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Seizure recovery time
Sun, 08/24/2008 - 06:12How long do you take to recover from a seizure?
I have suffered from epilepsy (grand mal) for 40 years - about 1 seizure a year (lucky me!) But over the last 3 years my wonderful work colleagues have expressed increasing anxiety that I'm coming back to work too early following a seizure. When I was young and sprightly (Ha!), I'd have a 3-minute tonic-clonic seizure, regain full consciousness after half an hour, get taken home, sleep it off, and back to work after 1 day's absence. Again - lucky me.
My work is extremely complex, considerative and quasi-judicial. I work for my government trying to justify to tribunals and criminal courts why a particular decision is justified. The legislation involved is extremely complicated, but although I practice law in a specialised field I am not a qualified lawyer. Without blowing my own trumpet I'm very good at my job - or so I'm told. [I don't like saying so, but I think it may be relevant to the question.]
Two years ago my wife finally convinced me that at least one day off was a must. Nevertheless, my colleagues tell me that "when you have had a fit, for several days after, your sharp brain seems slow in response."
I'd be very grateful to hear the views of fellow sufferers (or those close to them). I know that epilepsy varies from individual to individual, but when do you go back to work? When do you feel fully recovered? Does the recovery period increase with age?
Thanks for reading this.
Iain (aged 53 and a bit - <GRIN>)
Comments
Re: Seizure recovery time
Submitted by sparker001 on Tue, 2010-03-02 - 20:09
The worst of it usually takes about 4-5 days to get completely over, especially the nausea and the out-of-sorts feeling. But completely and totally, it usually takes me about a full week.
I had a grand mal last week - I took 2 days off of work. When I went back to work, I just had to pace myself. My boss knew better than to push me, as he knows I push myself enough. This weekend I slept extra, and at this point I am finally feeling almost normal.
--sparker
The worst of it usually takes about 4-5 days to get completely over, especially the nausea and the out-of-sorts feeling. But completely and totally, it usually takes me about a full week.
I had a grand mal last week - I took 2 days off of work. When I went back to work, I just had to pace myself. My boss knew better than to push me, as he knows I push myself enough. This weekend I slept extra, and at this point I am finally feeling almost normal.
--sparker
Re: Seizure recovery time
Submitted by jimgil on Thu, 2010-03-11 - 12:07
I'm confused by this and any advice or thoughts or your experiences would be great.
I had my first seizure (age 52) about 7 weeks ago. I was out for the count for a couple of minutes after a stiffness in my index finger and thumb. I was whisked off to hospital but released and, within an hour or two, had calmed enough to sleep normally and be ok the next day.
However about a week later I started having trouble in the same wrist and occasionally on the other side too, when lifting things. (Is it normal for a sizure to weaken an affected area perhaps?),
Then last week on the other side I had a very sudden pain in my big toe. I thought it was cramp but when I looked down to my horror it was inches away from my next toe. i managed eventually to manipulate and massage it over, through considerable pain, so I didn't pass out, but I'm not sure if this was a seizure or not.
Perhaps i 'recovered' too quickly, and should have rested longer, but I'm frightened my problem, whatever is causing it, might be spreading. The Doc though says I have to wait six months to see if I have another seizure, before I can get treatment. It frightens me a bit. he thinks i drank too much at Xmas then withdrew, so that my first drink after several days without, may have triggered it.
Since then i have been drinking alcohol free beer and just a glass of wine or so (and not every night).
I'm confused by this and any advice or thoughts or your experiences would be great.
I had my first seizure (age 52) about 7 weeks ago. I was out for the count for a couple of minutes after a stiffness in my index finger and thumb. I was whisked off to hospital but released and, within an hour or two, had calmed enough to sleep normally and be ok the next day.
However about a week later I started having trouble in the same wrist and occasionally on the other side too, when lifting things. (Is it normal for a sizure to weaken an affected area perhaps?),
Then last week on the other side I had a very sudden pain in my big toe. I thought it was cramp but when I looked down to my horror it was inches away from my next toe. i managed eventually to manipulate and massage it over, through considerable pain, so I didn't pass out, but I'm not sure if this was a seizure or not.
Perhaps i 'recovered' too quickly, and should have rested longer, but I'm frightened my problem, whatever is causing it, might be spreading. The Doc though says I have to wait six months to see if I have another seizure, before I can get treatment. It frightens me a bit. he thinks i drank too much at Xmas then withdrew, so that my first drink after several days without, may have triggered it.
Since then i have been drinking alcohol free beer and just a glass of wine or so (and not every night).
Seizure recovery time
Submitted by YetiBigfoot on Sat, 2018-04-28 - 23:00
I can see these comments were made years ago! But, I'm here because things are changing. I have no Dr's and no-one to talk to about this. As a child i bounced right back after a seizure. Now I'm all messed up. I still hadn't recovered from the last one and had another. It had been three weeks since the last. I'm so confused and tomorrow will be a week. I'm done with the sleeping. That ended yesterday. Still dizzy, nauseated and slow. Panic... I'm having awful anxiety. I'm honestly not certain of why things are changing but i think it's because I'm getting old=/