UKC

Pretty horrible week this one as my wife had a siezure at work on Wednesday and has spent a couple of days in hospital. We work for the same company so I was there a couple of minutes after the sizure started and although I've seen people have fits a couple of times before it was absolutely terrifying. Nothing like this has every happened before and she was feeling absolutely fine up until it happened. All the blood tests and CT scans and that came back clear so the neurologist couldn't say what caused it if anything. We're both now pretty scared about it happening again and I'm really uncomfortable about leaving the little lady on her own. Apparently siezures are fairly common and it's not unusual for it to happen once to a person and then never again so to be considered epileptic and be considered for medical treatment you've got to have had two attacks. Does anyone out there have experience of such things?

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

Not all seizures are down to epilepsy. However,

The Epilepsy Society have a helpline:

01494-601400

There is also a forum on their website (though don't be scared by it - it's a national centre and ome very severe cases)

www.epilepsysociety.org.uk

Hope that helps - good luck

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

Hi mate, had this happen to a couple of friends over the last few years or so. One had a couple of seizures and then nothing again. The docs reckoned it was something viral and he's been fine ever since. The only major hassle for him was not being able to drive for a year!

Second friend had been suffering from increasingly more frequent seizures, the long and short of it was that they were psychological and a short stay in a respite centre seems to have done the trick. He had some fairly deep rooted psychological problems and this was the way they manifested themselves.

There's a very good chance that she'll never have one again, make sure you've got a good GP on side and they'll be able to keep you informed. You've got me on that Facebook so feel free to ping me a message if you ever need any more info.

In reply to highaltitudebarista: Hi fella thats correct most people in the lifetime will have a single seizure and then nothing but then some can develop epilepsy with no underlying cause. Id reccomened her not to drive for a while or operate and heavy machinary (dont know what her job is) until a short time has passed has another seizure can happen and you dont want her to be in an accident because of it.

seeing a seizure is never pleasent and the horrible thing is you cant do anything other than make sure they wont hurt themselves and comfort them.

any more info feel free to drop us an email i know a fair bit about epilepsy.

Thanks for the posts and emails, lots of good info to digest. Her indoors isn't allowed to drive for the next six months and I don't think we'll be going scuba diving for a while!

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

Oh honey, that sounds terrifying. Really feel for you both.

Father of an ex-boyfriend had a similar thing - one seizure but then nothing more. In his case, the doc put it down to a bad reaction to some blood pressure medication he'd just been prescribed.

In reply to highaltitudebarista: oh mate, really sorry to hear that. Nothing more to add than what's been said already, really. All the best from here and lotsa hugs to Mrs K too! Co:

In reply to highaltitudebarista: Hope she is ok now and that it was a one off.

In reply to highaltitudebarista: we do respite foster care & quite a few of our visitors have a history of seizures and other medical issues. The social services have put us through a couple of very specific first aid courses, I'm sure you could find a similar course just to give you some peace of mind.
Hope it goes well for you both, K.

In reply to highaltitudebarista: So sorry to hear about that.

Many years back my best mate had a single (but V severe) seizure, I visited him in hospital about 5 hrs later as soon as I heard it had happened. He was clearly still affected, didnt know who I was, who he was etc etc. real scary.
However, it was a total one off. They never found out what caused it, I heard one theory that he had been making a model with his dad the day before and it could have been a reaction to the solvent in the glue...but really they had no idea. He has never had anything similar since.

At the other end of the scale a member of my family is an epilepsy sufferer, and has been for years. It started suddenly in her early 20's. She spent many years suffering badly with regular and serious seizures, she lives alone with her young daughter so it was a big problem. BUT very suddenly the seizures stopped and <crossing fingers> she has been fine for a considerable time now.

Those are my experiences anyway, like you say at this stage its very possible your wife will never suffer another. Hope everything works out OK

In reply to highaltitudebarista: Hi Mate, It is scary but usually the Doctors get it controlled quickly. I had a couple of seizures when I was 20 and it was completely out of nowhere, they happened over a period of a few months but are now controlled with meds and I've been free of major fits since then and live a fairly normal life now. All the best!

Thanks everyone.

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

just seen this, hugs to A & you

In reply to highaltitudebarista:
I manage my wife's seizure clinic - it is very scary to see someone have a full-on tonic clonic seizure, which this sounds like, if you haven't seen one before.
As other posters and you have said, it's not rare. About 1% of the population have a seizure at some point and a one-off is generally not treated. The side effects of medications and the hassle of finding the right medication makes the treatment worse than the problem for a single event.

Not all seizures are epileptic either.

Precipitating factors can be any one or a combination of dehydration, lack of sleep, anxiety and stress. There may be chemical or physical triggers (whack on the head being one - it needn't be even vaguely close to the time of the seizure - hence the scan. And for epileptic seizures, there is sometimes a focal source which can be surgically removed (sounds scary but the outcome of surgery is often very good indeed).

Without a second seizure, don't worry about it - easier said than done! And for what it's worth, seizure treatment in the UK is pretty good. We tend to follow the NICE guidelines.

Boatloads of information here - http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk
Remember not all seizures are epilepsy, the majority are one-off (more common in kids than adults - children get dehydrated very easily) and some are a result of stress/anxiety.

Feel free to email me if you have questions

In reply to highaltitudebarista: My son had one earlier this year at the residential school he was at. Sounded terrifying to be honest as it was a grand mal seizure but as others have said its only happened the once and hopefully won't happen again.

Do your research, listen to the docs and stay positive that the chances are that it wa a (scary) one off.

Hope she's ok x

In reply to highaltitudebarista:

One of my climbing partners had a couple of scary fitting episodes at an interval of a few months some years back. Was very stressed and tired from work at the time. Lots of tests indeterminate so medics said he can take epilepsey drugs if he wanted which he does daily.

Off driving for a year but no further episodes and climbs, skis, drives, triathlons and works etc. Totally normal life except the drug regime.
Best of luck