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New - four seizures in four months

Sun, 07/26/2015 - 12:42

I am new to seizures and epilepsy in general - I really have no idea what triggered my symptoms but I have had four tonic-clonic seizures since April. No one recognized them for what they were until the third one, which was witnessed.

The first two I was on my own; #1 in late April, my boyfriend found me collapsed on the kitchen floor for no apparent reason. I was taken to the ER where they chalked it up to low blood sugar. Unfortunately, during #2 I was pretty badly injured because I was standing on top of the kitchen counter at the time, fixing a shelf. That time, I assumed I had knocked my head hard enough to induce amnesia. I chipped my two front teeth, had two fairly deep lacerations on my face and basically busted up the entire left side of my face.

It wasn't until #3, which happened in a crowded restaurant, that my parents finally figured out what was going on. I was sitting in a restaurant calmly having dinner - then, next thing I know, I'm staring up at a couple of paramedics asking "What happened?" and being told that I'd had a seizure. I was taken to the hospital and admitted overnight, received Keppra via IV and some magnesium and potassium supplements. Then, 4-5 days after being discharged, I had a fourth seizure while sitting at the computer. Again I awoke to find myself strapped to a stretcher being taken via ambulance to the hospital.

At this point I was referred to a neurologist, who began to adjust my Lamictal. (I am already on Seroquel, Lamictal and Zoloft for a previously-diagnosed Bipolar disorder, which has been stabilized and asymptomatic for several years.) He started out by splitting the dose to AM and PM, to even out the level of the drug in my bloodstream, so now I am on 150mg twice daily for a total of 300mg. So far so good, but unfortunately I've had my driver's license taken away, and my parents are hesitant to let me out of their sight - and certainly not up on counters or doing any kind of physical labor.

Anyway, I guess I'd just like to reach out to some other epileptics (I'm not sure if my condition counts as "epilepsy" yet, but we're treating it as such). I guess one question I had: how should people treat me when I'm having a seizure? I bit my tongue pretty badly the last time which has been making eating painful…but I was told that they shouldn't put anything in my mouth or do anything really other than turn me on my side and keep me away from hard surfaces. I think it would be unnecessary for them to call the paramedics again, but they seem to be afraid of dealing with it by themselves. Any advice would be welcome.

Comments

I just remembered...for quite

Submitted by sarah.riedel@gmail.com on Mon, 2015-07-27 - 08:52
I just remembered...for quite a while now, prior to the actual seizures, I'd been having quite severe myoclonic jerks, which I attributed to my Bipolar meds (Seroquel or Lamictal, or both). They were pronounced enough that they would wake my boyfriend up in the middle of the night, to the point that we would joke about my having ACTUAL epilepsy (creepy now to think of in hindsight). I'm wondering if this was a side-effect or a symptom of the problem itself. Not sure it matters.

Hi Joe. Thanks for your

Submitted by sarah.riedel@gmail.com on Mon, 2015-07-27 - 09:08
Hi Joe. Thanks for your response! To address your points:Well, the folks in the ER did realize there was a pattern because they had seen me two weeks ago for my fall off the kitchen counter. And then there was the "fall" in my boyfriend's house (different ER, but they saw my record). We began to connect the dots. So, I'm not sure if that means I have epilepsy or whether I'm just having a string of seizures. It was mentioned to me that I may want to have an emergency medical ID bracelet made up, especially since I would like to start having a public life again…lol. Do you think that's necessary or should I wait a while to see if a pattern emerges?Also, I am also wondering if it's safe for me to tell others to not bother calling 911 unless the seizure continues or I injure myself. Does that seem correct?

I just remembered...for quite

Submitted by sarah.riedel@gmail.com on Mon, 2015-07-27 - 09:08
I just remembered...for quite a while now, prior to the actual seizures, I'd been having quite severe myoclonic jerks, which I attributed to my Bipolar meds (Seroquel or Lamictal, or both). They were pronounced enough that they would wake my boyfriend up in the middle of the night, to the point that we would joke about my having ACTUAL epilepsy (creepy now to think of in hindsight). I'm wondering if this was a side-effect or a symptom of the problem itself. Not sure it matters.

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