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Possible first seizure

Mon, 12/30/2019 - 13:17
A few days before Christmas I had what we think was a first time seizure. Before I get to that, a little personal background. I'm 42, male (white if it matters), and at 38 was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinsons Disease. I've been on carbidopa/levodopa (instant release initially, now on extended release) since diagnosis. Never had any serious problems with that medication, a bit of nausea at times, and some daytime sleepiness, but within tolerable limits. Some dyskinesia starting, but that's also mild and not terribly bothersome yet. For head injury history, I had some of the normal 80's childhood bumps to the head including one brief loss of awareness (if not consciousness) incident involving a bicycle, a steep hill with a curve at the bottom, and a curb. I was in a car accident at 16 where I required 150 or so stitches in my forehead. No concussion that I know of in that incident, but possible. Took a line drive to the face while sliding into 3rd once in junior high school. Definitely got a concussion playing rugby in college (back of my head smacked the ground when tackled by 3 big dudes). I was active in karate from 10-16, so probably took some blows to the head during that time frame. No family history of neurological problems, including both Parkinsons and Epilepsy. OK, so on to the recent event. We had travelled to my in-laws for Christmas, and a few days before Santa came I was sitting on their couch looking at a picture of a friend's kid on Facebook, with a cup of tea in one hand. Next thing I know I have a lap full of tea (thankfully not too hot) and my wife is calling my name, and my phone is not in my hand. I felt very confused and had no idea what was going on. After about 10 minutes I was able to coherently discuss things with my wife, got up to change clothes, etc. From my wife's perspective, she heard my 8 year old try to tell me I was spilling my tea and when I didn't respond my wife came over. She said I was slumped over and twitching. Not the violent spasms I've seen in videos of tonic-clonic seizures, but certainly not still or frozen. She called my name and said I opened my eyes, but otherwise didn't respond. She also said my eyes were "very open" like someone trying to look scary/weird, and that my pupils were fully dialated. I stayed in that state, I think she said also continuing to twitch, for 2-3 minutes. Then I started to come to, and it took a little bit before I was really back. So, the biggest question of course is whether that was a seizure? And if not, what was it? And either way, what might have been the cause? I have an appointment with a neurologist that was recommended by my PD doc on January 2. An EEG is scheduled for Jan 20. I won't know about any further tests until I see the neurologist of course. Also, as it may or may not be informative, back at the end of July I had a fall in the kitchen at home. We had come home from church, or errands or something, and after a quick outside chore I went inside. I stopped in the kitchen for something (don't remember what) and while standing at a counter suddenly fell. I've been having some issues with what I thought was orthostatic hypotension (dizzyness upon standing) and I assumed that was likely the cause of the fall, along with some slowness in getting my extremities to respond to commands to move due to the PD. However, now I'm starting to wonder if that might have been a seizure. I'm very uncertain about this, so I was hoping for some input here. In that event I don't recall losing consciousness, but I do know that I damaged the kitchen island when I fell, and I don't recall hitting anything on the way down. There was definitely a short period of confusion after the fall, but I'm not sure if that was just a normal WTH moment or more than that. Since the event 8 days ago, I have definitely not felt quite the same. Some days are better than others, and in general each day is getting better. The best I can describe it is just feeling "weird" since then. Like something has changed, but I can't really put a finger on it. I have definitely been having a lot more "dizzy" spells, and would have fallen a couple days ago, but had a counter on one side and an appliance on the other that I was able to use to catch myself. My left leg (and it's the left side that is predominantly affected by PD) just collapsed while I was standing there. After maybe 20 seconds or so I was able to bear full weight on that leg again. Thanks to all that read through this missive, and especially to any who respond. Hope you all had a great Christmas/Hannauka/etc season and a Happy New Year!

Comments

Hi, Thank you for posting, it

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2019-12-31 - 08:46
Hi, Thank you for posting, it’s sounds like you’ve been through a lot. We cannot determine if this most recent episode you describe having is a seizure or not, so we are glad to hear that you’re scheduled to see your healthcare team to explore this further and are scheduled for additional diagnostic testing.  It’s important that you review any changes inside effects, behaviors, moods and symptoms with your healthcare team as well. Documenting these episodes in detail, (like you’ve done in your post), and providing a thorough family history (if possible), will be very helpful to review with your healthcare team. My Seizure Diary: https://www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/epilepsy-foundation-my-seizure-diaryis a great tool for tracking these episodes you’ve experienced, setting reminders,managing medications & side effects, recording medical history, moods, behaviors, triggers,and other personal experiences, that may affect seizures and wellness, which can be shared with your healthcare team. Our new to Epilepsy & Seizure tool kit is a great resource and starting point for learning about what epilepsy is, what resources are available, how to make the most of doctors' visits, and how to take control of seizures, seizure first aid & safety. Learn more here: https://www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/toolbox/new-seizures-and-epilepsyAdditionally, you may always contact our Epilepsy and Seizures 24/7 Helpline: epilepsy.com/helplinewhere trained information specialists are available to answer your questions, offer help, hope, support, guidance, and access to national and local resources. 1-800-332-1000, contactus@efa.org.

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