Otherwise healthy with a random first seizure

Hello everyone, Today I met with my neurologist to review the results from my sleep-deprived EEG and MRI tests. I'd like to share my story with this forum to help others in my situation. I learned a lot on here before I ever met with my neurologist, and she said that she donates to this foundation and encouraged me to as well. I am a 27 year old healthy white male. On a random day spent doing nothing more than walking and relaxing, I went to bed just after midnight. I woke up in an ambulance with my girlfriend behind me and an EMT asking me who was running for president (answer: Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton). I had no idea. I knew who my girlfriend was, but I couldn't recall her name or even my own, for that matter. I didn't know what the date was. As he asked me these questions, it was as if he was speaking a foreign language. I knew he was speaking to me, but it didn't sound like any intelligible communication that I was aware of. By the time I got to the ER, I was aware of all of these things, and beside a headache and an anxiety about my situation, I was fine. My girlfriend was awake when I had the seizure. I was lying on my stomach, and started to exhale painfully with a loud moaning sound. Next my body went rigid and the moaning continued for approximately 30-60 seconds. Then I started violently convulsing and almost shook myself off of the bed. She caught me and pushed me back onto the bed as I continued to convulse. My teeth were clenched, I foamed from my mouth, and my hands we held up half stretched above my body. I continued to clench my teeth until she splashed some water on my face. The whole thing lasted for 2-3 minutes. She then called 911, and I seemed to fall into a deep sleep. In the ER, I had blood and urine tests, an EKG, and a CT scan. All of these came back unremarkable. I was held until I fell back asleep for an hour. I slept until about 5am and was released from the ER. Two days later I met with my primary care physician, who referred me to a neurologist and a cardiologist. He also contacted the DMV to place a hold on my drivers license. I had to ask for the cardiology referral, which I wanted because I have a family history of heart issues including sick-sinuous syndrome, which results in fainting. For the next ~two weeks, I had a bout of depression. It was very general, but I presume it was related to anxiety of another seizure. I took a lot of naps and felt very lethargic. My neurologist said this is not uncommon, and she said it makes perfect sense given what the brain goes through during a seizure. She gave me statistics including that 10% of people have a seizure in their life, which is amazing given that it seems so stigmatized and concerning. Also, given my lack of history and otherwise healthy self, she presumed that my seizure was possibly the only one I would ever have barring any findings in diagnostic work up. I was ordered an MRI and sleep deprived EEG. I've had MRIs before for other reasons, so that was fine, but the EEG is something else. I had to avoid sleeping the night before to try to set up a scenario where my brain would be most vulnerable. Then I was told to relax and try to fall asleep with a bunch of electrodes attached to my scalp. I did easily and was allowed to sleep for 45 minutes. I was awoken gently before a strobe light was placed right in front of my face. For the next several minutes, the light went through a series of progressively longer flashes (~five flashes per second for periods from one second to fifteen seconds). The short bursts were tolerable, but as it lengthened, it became excruciatingly tormenting. I never had a seizure, but I might as well have because the flashing was so intense that I was seeing funky patterns and it felt as if my whole body was in a trance as the flickering was going. After that, I was asked to hyperventilate for three minutes. Finally, I was asked to relax and fall asleep again.... As I mentioned, I got these results back and everything came back normal. I have a perfectly healthy brain. My neurologist is a researcher at heart, so she was almost a little disappointed that I wasn't a more interesting clinical case, but she said that as frustrating as it is to not know what caused my seizure, it is heartening to know that I am healthy. In California, the DMV asks the doctor to fill out some paperwork, but ultimately the decision rests in the DMV regarding the reinstatement of driving privileges, but the DMV tends to err toward ~six months with no symptoms before reinstatement. For my cardiology appointments, I had the initial consultation, which was also unremarkable, but given my family history I was ordered an echocardiogram and halter monitor test (48 hour EKG). My follow up for those results is next week, but my cardiologist seem unconcerned that my heart would have caused my first seizure in this manner. All in all, I am disappointed that I lost driving privileges and that there is virtually no support system for me. I am lucky to have a job that offers me the flexibility to work from home, but I can imagine that this would cost me my job in many people's circumstance. I am also thankful that I am healthy, and as a 27 year old male, this may be the most thorough work up I get until something else happens to me like this. For anyone reading this who has had a seizure out of the blue, don't give up hope that you are indeed going to be fine. Also, don't be afraid to talk about any depression you are feeling. It took me a couple weeks to get over the sense of overarching dread I had of another seizure. All I could think were things like, "what if I'm alone next time" or "what if I was driving" or "what if, what if, what if." My neurologist is right, perhaps it is a bit frustrating that I don't know why I had a seizure, but on the other hand it is nice to know that I don't have a brain tumor or other severe issues. Here is a list of things to consider throughout the process: - Depending on the laws in your state, you may lose your driving privileges, so be prepared for this before you visit your primary care provider. - Make a list of questions before you go to the doctor. The conversation may drift away from what you want to ask, so it is easy to forget without a list. - Ask for your medical records from the ER during your visit because hospitals often take many days to get records recorded and sent, and you will likely have visits in quick succession. - I started making a health diary after my seizure by keeping track of fatigue and headaches, but fizzled and it ended up being unnecessary. - Be as specific as possible about your experience. The fact that the EMT seemed to be speaking a foreign language indicated that the seizure had effected the part of the brain that deals with communication. - Take initiative with scheduling. The DMV will give you a deadline and your appointments may be hard to schedule. - Be willing to change your lifestyle. I lost driving privileges and was advised not to surf. - Keep your chin up. Every day that goes by without another seizure is another step toward normalcy. The risk is highest for recurrence right after the first one. Don't take your health for granted, and don't let your seizures get you down! Thank you all who have contributed to this page before me, and I hope that my story above helps someone in the future. Good luck! -Nate