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Am I Epileptic?

Tue, 05/02/2017 - 12:39
Hi there. I am an 18 year old female and I have always been in pretty good health. My one thing I've had since I was little is that I am prone to passing out which was never a super big deal since nothing extreme ever happened. The first time I fainted was when I was 5 or 6 years old and since then I have passed out probably 6 times, but each time I would pass out, wake up, and continue being in and out of conciousness. I always assumed this was due to my anxiety or from possibly not taking care of myself well enough like not eating very healthily that day. However, about 2 months ago I was experiencing extreme heartburn for a couple weeks straight and I would find myself in a lot of pain at school and sometimes the pain would hit me very suddenly. I was experiencing this heartburn again one weekend morning while I was hanging out with my girlfriends before we were planning on going to the St. Patrick's Day parade that morning. I ignored the pain and started to drink, smoke weed, smoke my e-cig and I was also drinking coffee. I had only drank and smoked weed a very small amount so I was not feeling the effects of it at all but all of a sudden this feeling hit me which is hard to describe. My mind felt very clouded and my vision started to darken and I could barely see. I told my friend I thought I was going to pass out so she had me sit down which was when i collapsed, hit my hit head very hard on the pavement which caused my head to bleed a small amount and swell up, and my friends witnessed me having a seizure as my whole body started to shake uncontrollably and I was not waking up for around 30 seconds. I came out of it, and felt very confused. My friends were screaming "call 911" "are you okay?" "we're loosing her" etc. I passed out twice after that which I don't remember at all but these next 2 times I was not shaking and I was passed out for less time. Eventually the ambulance came and they told me I must've passed out from drinking too much but didn't recognize my episode as a seizure though my friends all agreed it looked exactly like a seizure because of my shaking. It was much different than the other times I've passed out before as I don't remember most of the episode and I felt extremely weak and exhausted after. The doctors checked my heart and everything looked good with that which confuses me with the heartburn I had been having. Since then, I've had less heart burn but sometimes it'll still hit me. Last week, I started to experience the same symptoms while I was in Spanish class- darkening vision and feeling very naucious so I sat down and did some breathing exercises until I felt normal again and then later that day I was vomiting. It'd be great if you all could give me some insight as to what you may think this is all about and if I should be concerned about having epilepsy. I don't know of any of my family history having had it but my dad does have heart problems. Thank you.

Comments

you should get checked out,

Submitted by Amy Jo on Tue, 2017-05-02 - 14:02
you should get checked out, see your doc but ask about getting seen by a neurologist. not all seizures are falling and shaking. some are pain in the chest, some are bad smells, some cause vomiting.... so feelings of 'heartburn' and vomiting can be perceptions of seizures, so can a long list of weird things that can also be something else, so epilepsy can easily be missed. hence the need to get checked out. seizures should be treated. better sleep, diet, reducing/removing drinking and drug use all help but may not be enough. for some people they have some minor episodes but over time seizures can cause more damage and that can cause more seizures - kindling effect isn't proven in humans and there are lots of kinds of epilepsy, look up epileptogenesis for broader description.

I agree. No one can give you

Submitted by disneylover123 on Tue, 2017-05-02 - 19:29
I agree. No one can give you the answer except a doctor.

The tests done in the ER are

Submitted by just_joe on Tue, 2017-05-02 - 22:34
The tests done in the ER are generally normal tests done to everybody. What most people in the er think and yes it is known that some people will have a one time seizure and never have another one. But most of the things you posted can be seizures or parts of seizures. Just like someone having an absence seizure looks like they are day dreaming. You need to talk to your regular doctor and get referred to a neurologist that specializes in epilepsy. For me I was the day dreamer in class and those got more rapid and stronger until I had my grand mal seizure. So do not your episodes  and see a specialist. treatment is needed and the sooner it is started the better it will be. Good health is fine. But drinking needs to be omitted or limited and MJ needs to be curbed.

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