Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some advice on my situation

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Hello, I am an 18 year old male, and I just had what my family and doctors believe is a seizure. At about 2 AM 2 nights ago my parents heard a loud thump (my bedroom is above theirs) and came to see me lying unconscious. My mom says that I was not convulsing, but that I was speaking gibberish, my eyes were moving strange, and that I was not responsive (not squeezing my moms hand) they called an ambulance and I woke up as I was being taken on a stretcher to said ambulance. I stayed at the hospital for around 15 hours or so, and they gave me an MRI, EKG, EEG, CT SCAN, and checked my blood sugar levels and found everything to be normal. Thinking back to when I fell, it was about 1 AM and I heard a loud noise outside my bedroom, on my way to check it I was off-balance. When I went back to my bed I don't have any memory of making it back and I passed out on the floor. Because there was nothing wrong with my tests, the doctors believe it happened because of my medication. I take an anti-depressant called Bupropion, which has been known to cause seizures. The loud noise I mentioned above startled me and had my heart pounding fast and I had chest pain. My question is: has anyone gone through something similar? It probably is impossible to tell, but will I have another seizure? I have read that sometimes people can have a seizure once, and not have them regularly. I made a doctors appointment to talk about switching to a different medication. Oh and I should mention I am very sore today, not sure exactly why or if thats normal. Any help and support is greatly appreciated. Thank you

Comments

So I think it's a good idea

Submitted by Jazz101 on Sat, 2019-02-23 - 18:10

So I think it's a good idea to first try changing the meds; the Bupropion. I looked up the adverse side effects and the list is lengthy, including seizures in a very tiny percentage of individuals. With Epilepsy the diagnosis usually comes after two seizures. And, given you are on Bupropion, which, according to Medscape.com, a reliable source on medicine and their side effects, seizures are on the list but in a very tiny percentage of individuals. This is how they spell out seizures as a side effect...."Seizures (0.4% [<450 mg/day], >3% [>450 mg/day]; may be increased risk with concomitant ECT)." I think the neurologists are playing it safe and not jumping to a conclusion too soon although I am sure they haven't ruled out the fact that it "might" be Epilepsy. It's good when neurologists can remain practical versus guessing, hence it's good that they have suggested changing the medication.What you had is consistent with seizures but seizures can be caused by things outside of Epilepsy. My suggestion to you is what my neurosurgeon told the surgical team. "No guessing. Let's just see what the results show." And given this is the first time, at least the first known time, I think you should tell yourself that you will try not to guess. Now should a second seizure show up after you have given up the Bupropion, then Epilepsy should be considered. After all, many with Epilepsy, myself included, underwent EEGs and MRIs that were pretty normal. So a normal EEG. MRI, etc. doesn't mean someone can't have Epilepsy. But at this time you also have a medication that has had seizure effect on a tiny percentage of individuals. So I think the doctors are doing the right thing by not guessing it's Epilepsy. That said, and it might be hard to do because the brain can ponder things, at this time try not to guess whether you have Epilepsy. A good start is to change the meds. If seizures show up down the road after you have changed the meds, then it is more probable that they will diagnosis you with Epilepsy.The rule with Epilepsy is two seizures. At this time I think it's best to start changing the meds because it could have been the contributing factor. Be like me when I underwent surgery. The doctors do spell out the post surgery effects so that you are somewhat prepared just in case they do show up. Similarly, at this time, Epilepsy should be on the table as a possibility but definitely not a certainty. Too soon to guess. After all, it could have been the meds. Best Regards

So I think it's a good idea to first try changing the meds; the Bupropion. I looked up the adverse side effects and the list is lengthy, including seizures in a very tiny percentage of individuals. With Epilepsy the diagnosis usually comes after two seizures. And, given you are on Bupropion, which, according to Medscape.com, a reliable source on medicine and their side effects, seizures are on the list but in a very tiny percentage of individuals. This is how they spell out seizures as a side effect...."Seizures (0.4% [<450 mg/day], >3% [>450 mg/day]; may be increased risk with concomitant ECT)." I think the neurologists are playing it safe and not jumping to a conclusion too soon although I am sure they haven't ruled out the fact that it "might" be Epilepsy. It's good when neurologists can remain practical versus guessing, hence it's good that they have suggested changing the medication.What you had is consistent with seizures but seizures can be caused by things outside of Epilepsy. My suggestion to you is what my neurosurgeon told the surgical team. "No guessing. Let's just see what the results show." And given this is the first time, at least the first known time, I think you should tell yourself that you will try not to guess. Now should a second seizure show up after you have given up the Bupropion, then Epilepsy should be considered. After all, many with Epilepsy, myself included, underwent EEGs and MRIs that were pretty normal. So a normal EEG. MRI, etc. doesn't mean someone can't have Epilepsy. But at this time you also have a medication that has had seizure effect on a tiny percentage of individuals. So I think the doctors are doing the right thing by not guessing it's Epilepsy. That said, and it might be hard to do because the brain can ponder things, at this time try not to guess whether you have Epilepsy. A good start is to change the meds. If seizures show up down the road after you have changed the meds, then it is more probable that they will diagnosis you with Epilepsy.The rule with Epilepsy is two seizures. At this time I think it's best to start changing the meds because it could have been the contributing factor. Be like me when I underwent surgery. The doctors do spell out the post surgery effects so that you are somewhat prepared just in case they do show up. Similarly, at this time, Epilepsy should be on the table as a possibility but definitely not a certainty. Too soon to guess. After all, it could have been the meds. Best Regards

So I think it's a good idea to first try changing the meds; the Bupropion. I looked up the adverse side effects and the list is lengthy, including seizures in a very tiny percentage of individuals. With Epilepsy the diagnosis usually comes after two seizures. And, given you are on Bupropion, which, according to Medscape.com, a reliable source on medicine and their side effects, seizures are on the list but in a very tiny percentage of individuals. This is how they spell out seizures as a side effect...."Seizures (0.4% [<450 mg/day], >3% [>450 mg/day]; may be increased risk with concomitant ECT)." I think the neurologists are playing it safe and not jumping to a conclusion too soon although I am sure they haven't ruled out the fact that it "might" be Epilepsy. It's good when neurologists can remain practical versus guessing, hence it's good that they have suggested changing the medication.What you had is consistent with seizures but seizures can be caused by things outside of Epilepsy. My suggestion to you is what my neurosurgeon told the surgical team. "No guessing. Let's just see what the results show." And given this is the first time, at least the first known time, I think you should tell yourself that you will try not to guess. Now should a second seizure show up after you have given up the Bupropion, then Epilepsy should be considered. After all, many with Epilepsy, myself included, underwent EEGs and MRIs that were pretty normal. So a normal EEG. MRI, etc. doesn't mean someone can't have Epilepsy. But at this time you also have a medication that has had seizure effect on a tiny percentage of individuals. So I think the doctors are doing the right thing by not guessing it's Epilepsy. That said, and it might be hard to do because the brain can ponder things, at this time try not to guess whether you have Epilepsy. A good start is to change the meds. If seizures show up down the road after you have changed the meds, then it is more probable that they will diagnosis you with Epilepsy.The rule with Epilepsy is two seizures. At this time I think it's best to start changing the meds because it could have been the contributing factor. Be like me when I underwent surgery. The doctors do spell out the post surgery effects so that you are somewhat prepared just in case they do show up. Similarly, at this time, Epilepsy should be on the table as a possibility but definitely not a certainty. Too soon to guess. After all, it could have been the meds. Best Regards

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some advice on my situation

Comments

So I think it's a good idea

Submitted by Jazz101 on Sat, 2019-02-23 - 18:10

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