Reoccurring unexplained loss of consciousness
I am not sure that this is the group to post on but am at a loss and unsure where to start. I apologize up front for the length of this post as well as jumping around.
Two years ago,I was sitting at a baseball stadium outside when I started to feel strange and then had the tunnel darkness start in my peripheral vision. I don't remember anything then until there was a woman standing in front of me talking to me. I couldn't hear her at first, just see her. It was reported that I just slumped over in my chair, my eyes were open and moving, but I was not responding. Once I could hear her, I stood up and tried to leave. I immediately felt weak and nauseous. A wheelchair was brought to where I was and I was taken to the medical office. The medical staff at the field began the questions and I couldn't remember important details such as how old I was, medications I take(I took one for 18 years prior and couldn't remember), etc. Paramedics arrived to assess. I began to vomit and feel shaky and very unsteady. At the field they took my blood sugar, pulse, and blood pressure. Everything was good but my pressure was up a bit. I was taken to an acute care clinic where I was still vomiting and too incoherent for them to see so they sent me to the ER. At the ER they did the stroke test which was difficult for me but I could do it. I really had to think about it. The doctor accused me of faking how difficult it was. I had a CT scan done with everything looking normal. He diagnosed me with an anxiety attack, which the paramedics had diagnosed me with at the park. He instructed me to follow up with my own doctor. I began taking anti-anxiety meds, and 1 month later while sitting at my desk after finishing my lunch, I felt the same feeling right before losing consciousness the first time so looked at my coworker and try to ask for help. The same thing happened, my head was down on my arms, my eyes were open and moving but I was not there. I was taken by ambulance to the ER where I was had an EKG done, blood work, monitoring, and then fitted with a heart monitor for 72 hours. Nothing showed up on the heart monitor. My PA then ordered a series of tests including an MRI, EEG, tilt test, and EMG. I began seeing a neurologist who ordered more tests. All came back fine. I saw a neuropsychologist who ran tests on me as well that came back that I was fine. I had a couple of different episodes after where I felt like I had had a spell but hadn't lost consciousness and my blood pressure went very high. I was put on blood pressure medication. All test results showed that I was healthy. With doctors thinking it was anxiety/stress, I chose to change jobs at the end of that year. I gave up caffeine, carbonated drinks, changed my diet, and began exercising more consistently, saw a therapist to work through childhood trauma, and prioritized myself in my life. Thirteen months after the previous "spell", I was sitting at my desk at the end of the day and I started to feel what I have come to know as an aura again. I tried to talk to my coworker but couldn't say anything, and my head went down on my desk. The paramedics were called but I did not go with them. That spell felt as though I had to fight hard to come out of it and was significantly more scary, for lack of a more medical term. After that, I was taken off of the blood pressure meds and anti-anxiety meds as they seemed to be treating after symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. I saw a cardiologist who referred me to a neurologist specializing in seizures interestingly enough. The cardiologist noted that on one of my MRI scans there was an area that was showing slowed activity. That neurologist reluctantly suggested I begin seizure medication but my regular neurologist overruled and said that there wasn't enough to justify my taking that medication. The next tests that were ordered were two sleep studies, one in my home and one in a facility. The company that does the ones in my home closed and so were not able to administer the test. The one in a facility, tey wanted $1400 up front to run the test and we could not afford to pay so haven't had that test done. I saw an endocrinologist as well, and my thyroid levels were checked and adjusted. I was just cleared last week from seeing the endocrinologist again for another year. My blood pressure was good, heart rate was good. I have lost weight. I completed a half marathon this past spring and was readying myself for another in November. A little over a year since the last one, and I had a fourth spell 4 days ago. Once again, I had been moving around doing my job and came back to my desk to send a quick email and felt the aura. Thinking it might help if I moved again, I stood up and started to walk. Realizing that it wasn't going to help, I told my coworker that I was going to pass out and to help me. I then sat down and my head laid down on my arms. She reported that all color drained from my face and my skin looked yellowish. She thought I had passed away. I had been feeling the best I have felt in years health-wise, mentally, and emotionally when this spell occurred. The following things have happened each time: It feels like picture in picture as I feel it coming on - like I am in the present but there is some sort of activity, sound, movement that is going on at the same time. While in the spell, there is activity, thoughts, dreams, what have you, going on in my head, but i am not in my surroundings. Once I regain consciousness, I am unaware of where I am, confused, struggle to find my words, nauseous, and upset. After the first spell when I couldn't remember things, I feel as though I consciously try to remember things and do somewhat better, but still struggle with important information when being asked. Initially, I can sit upright and answer questions but within a minute or so, I am weak, shaky, and feel very sleepy. I will either vomit or dry heave. I struggle with my words and staying awake. Once I have been settled in and left alone, I sleep hard for 45 minutes or an hour. It takes me a couple of days to fully regain my strength,often sleeping the entire day after an event. I am also in a brain fog for at least 24-36 hours struggling to find my words and understand what people are saying to me. The time immediately after a spell I can remember faces of people, and how I felt about what they were saying but only remember bits of what was said. Still today, I can only remember 3 or 4 things said to me four days ago, but can't remember anything else. In this process, I have had people that were with me at the time write up their recollection of what happened as soon after as possible. Many report seeing the same things. They don't last a long time, 30 seconds to a minute and a half. An addition to this episode that wasn't noted previously is that throughout the day of this most recent spell, I had great difficulty hanging onto things. I kept dropping things even though I had a good hold of them. I am an educated professional and not wanting to take more meds and I hate missing work. I may be grasping at straws in trying to think of any detail that may be important. II am struggling to find a path to answers so I thought that maybe someone on this site could help me. Thank you for reading!
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@sdneb44
Being the expert i’m not, I'm curious why the doc wanted a sleep study. Normally there aren't near the number of EEG electrodes. I would think an ambulatory EEG for 24-48 hours would be more beneficial and may have better insurance coverage.
When I was a kid a
friend(?) hit me in the head with a bat. I've always wondered if that caused my seizures. They claim symptoms usually show up rather soon after a concussion but they can occasionally show up years later. I don't buy into the brain injury timelines that many doctors do.
The one thing scientists understand about the brain is how little they actually do know about it.
I had episodes of syncope too and the manifestations of syncope was nothing like seizure activity at least in my case.
The Mayo Clinic Epilepsy Center is a level 4 Center and is ranked #1 in the Country.
Epilepsy Centers locations
https://www.naec-epilepsy.org/about-epilepsy-centers/find-an-epilepsy-center/all-epilepsy-center-locations/
Here is a webcast done earlier today.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/video-qa-about-epilepsy/
I hope you will keep us informed. I'm very interested in your outcome. If I was having the symptoms you are, I'd ask the doctor if I had TLE (Temporal Lobe Epilepsy)
Health & Happiness,
Jake
Thank you for bringing up the ambulatory EEG, yes, they wanted me to have one of those done, but the company doing them closed and the doctor's office was going to get back to me but never did. What I have read and researched about syncope does not sound like what I have been experiencing. Thank you so much! I will keep in touch!
So I tried work today after being off since the episode. I felt iffy most of the morning. Around 11 I felt really weak and shaky so had them take my blood pressure 139/99 , I waited and tested a bit and the next was 140/102. Even right after the episode the other day, it was 118/82. This happen to anyone else? After each previous one, I have had this happen a few times for a couple of weeks after where my blood pressure spikes and I feel rotten then am fine again.
@sdneb44
Hi,
@sdneb44
Howdy,
No, you totally stumped me. Some people have seizures very infrequently. As far as the fall months are concerned maybe just a coincidence??
Have you been in an accident, had a serious infection, encephalitis, meningitis, any head trauma, are you over 60, stroke, brain surgery of any kind, diabetes, normal birth?
I don't imagine you use illicit drugs.
Have you had a functional MRI to evaluate your vasculature?
Do or did you have any stress, anxiety or depression issues?
Jake
I had two concussions as a teen, one requiring hospitalization but nothing recent. I have a family history of strokes on my paternal side. Other than that none of the rest of that stuff. I do not use illicit drugs nor have I ever. I'm not sure on the functional MRI. I've had 2 done and 1 with contrast. I'm a special education teacher so I am exposed to a considerable amount of stress, but over the past two years have made vast improvements in how I handle that stress.
Hi, @sdneb44 - if you are considering going to Mayo Clinic for an opinion, you may use this contact link for requesting an appointment http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.
Hi, @sdneb44 - wondering how things are going for you and how you are feeling lately? Are you still experiencing blood pressure spikes?
Hello Lisa! Thank you for checking in with me. A lot has happened since my original post. I was able to get into a neurologist that specializes in seizure disorders that is top in his field. He is starting a new clinic so my husband was able to get me in to see him instead of another new doctor. He listened, spent the time to talk to me and really hear what I was saying. He told me that he would get to the bottom of it, it finally felt as though someone was going to help me solve it. Early in December, I got the aura again but for some reason did not lose consciousness. For about a week after that, my blood pressure was disregulated again. He had me do a long term video EEG in the hospital the week after Christmas. While they didn't see any seizure activity, they did continue to see the slowed brain activity in the left temporal lobe of my brain. They also found that even though I take a Vitamin B12 supplement every day, I was deficient in Vitamin B12. At the end of the week, the neurologist called what I have been experiencing seizures based on what I have described and the write ups shared by witnesses and whatever information he was able to gather from the EEG. To have a name for it and a direction to go is reassuring but also somewhat frightening. He said that when I have the next one, he will put me on anti-seizure medication. He said he would put me on Kepra. I have done some research on that medication and have read that it can significantly alter personalities so I would love to hear some advice on a medication that, should I need to start taking it, will not affect my personality and demeanor.
I also had a loop recorder placed by my cardiologist. It was explained to me that cardiac related syncope could be a trigger for seizures so they are using the loop recorder to see if a)my heart is causing the seizures and b)if the heart isn't causing them, what is happening that is causing the disregulated blood pressure after the fact. Some interesting things explained to me in the hospital that I am unsure of but wondered about:
-Whatever caused the first seizure may not even be in my life or body anymore but that my electrical impulses in my brain have been altered so I have a greater likelihood of it happening again.
-Some triggers of a seizure are infection in the body/brain, brain trauma, buried emotional/psychological trauma - this one surprised me a bit
Thanks again for checking in on me. Anything you could explain further or connect for me from what I learned is very welcome!
Hello @sdneb44,
While I see that you were responding to @lisalucier, I wanted you to know how very happy I am for you that you found a doctor who is willing to listen and work with you until an answer is found. I also appreciate all of the great information you have shared about seizures.
Will you post again with an update?
Hi, @sdneb44 - thanks for the update. Glad you found a physician who is taking time with you, really listening to you and working with you to try to figure out what has been happening.
Did the doctor offer an exact name for your diagnosis?