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My 1st ever seizure last month, in airport waiting area
Kindly leave comments or any thoughts you might have on my case.
I'm an old guy (just 10 months away from leaving behind me the last of my 70s) living in one part of the US and traveled alone last month by plane to a distant part of the US where I don't know anyone. The plane was supposed to land ~ 12:40 PM Pacific Time but I've written to the airlines to find out the actual time of landing. I had a number of things to carry-- I got all of my stuff off the plane and vaguely recall sitting in a waiting area, sitting to use my smartphone to figure out how to use the city's public transit system in order to reach my hotel. I might have only been sitting a minute or two when I was stricken with my 1st ever seizure in life. Though I was unconscious when the seizure struck, two people - a young female acupuncturist and her boyfriend - did a great deal to help me even though I had no idea what was going on. She found my name, address, email address and 2 phone numbers on my luggage tags and soon wrote to me to find out what had happened to me after she or someone called an ambulance crew to take me to the ER in a local hospital. We wrote back and forth to each other over several days: she told me she was in an airport bathroom when my seizure started but her boyfriend was present for the start. The boyfriend told her that I suddenly yelled out or cried out at the start. Due to breathing in some odd way, he massaged my chest and both used my 1st name since they knew it from the luggage tags. She told me that as soon as I heard my name being uttered by one or both of them, I began to greatly improve in my breathing. They were being called to get on their plane but they told the airline that they weren't leaving me 'til an ambulance crew arrived. They also watched all my stuff which of course could have vanished if they weren't there to help me. I asked her if I was violently thrashing about and she said "Yes, you were violently moving and shaking". Maybe ~ 9:30 PM or later I awoke in front of a young MD who didn't say too much to me except something I thought was humorous: he said "We're all allowed to have (or maybe said "we're all entitled to have...") one seizure in life." While alert and awake, I saw someone remove an IV line from each of my forearms. The discharge report handed to me had the MD's diagnosis as "seizure-like activity" but remember, I don't know what the ambulance crew learned from my 2 helpers in the airport and I don't know what the ambulance crew told the MD in the hospital ER. The hospital ER discharge report told me 2 drugs were administered (I suppose one drug in one forearm IV port and the other in the other forearm's IV port): ondansetron (ZOFRAN) "last given at 2:33 PM", and midazolam (VERSED) "last given at 2:56 PM. Sodium chloride stopped at 3:14 PM". Studies done by the hospital ER: 12 leads attached to my chest to study my heart, CT scan of my brain/head without IV contrast, and 1 view chest X-ray. With all my stuff now inside a Lyft or Uber, I checked into my hotel maybe 10:30 PM or so. I turned on my tablet, went to Mayo Clinic webpage on seizures and noticed an important thing for my case in the section on Causes of Seizures. One reason Mayo states for a seizure is NO SLEEP. In the hours before my very early morning flight from the airport in my home city - hours when I should have been sleeping - I never went to bed because I was fiddling with packing, I was looking up sights/sites to visit in the West Coast city I went to (and where the seizure occurred), and due to my usual anticipation before important travel or an important meeting. Of course I hope that young ER MD is right: "We're all entitled to have one seizure in life" but I wonder if I'm at some maybe slight risk for another. Factors you should know: 1) 2 yrs ago I had a TIA which was a visual one that was very brief, and 2) every night I use a CPAP machine PLUS require an additional 2 liters/minute of oxygen from an oxygen concentrator (a tube from it feeds the oxygen into the fat CPAP tube going to my nose).
Yesterday my MD called me by phone. I told her I've been OK since that seizure last month but want to know more so she's sending me to a neurologist who might have an idea what kind of seizure I had. Today the epilepsy clinic called me to say I'll first have an EEG done before I suppose I meet with a neurologist. [I don't know yet when the EEG will be done but it might be weeks from today.]
Kindly leave comments or any thoughts you might have on my case.
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Hi,
You mentioned you are currently using a CPAP machine every night. Are you very reliant? Since you spent the evening before the night packing, it seemed it’s unlikely you would have the chance to use it.
I guessed traveling to a place where you don’t know anyone might have subconsciously caused some stress and you were alone, carrying a handful of stuff.
And it’s great now you are fine! I’m not sure why it will take months before you can have the EEG done. It’s either the clinic/hospital is super busy, or the neurologist thinks you need more observation and it’s not life threatening at this point.
Just my thoughts. Take care!
Cheers,
Louis
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4 ReactionsYou were extremely lucky. I had my first seizure at 73. It was over by the time I got to the emergency room. After various tests it was misdiagnosed as a panic attack. (Understandably because I was the chief caretaker for my husband who had Alzheimer’s.) And later I had another one, which I assumed was another panic attack. Finally the meningioma which was causing the seizures bled and almost killed me. (It was removed during emergency surgery.)
My heart-felt advice from my experience: something in addition to the lack of sleep caused the seizure. Something has changed for you, but for it to be fixed, it has to be found. Be aggressive in finding it.
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3 Reactions@musicbart
Sorry to hear you had a seizure.
Hopefully your seizure was a one off.
I assume when you yelled (known as the epileptic cry or ictal cry) occured at the beginning of the seizure?
This cry is caused by strong chest spasms that force air past the vocal cords.
Did you bite your tongue?
It sounds like you likely had a provoked generalized tonic clonic seizure possibly from your lack of sleep. If your seizure was caused by a provoked seizure the possibility of you having another is extremely low. I believe it's 3% or less. The rate for unprovoked seizures is much higher up to 50%.
I know you had no control of your chest being massaged but it actually shouldn't have been done. It doesn't help you breathe and could have been damaging. Paused breathing is normal as is discoloration around the lips fingernails & face turning blue or gray. Breathing will resume when the seizure ends. Don't be surprised if your EEG is normal. Even people with frequent active seizures have normal tests.
Take care,
Jake
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4 Reactionsivs35@yahoo.com
Hello Louis,
I suppose that I am indeed reliant on the CPAP as well as on the additional 2 liters/minute of oxygen (which is fed into the CPAP machine by a small diameter tube). I don't need additional oxygen during the day when I'm up and about, only needed during sleep. [My blood oxygen levels are OK during the day: 93 or above using the OTC device.]
Today I was called by the EEG clinic. I go in next Wed. 19 Aug. for the EEG.
Knowing no one in a distant place/city doesn't really cause me anxiety. I think it was just my usual antipication about important travel plus some worry that I'd miss the very early plane if I had gone to bed. I live alone too so there's no one to wake me, just an alarm clock.
Thanks for your thoughts.
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5 Reactionsivs35@yahoo.com
Methel, thanks for your statements. I'm happy to learn that the cause of your medical problem was found and corrected. I'll certainly bring up possible existence of a meningioma with the neurologist.
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1 Reactionivs35@yahoo.com
Hi Jake,
Yes, according to the young acupuncturist and her boyfriend with her, I cried or yelled out at the very start of the seizure. She sent me a text message saying she was in an airport bathroom when the seizure struck but that her boyfriend, who was probably or surely somewhere near where I was sitting in the waiting area, saw and heard the start of my seizure.
No, I didn't bite my tongue.
You wrote about the kind of seizure I had. That's very helpful to me Jake, thanks! ---> Would not having had ANY sleep (being entirely up and about during the hours I should have been in bed) be the provocation for the kind of seizure I had?
[I wrote more than the above but Mayo's system didn't include it here. Why? Maybe I'll add later what I remember. I have to go out now.]
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2 Reactions@musicbart
I'm glad to hear you didn't bite your tongue.
Yes going without sleep could have definitely been the what lowered your seizure threshold which may have led to the seizure. Sleep deprivation considered to be the number one trigger of seizures.
Quality and adequate sleep is very important in seizure patients.
Although lack of sleep, doesn't actually cause a seizure it does lower the brains seizure threshold making a seizure more likely to happen. Were you having less or poor quality sleep days prior to your seizure?
Have you ever had any type of head injury or been in an accident where you may have hit your head.
I have had my entire posts disappear, but never half of one. I've never heard of that happening from any member.
If I'm planning on writing a post that may be a little long or things that I don't want to forget, I type them out in notes and then copy and paste them back into connect.
I'd also like to mention that since you did in fact have what sounds like a tonic clonic seizure according to your symptoms that some precautions should be taken.
Don't take baths. Showers are much safer.
I don't have a dishwasher but I don't use stoppers in the sink when I wash dishes.
I wouldn't fill the bathroom basin with water either.
Swimming, climbing, driving should probably be avoided.
If cooking best to use the back burners.
I hope you let us know how your EEG and neurology appointment go.
Take care,
Jake
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2 Reactions@jakedduck1
[Earlier today I didn't know why the last part of what I wrote here didn't show up for me or anyone. I think now that since I was using my very infrequently used Android tablet with the wifi in my building, there probably was some split-second break in the wifi and that might have caused the loss of text-- I don't know. Anyway, maybe I can now recall what I wrote earlier today.]
Hi Jake,
Yes, according to the young acupuncturist and her boyfriend with her, I cried or yelled out at the very start of the seizure. She sent me a text message saying she was in an airport bathroom when the seizure struck but that her boyfriend, who was probably or surely somewhere near where I was sitting in the waiting area, saw and heard the start of my seizure.
No, I didn't bite my tongue.
You wrote about the kind of seizure I had. That's very helpful to me Jake, thanks!
---> Would not having had ANY sleep (being entirely up and about during the hours I should have been in bed) be the provocation for the kind of seizure you believe I had?
@jakedduck1
Jake, as a light sleeper, I've been having poor sleep for many months. I've recently been thinking that I'd like to know what my cortisol level(s) is/are. I read that some problem with cortisol can cause poor sleep. Also, I don't get out into the light/sunlight outside very soon after rising. I know this isn't good but I was given a light box which even though I thought should be used in Winter can really be used year-round. I think my internal circadian clock's in need of being "fixed" or reset. And I have a physical problem with my sleeping arrangements: I feel I need a wider bed since, due to a complication in my living quarters, I've been sleeping on a narrow, 37 or 39 inch wide bed, a student type bed I call it. I face a certain project in altering my living quarters and in procuring a wider, non-firm bed.
I only have a spacious shower stall but no tub.
While I have a dishwasher, I only use it ~ once a year to keep the seals in some kind of shape. I hand wash everything and never use a plug in the drain. [I only very briefly stop up the bathroom sink to use a plunger in it to get out hair, etc., etc.]
While I'm no longer swimming and never really climbed, I do still drive and realize that perhaps one could be stricken with a seizure while driving. I've no one else to drive but I only drive once or maybe twice a week.
I think in another message you left here you wondered if I'd hit my head any time. I used to be an avid bicyclist: I'd go everywhere on one or the other of my 2 bicycles. But I've been hit by bad drivers in two different years, in 1984 and in 2008. I always wore my bicycle helmet whenever I went riding. The 1984 collision wasn't as awful as the 2008 one but I recall that in the '84 accident, I was stunned when thrown from my bicycle and might have been dazed or "mildly out" for a second or two. In the 2008 accident, I was very badly injured but may not have or probably didn't hit my head. Due to horrendous injuries to my left knee, I was taken to the hospital while conscious. Physical therapy and joining the Y to swim greatly helped my left knee: I needed no knee surgery and have, to this day, no physical pain from using stairs nor from walking long distances.
I'll certainly tell you what next week's EEG determines once I get the report from - I suppose - a neurologist.
@musicbart hi,
Do let us know how the EEG turn out! For you, this may perhaps be a really unique event. Seems like your oxygen level is ok.
For my previous trip, I chose the flight times best for my body. I’m not sure if it’ll help for you but it’s worth a consideration when practical. If there’s an airport hotel, check in a day before any flight so you won’t feel so stressed having to deal with all those mentioned in an airport waiting area. But instead, in the tranquility of a hotel room where you won’t need to unpack too much and you can get yourself prepared once you hit the ground running.
Cheers,
Louis