Bummer of a weekend

[JavaBrewer]

I got the line on a beach side cabin rental in Camp Pendleton. On Sunday I was playing smashball with my son when I started getting tunnel vision. I was heading back to my chair when I passed out and fell into a seizure that lasted ~ 2 minutes. I regained some consciousness in the ambulance on the ride to the hospital. I was released to go home later that night. I bit my tongue pretty good and my chest and upper back are very painful - darvocet in moderation is helping but I want to be off that by tomorrow.

So that is my second seizure in 10 years. The first occurred when I was sick and exhausted from a work trip and I passed out in Target and fractured my skull on their concrete floor (no law suit...it was all me). Docs then attributed the seizure due to my skull impacting the concrete. Since then I have been fine but admittedly I'm a bit worried.

I had an EEG done today and will have the full MRI next week. Doc thinks it was again exhaustion (I've been sleeping really poorly lately) and combo with overall stress (lots of that too these days). So anyone have experience with this stuff? Other than my really sore body my head feels clear and thanks to the darvocet I've been sleeping like a baby. What long term effects can I look forward to? Worst case scenario? Best case?

[Amail]

Man, Dave, when it rains it pours! First sciatica, now this.

Unfortunately, I've got no experience in this, so all I can offer is 'good luck'. Is there any way you can reduce your stress level?

[syncroid]

Wow David. Thats pretty scary. No other symtoms before the lights went out?
I passed out at a wedding once. I had gone for a forty mile mountain bike ride before the wedding. I was semi dehydrated and it was over 100 degrees in the church. Luckily for me, there were two friends standing right behind me when I went down. The floor was stone. Oh did I mention there were two huge women stopped in the doorway blocking all the fresh air that I wanted desparately?
I hope you are okay!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I could see passing out from exhaustion/stress (happened to my father last year....while he was at the wheel of his Ford Excursion! Nobody hurt, thank heavens) but attributing the seizure to it doesn't make sense to me.

On the other hand, I'm not a doctor; I didn't even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night. However I do know if your doc is happy to write it off to exhaustion, I'd fire him and find someone else.

Good luck to you.

[Joeaksa]

Sorry to hear about it. Hope you find the cause and its workable.

[Gregsgroup]

Sorry to hear about your seizure.

As you speak with your doctor, a definitive diagnosis of Epilepsy will require him to immediately notify DMV and could/may result in a suspended/loss of license.

[vash]

can you still legally drive a car?

sorry for the bad mojo...hope you get to the bottom of it. soon

[911Freak]

Get a 2nd opinion...your life as well as those around you depend on an acurate diagnosis! Not a time to "man up" be very carefull with this..

+1 on well wishes an acurate diagnosis, speedy recovery and a clean MRI

Get better man

[cantdrv55]

Keep us updated and good luck.

[Hugh R]

Wow, hang in there! I had pneumonia a few years back and coughed so badly that I black out a couple of times. Once I split my head open on the fireplace hearth. Sixty something stitches!

[artplumber]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

I could see passing out from exhaustion/stress (happened to my father last year....while he was at the wheel of his Ford Excursion! Nobody hurt, thank heavens) but attributing the seizure to it doesn't make sense to me.

On the other hand, I'm not a doctor; I didn't even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night. However I do know if your doc is happy to write it off to exhaustion, I'd fire him and find someone else.

Good luck to you.

This is advice to follow.

Then again, maybe the MD is trying to keep you from thinking about all the possibilities while the workup is underway. In any case, the initial studies are reasonable. You need to see a heart MD too - or at least have a workup.

Good luck.

[Don Plumley]

Ouch - hope you are on the mend and it's no big deal.

[M.D. Holloway]

Sounds pretty serious - you may want to see a neurologist asap.

[trekkor]

can you still legally drive a car?

Good question, my niece has to wait three months. She had a couple seizures earlier in the month.


David, take care. I only hope the best for you.


KT

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by artplumber

You need to see a heart MD too - or at least have a workup.

+1, my father spent the 2 days after the accident in the cardiac unit at St. Joe's. His heart health was their #1 concern even with all of the confounding factors in the incident (various meds, dehydration, stress, exhaustion, smoking....ugh). They ran quite a battery of tests on him--fortunately all came back negative.

[deanp]

I have a 58yr old friend that went to the Grand Canyon early this year. Near the top of the trail on the hike out he went into a Grand Mal seizure. The EMT's that were able to get to him attributed the seizure to dehydration and exhaustion. He was released from the hospital in AZ.

He got back to NYC and was persuaded by family to go to the hospital where they did x-rays and and an MRI - long story short they found a lesion on his brain. Had surgery about 8 weeks ago for brain cancer.

He had never had a seizure previously. Go to the Dr and get checked out pronto.

[JavaBrewer]

I am seeing a neurologist and will follow up with her once I have the MRI done. The CT scan came back with nothing outstanding and my blood work was normal (sugar levels) though with elevated cholesterol (314) level that I need to re-address. I had the EEG done yesterday and will get those results early next week.

As for driving...yep I'm riding the bench. Not that big of a deal since I work from the home office 3-4x a week anyway.

The biggest issue I'm facing is a bunch of pulled/strained muscles in my chest and back. I was hoping they would be 100% by now but they still really hurt. I am down to only ibuprofen during the day and 2 darvocet at bedtime - plus the normal dose of Keppra until we get this sorted.

Enjoy your health folks. Things can sure take a turn without warning. The sad part was that my two kids were there to see it all go down. My 12 yr son was strong and refused to leave my side at the ER until my midnight release. My daughter still has that worried look in her eyes so I need to work harder to ease her mind in that regard.

I think I will pull through this but will definitely need a change in lifestyle - less work/stress.

[pwd72s]

David...good for you, getting the MRI. Keep us posted, okay?