seizures

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I'm in hospital with a broken nose and fractures to my left obital (eye socket) and cheek bone. I collapse and hit the floor in my bedroom the other night.

For quite a long tine, years even, I have been having strange episodes usually at night but not always, where I suddenly don't know where I am or who I'm with. The most common and vivid are during the early hours. I wake up, don't know where I am, don't recognise the room I'm in and don't even know who is lying next to me (my wife). I psnic a bit and jump out of bed. I quickly look for my clothes. By this point I usualy come round and get back into bed feeling silly. The other night however, I never made it to the bit where I 'come round' instead I blacked out and woke later on the floor with my face covered in blood. I dint know how long I was out. The fall never woke my wife. She remaind sleeping till I woke her by shouting for help (when I woke myself). I'm wondering if this was a seizure. I have to see a 'falls and faints' clinic next week, I also have to see a neurologist too. Was realy scary, especially to think how frequent the 'pre-blackout aspect if this occures (the confusion, failure to recognize where I am) this bit happens about 4 times a week. Scares the he'll out of me to think any of these could lead to a total blackout like the other night that lead me to damage my face so much.

I get black-outs quite often, but I don't know if they're the same as seizures.

I have epilepsy and had it since 1974. Fortunately at the moment it is in remission, but the seizures I had were at the moderate level, but often without the loss of consciousness.

I do get small seizures frequently. My other seizures I get maybe a couple of times a year. Fortunately, I've never broken my nose or anything, but I bleed a lot. I bite my tongue, and I can almost always know where I had the seizure, as the entire floor is covered in blood. I'm also very sore everywhere for some days afterward. Not to mention very bad headaches.

Hi Inuit.

It does sound like you've been experiencing some sort of seizure. I'm so sorry that you had such a violent one that you injured yourself, I can only imagine how terrifying that was.

I've had a few seizures in my life, but nothing so bad, and I've had quite a few "petit mal" fits, which are less severe. It sounds to me like the confusion you've been experiencing prior to the fit is what they call an "aura", which is the direct precursor of a fit. While yours sound incapacitating to the extent that they're not a good warning, some people find these "auras" alert them ahead of time, and enable them to prepare for the fit. For example, I get electricky sensations in my head, and an absolutely foul smell. If I get the two together I know something is up, and can take appropriate action.

In your case, you might find that medication will help lessen both the fits, and the "aura." Although this is really bad right now, it can improve, and should do, once they get to the root cause of it. I know this doesn't help you while you're laid up with broken bones, and all over bruises, but it should give you some hope for the future.

Please let us know on this thread what feedback you're getting from your doctors etc. There are others here who are in the same (or similar) boats, so there is hope for the future. Just... don't panic.

Thanks everyone for you feedback. The 'aura' thing you mention seems to fit. I'm starting to wonder if I have had more full (loss of consiousness) seizures but managed to get back into, or stay in bed (so not collapsing) as for years I have woke with lots of deep nail marks and scratches around my arm pits, shoulders and chest (as if I'm digging my nails in due to muscle spasms) along with a really painful jaw from clenching my teeth.

My first appointment about this is on the 20th I'll keep you posted. I just hope that if this is epilepsy my son does not have it to, he's three and already being assessed for AS. I could not handle the thought of him suffering a fit.

Out of hospital now, got my face fixed. Got first appointment on Thursday to investigate the blackouts. Thus first appointment is with the falls and syncope clinic to see whether the blackouts are anything to do with my heart of just fainting episodes, though I don't think this will be the case. I will be refered to a neurologist is the findings from this first clinic are inconclusive.

I had these episodes for a few years, the last time it happened was in first year university and I actually bumped into something too because my face was bleeding when I woke up. Didn't break any bones though.

The neurologist said that it was unlikely I had seizures after monitoring my brain in my sleep (stayed in a hospital overnight).

I'm glad I haven't had an episode in over a year now.

Had another 'grand mal' seizure since my last post. No serious injury thus time though - came round half in - half out of the bed. Was seriously confussed afterwards though, I was convinced I was standing up, downstairs with the kitchen door open (because I could smell methane gas). I also had my hand twitching infront of my face (thought I was holding a mobile phone). Once I realised I was not standing up (and was not by the kitchen door) I felt nausious and an overwhelming feeling of misery came over me, I felt extremely tired yet could not sleep afterwards. It has left me feeling not my self for days.

I saw the neurologist the other day, he thinks it is epilepsy (temporal lobe) and not my heart (the other avenue they have been investigationg). I'm now waiting for an appointment for an EEG and an MRI scan.

Some black-outs can also be contributed to heart issues as well. I used to have blackouts myself when I was younger. They thought they were due to tension headaches, now I have other issues and recently had an EEG and going to see a neurologist soon.

I get really BAD dizzy spells and sometimes fall down and my body locks up and I can't move if I get too stressed out. They did an EEG for the dizzy spells but since my dizzy spells only occur when I am moving about, the test came back normal.

If they can put EEG equiment on wild animals and flying birds, they can surely make it so they can moniter a person's brain when they are up and about. I had an EEG as a kid but they kept restarting it because I couldn't be still and kept moving. I could not control myself. I suppose they would restart it if I had a grand mal seziure as well.

I sometimes litteray have no idea I am doing somehing. I once noticed myself picking at the wall with nail clippers and had no memory of picking the nail clippers up. I really worry I might hurt my lizard someday because I'd have no clue I was doing something to her until she was either dead or in severe pain.

I once had a bout of dizzy spells where I could not stand up without vomiting and falling down. I had an EEG for those as well but since I was not allowed to walk around or stand up and my dizzy spells seemed to only occur with movement, the test came back normal. I was worried I had a brain tumor or something but my mum told me they would not do an MRI unless they found something signifiant on the EEG. With the medical community's BS, I wouldn't be surprized if that were actualy true. I would have to have an MRI under sedation because the noise would bother me so much and I would never be able to lay 100% still.

The dizzy spells stoped one day on their own but I cannot run at all for more than a second because they come back with a vengance and I feel like I will pass out and die.

Could it be hypnogogic hallucinations? The various disassociation's upon waking? Hallucinations

I have had these due to sleep deprivation. Falling asleep standing up and so on. I have been tested for narcolepsy but EEg did not find any inconsistencies. I have also blacked out while walking and knocked myself out in a car park for about 15 mins until the ambulance arrived. My face and head took the full force of my fall and I cut my face up and had to be taken to hospital. All else was ruled out and a "seizure" was agreed upon. Again, the EEg showed nothing. But they put me on sodium valproate (epilim) just in case and I was told to have a crushed valium in a teaspoon next to the bed with water in case i woke and felt an aura. I have not had one so serious since. I think it was a bit of an anomaly

Please also have your inner ears checked for vestibulopathy.......if you wake and have a hypnagogic scenario, the vertigo caused by this can make you fall heavily without having the time to register that you are falling. I have this and have fallen a few times in various situations.

Sorry if this has not helped much and I hope you are getting some good medical help to get it sorted. I am sorry that you sustained such injuries. Tell us how you go.

Mics

I've never had a seizure.

Had another seizure type experience today. Was an episode of the kind I have had many times before but only now (after my consultation with a neurologist) recognise it as a posible seizure (I used to think all seizures had to end in loss of consiouness (I have had two loss of consiouness ones).

This one happened like this: I was nearly home after work, listening to music on my iPhone. Just walked in my garden gate as the Track 'Rhodes' by portishead came on. I remember this much: The first chord of Rhodes seemed to ring out with perclulier hightend clarity, the chord seemed to effect everything, the surrounding environment took on a hyper clarity of it's own, everything had super saturated colour, my vision seemed to go hi-def, time seemed to slow down and I felt an unusual sence of belonging to that very moment as if I had a shared understanding that had always been there, like I had been there (in that moment) many times before. It felt very nice to be honest. Next thing I somehow managed to get through the door and had a bit of missed time. My wife said I was unresponsive, kept closing my eyes and leaning on things. Then I went 'giggly' still not responding (in the past she would have put this down to me being annoying) I sat down and was drumming my fingers on the arm of the chair and had my right leg bounding up and down. This lasted several mins. I the suddenly said 'right, let's get up' at which I got out of the chair. I then went to pick up my 3 year old (which I do remember doing. I basically recall the bit about the amazing clarity and the sureal sence of belonging to that moment (which somehow had an almost religeous like promise of somthing significant) and the greating my 3 year old but don't really recall much of the in between.

I now have my appointment fir my EEG later in the month. Though I have read that these seldom pick up anything as a seizure has to be happening at the time, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm still worried that one of these episode us going to land me back in hospital - I hope not, my face has just about healed.