not sleeping well, and she has a history of back problems including a recent steroid injection in her back about 6 days before her seizure. She had 3 grand mal seizures within 5-6 hrs (first one was unwitnessed while she was sleeping and she had bitten her tongue pretty baddly). I am scared for her and feel teriible that she will most likely lose her license. She had negative blood work, MRI, and head CT, EEG showed some abnormailites. Now diagnosed with epilepsy for lack of any cause for the seizures and was started on keppra. Any advice for a new onset seizure sufferer in adulthood?
Thanks for all of your stories.....it's nice to hear she is not alone!
Hello, new here. My younger sister just had a new onset seizure at the age of 27. Scariest thing I have ever witnessed. All of these stories sound so eerily familiar. My sister was under a tremendous amount of stress, not sleeping well, and she has a history of back problems including a recent steroid injection in her back about 6 days before her seizure. She had 3 grand mal seizures within 5-6 hrs (first one was unwitnessed while she was sleeping and she had bitten her tongue pretty baddly). I am scared for her and feel teriible that she will most likely lose her license. She had negative blood work, MRI, and head CT, EEG showed some abnormailites. Now diagnosed with epilepsy for lack of any cause for the seizures and was started on keppra. Any advice for a new onset seizure sufferer in adulthood?
Thanks for all of your stories.....it's nice to hear she is not alone!