Trigger: Woke up early to take my medicine and I didn’t feel quite right. I’d cried myself to sleep the night before. My boyfriend hadn’t done anything wrong per se, it was just me overthinking. He’d posted some messages people had posted on Sarahah, and it almost sounded like he was like was flirting back with them, and that got to me. We’re in a long distance relationship between two continents, with a few in between, so you see it can get difficult.
What happened: I felt a few jerks, auras if you will. This was when I was in my bed. Something happened in between, but I woke up in my parents bedroom on my fathers side of the bed, as if from a deep sleep. I think I yelled for my mum once I realised something had happened. She gave me my emergency medicine immediately, however she gave me a full dose, not the usual half dose. That knocked me out for quite some time!
Unlike previous seizures though, I got a killer migraine later on that also induced nausea and vomiting. So much so my dad had to give me an injection to stop me throwing up nothing (as I hadn’t eaten much all day). It was excruciating. I did teach my dad acupressure while I was down though, and that helped tremendously.
It wasn’t until the next day while I was eating solids and chewing that I realised I’d bitten my tongue. That confirmed my fear that I’d had a seizure. But as I write this, I still cannot remember anything or how I got to my parents room from my room.
I don’t know whether to take some comfort in the fact that I can’t remember anything. Does that mean people who are brain-dead can’t remember and feel any thing? Do they not smell or hear anything? Do they have not have any sensations?
It’s actually probably a blessing in disguise that I don’t remember anything. I remember in December 2016 / January 2017 when I was titrating off of Lamictal and on to Zonegran, I was having these seizures where they were these tiny jerks and I could remember everything. Except the seizure would carry on for what seemed like an hour or longer. It was annoying for me but it must have been excruciating for my parents to see me go through that, their baby.
It just struck me Zonegran is actually supposed to be blocking my seizures from becoming a grand mal. I’ve had two since at a higher dose. This one that I just wrote about, and one on 4th April 2017 which also happened to be my last day at a proper job.
Trigger: Stress and sleepless nights. Pretty straightforward eh?
What happened: I was nearing the end of a five month project. In fact, I think just the week before I’d conducted the final major event for the project. So I guess all that stress had built up in my system. And it just needed a way out. In the form of a seizure.
I was exhausted and went on my lunch break. I remember speaking to my boyfriend just before and telling him how I could barely keep my eyes open. I remember buying a wrap. A Swedish Meatball wrap from Pret and grabbing a seat in a moderately busy Pret-a-Manger outside Euston Station. I remember feeling funny and getting what you call auras, and hoping I could breathe my way through it. Next thing I know, I’m waking up off the floor. The very diligent Pret staff kindly called Paramedics and I walked to the ambulance and was taken to UCLH where my Manager and a colleague came with flowers and a present, and then mum and dad came and took me home. The line was so incredibly long that we didn’t wait to be seen by a doctor in the end.
After that episode by Zonegran was increased and maintained to this week. I even had shoulder surgery in between so anything could have happened. But I was OK even with surgery so I believe my body will adapt and be ok.
