seizures and the cyclist

[shouldbeinbed]

Not sure where to put this for the widest spread of people who may have had similar, but I had a seizure / blackout on Thursday - no recollection of it nor the moments leading up to it.

my last memory before it is being stood in my kitchen, then I'm being licked awake by one of my dogs as I'm lying on the lounge floor.

I didn't pay attention to the clocks particularly but by piecing together phone calls and texts I sent and when I'd need to be out of the house for work, I could have been out for a second or two or upto 20 minutes.

I've no history in family of Epilepsy or such & I did't hurt myself while in my memoryless moments nor lose control of bodily functions etc. Nearest I have is high blood pressure on my mums side side and sudden drops in BP on my dads.

A battery of tests & observations over all of the evening and way into the night in casualty has shown nothing obviously going wrong and I'm now awaiting my neuro referrals to see if there is something that is likely to reoccur. in the meantime I'm not allowed to drive and have been strongly advised not to cycle, amongst various other things that never occurred, swimming without a chaperone, taking a bath alone.......

& TBH if there is a remote chance I'll kill myself or harm someone else through randomly blacking out then I'm very happy not to drive or ride or whatever.

just having a bit of a let off steam really as it's knocked me sideways and happy to hear of anyone else that may have had similar and handy hints and tips until they get to the bottom of what caused it and whether it may be something I have to live with permanantly and makes me an ex-cyclist after 42 years of loving riding my bikes all days, all times, all weathers. I can't imagine not riding even if it is just tootling round the local park and walking it back home

 

[shouldbeinbed]

cheers mods I'd had this board turned off.

 

[ColinJ]

@PaulB had something similar happen to him a few years ago. He made a good recovery and has been riding his bike ever since. Perhaps he will be able to offer some helpful advice?

Good luck!

 

[classic33]

First and foremost, don't go getting yourself worked up over it. 1 in 5 people will have one in their lifetime, and then no more.

Can't advise anything with regards the driving, never been able to drive. Never stopped me cycling though. Slowed me down at times and like now a temporary halt to it, but that's it.

The tests themselves can be worse than the condition I'm being treated for. With answers not always available straight away. Right now your mind is on overtime, no extra pay, trying to make sense of it all. It doesn't help matters.

Cycling wise, wait until you stop hurting and give it a go. For your own piece of mind. It could even be just round a park as you mentioned.

Above all else Don't let anyone else say you can't do it!

Quick question though. Who'll be sharing the bath with you?

 

[Cubist]

@Cubist thought he might have blacked out when he fell off his bike on the Llandudno ride last year.

Yep, still a complete mystery. As with the OP no memory of the event either seconds before or a minute or so afterwards. I broke my collarbone and set off a degloving injury in my already knackered hip, so it wasn't much of an imposition not to drive until various tests rules out any recurring reason for it.
Take it easy and as @classic33 says, such one off episodes aren't uncommon.

 

[PaulB]

@PaulB had something similar happen to him a few years ago. He made a good recovery and has been riding his bike ever since. Perhaps he will be able to offer some helpful advice?

Good luck!

No, it wasn't a seizure. It was a head injury sustained by a fall in the kitchen of my house. That came about due to a slip on a recently polished floor while I was wearing two pairs of socks denying me any grip and my head came into contact with the solid concrete-topped-ceramic, iron-ringed table. Severe concussion resulted in a pretty major subdural haematoma and I was in a coma for 9 days and spent a month in hospital as a result.

It was great!

 

[ColinJ]

No, it wasn't a seizure. It was a head injury sustained by a fall in the kitchen of my house. That came about due to a slip on a recently polished floor while I was wearing two pairs of socks denying me any grip and my head came into contact with the solid concrete-topped-ceramic, iron-ringed table. Severe concussion resulted in a pretty major subdural haematoma and I was in a coma for 9 days and spent a month in hospital as a result.

It was great!

Ah - there was some confusion about the cause of the fall [I just checked the original thread] ... Yes - you thought that you might have fainted [LINK], but with such a head injury it wasn't surprising that the details were not clear at the time. It was certainly a nasty accident.

 

[classic33]

There are plenty of tips I could give, but they'll all vary from person to person.

The most important one I can give is to carry on as normal as possible. Easier said than done I know. But if further tests do follow it will allow a clearer picture to be seen.

Look at it from an accident side of things(probably already been asked these), what were you doing in the time beforehand, in sequence. Write it down, you'll be asked the same questions again. Your recall may even be questioned. I know my has. Written down, it's harder to disprove your recall.

I'm taking your silence as a good sign by the way.

 

[PenttitheFinn]

I am not sure how old you are, but a friend (60yrs) had something similar happen to him after eating a large meal. It turns out, as you get older your body sends more blood to the stomach, less to the head during digestion, and then you faint. Hope it's as simple for you.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Hi folks, thanks for the replies. I'm not doing bad at keeping perspective and have had a chat with my pharmacist about my prescription meds etc - they are happy nothing in those is likely to be a contributor. I get what @classic33 is saying about being doubted, as there were no human witnesses, my suspicions on times etc are being robustly challenged by the medicos. I have a strong suspicion it is interlinked with this zombie cold going round that I can't get rid of and which is drumming my sinuses to bits and I have viral labrynthitis too and feel that I just had a wobble and a minor power outage but again, the medic types are skeptical on them being linked. Not driving doesn't bother me in the slightest, it is an unwelcome sort of necessity that my wife prefers, does more of anyway and is happy that she'll get the car seat left as she sets it.

I shall see what my GP says tomorrow when they reopen and I seek a note for work for a week or so for the labrynthitis - it is like all the bad bits of being drunk without the pesky drinking part - I'm hoping he'll give me a letter advising not to drive as it means I can get a concessionary travel pass that'll come in handy for work, particularly late shifts and weekends free bus & metro.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

As for the bath.... I've written to Winona Ryder and Helena Christensen & am optimistic they'll swing by bearing fluffy towels when they hear of my plight

 

[classic33]

It was never about doubting you, but laying in A&E being asked(on the same day) is one thing. Answering similar questions, say a month later, and being as certain about your answers is another. Been there & done that.

Hope you get at least one reply to your letter. In your favour.

Here's hoping that it's your only one, and don't sell your bike(s).

 

[MrPie]

Had the same thing around 3-4 years ago. Random (or near) passing out, consultant cardiologist visit (100% zero defects), diagnosed as vasovagal syncope in the lack of anything more concrete. Never really thought about it, but have had a few 'passing out' events since I was a nipper, all brought on by out-of-the-ordinary events; severe sunburn / dehydration, bouncing in the mosh pit at a concert (dehydration), that sort of stuff. Cut a long story; ended up in hospital and got ALL the tests to find zero defects. Consultant neuro said I wasn't going to die, would probably never get to the bottom of the problem, called it vestibular migraine - hey ya gotta give it a label - and told to just get on with life. Even did the 'tilt table test'......interesting. OK, I still have regular vestibular migraine issues......but I aint gonna die (yet).....and I just get on with it......it's the British thing to do. Didnt appreciate it at the time, but was pretty reasonable advice from the consultant neuro.

If you find yourself over worrying and getting anxious, which is perfectly reasonable, then have a go at 'mindfulness'....google it, give it a try.

 

[classic33]

Being nosey now. But if you were in booth 12 at the A&E, have they fixed/replaced the broken ceiling tile yet?

 

[machew]

As my OH has epilepsy and has seizures every 28 days ish. This is just my 2p worth.

1. Seizures can be brought on by many factors,

• Abnormal levels of sodium or glucose in the blood
• Brain infection, including meningitis
• Brain injury that occurs to the baby during labor or childbirth
• Brain problems that occur before birth (congenital brain defects)
• Brain tumor (rare)
• Drug abuse
• Electric shock
• Epilepsy
• Fever (particularly in young children)
• Head injury
• Heart disease
• Heat illness (heat intolerance)
• High fever
• Phenylketonuria (PKU), which can cause seizures in infants
• Poisoning
• Street drugs, such as angel dust (PCP), cocaine, amphetamines
• Stroke
• Toxemia of pregnancy
• Toxin buildup in the body due to liver or kidney failure
• Very high blood pressure (malignant hypertension)
• Venomous bites and stings (snake bite)
• Withdrawal from alcohol or certain medicines after using for a long time

1. To be diagnosed with epilepsy you need to have more than one seizure in a 6 month period
2. My OH cycles on a regular basis, however the anti-epileptic that she took back in the '80 messed up her sense of balance and she still has problems. So she has a recumbent trike
3. She has had one seizure in the three years that she has been cycling. Fortunately she sees an aura first so we pulled over to the pavement. She had a seizure and 15 mins later we were cycling again.
4. She has had one seizure in the bath that I know off. Again she had an aura, let me know. I just let the water out and put a towel over her to keep her warm.

The point I am trying to make is that life is to short and if not cycling or having a bath is making you depressed then just do it. Know your limits and if you are feeling strange, seeing or smelling strange things then make your self save.