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How do you know if yo have epilepsy??

How do you know if yo have epilepsy??..........


First of i must say that my grandmother has it and has since she was a little girl and had a portion of her brain removed and has been on medication her whole life.....

I am asking today how do you know you have it because over the last 4 years i've been having these blackouts outta the blue. Today i just had one... i was reaching for something and my eyes start to tunnel vision and fades to black my body starts shaking i lose control of my legs and start to fall, i caught myself on several occasions holding onto whatever i can to stabilize myself until the shaking stops and i can at least sit down and find my bearings..... when these "blackouts" happen i worry because i don't understand them.....And i fear that i might have epilepsy just like my grandmother. I must say i have been scared to ask a dr about this because i don't want to be diagnosed with it but i think its time to find some answers..... and help or suggestions?    
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Avatar universal
No nothing yet.... my insurance didn't cover most all neurologists in my area so i have to wait.
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Hi,

Sorry I have not been in contact for a while but I've been very busy lately. Anything turn up for you yet?
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Avatar universal
Well the ER came back with nothing but good results meaning i don't have any clue whats going on. They ran blood work, CT and EKG.... nothing abnormal in any of those except an 8mm pineal glad cyst on the CT scan although it was just an "incidental note" written down and the Dr.s don't seem to fret over it.... But in my opinion any cyst even if its small located in my brain is a big deal to me...... Now i feel like a lab rat because i decided to go both routes ER and through my pcp to be on the safe side... my pcp however was only able to give me a referral to see a neurologist and im in a bit of a spot tryin to locate one that takes my insurance. So i'm left with very little to go on :(

To add to my frustration today i went in for a appointment that i scheduled with my pcp months ago for a RX refill i took copies from the ER tests so they could have it in my file. But some how in explaining again what happened now they want me to get an echo cardiogram. My heart is fine! and i don't understand all this need for tests that i honestly don't believe is related to the blacks and seizures! If the EKG they did was fine i'm pretty sure doing an ultra sound of my heart isn't going to show anything and my blood pressure has never shown signs of something wrong with my heart. It makes no sense....

What i am more concerned about is this cyst they seem to think is fine..... something growing in the center of my brain taking up space would make sense as to why i might be having seizures, migranes, and muscle aches i've been on forums about this kind of cyst and everyone complains of the same problems i already deal with in addition to the blackouts that have been occurring..... but the main thing is that most of the people who have posted all say that the Dr.'s tell them that the cyst has nothing to do with the problems.... seems fishy to me if multiple people with the same cyst have the same problems. sounds to me like the Dr.'s don't fully understand this cyst at this point in time.... it says its found in 1-4% of ct and mri scans thats pretty small amount imo... but what do i know i am not a dr........

Hopefully when i talk to this neurologist i can get things straightened out and get to the bottom of all this *sigh* my anxiety problem i deal with isn't helpin me in the least i'm stressing over all this way to much because i already deal with enough health issues as it is and not knowin makes it even worse...... i will keep this updated as i find out more its good to know i can at least talk to some1 about it    
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Avatar universal
As far as the hospital helping, you may be correct unless you go right after having an attack. They would be able to administer the test (Cat Scan and possible others) a lot sooner than your doctor’s office. Often this may require an overnight stay though. My mother suffer from hypoglycemia so they had to rule out diabetes with the fasting test where you drink the chalky liquid and come back in four hours for blood work.

The attack you mentioned seems alot like the one I had on Wednesday. I was up with the family watching American Idol. I was enjoying Kiss playing with Adam Lambert and was enjoying a chew of Kodiak (the only bad habit I have). I began feeling nauseous and finished my chew. I got up and told the family goodnight and proceeded upstairs to bed. As I went up the stairs everything started spinning. I started hearing a buzzing in me ears which drowned out all sound. My legs collapsed and I fell against the wall. Luckily I was holding the hand rail and that was as far as I went. The spinning got worse, the noise got worse, and tunnel vision started to set in. I told myself that it would pass so I pulled myself up and went the remaining 10 feet to the bedroom and sat on the bed. Once there I laid back with a huge sigh and closed my eyes. I felt like the bed was spinning so I told myself I must have got up to soon. The next thing I remember my wife was standing over me asking me what I was doing and my oldest son was in the doorway. Apparently my son entered the room as soon as I laid back saw my arms shaking. He ran downstairs and told my wife to come upstairs. When she arrived I was coherent and respondent as soon as she shook me.
Even though I was tired, I managed to get up and crawl into the bed. Then I realized I had lost bladder control again. (This is embracing.) The whole episode lasted less then 2 minutes. I attribute this to the Trileptal I take.

So far it seems there is a lot of similarity between our episodes. Yours though sound like partial seizures where you do not lose full consciousness. With that being said, I would recommend you follow your current path and find out exactly what is going on. This will help you gain some piece of mind.
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Avatar universal
Ty for the quick reply..... .i'm just really worried i'm only 20 years old.....  i was debating between going to the ER or calling for an appointment. i decided the ER isn't going to be able to help me at this point so i called the Dr. office. They are going to pull my chart and give me a call back asap.... I said this has been happening for about 4 years that i recollect but I have noticed things getting worse over the last 2 years.  About a month ago this happened and i blacked out the same way except it was the worst out of all the times its happened. I actually passed out luckily my friend caught me and set me down on the ground but i lost all control of my body and had ringing in my ears with almost complete hearing loss sounded like i had a huge cotton ball stuffed in em..... it took about 5mins before i could sit up and my hearing returned and about 10mins before i could stand again.... over the years i thought it was normal to stand up and have dizziness and need to sit down and i've mistaken it for that....obviously it can't be that because it happens when i'm standing so i know now that its not the same....hopefully my Dr will be able to help me out and i can find some answers soon...  i should note that none of my blood work has come back abnormal so i don't think its a blood sugar issue (my mom is diabetic and her fiance has hyperglycemia so i understand both ends of that spectrum) but my blood work would have shown that.....
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Avatar universal
Greetings,
Sounds like you may be experiencing a type of seizure. Some of the auras I have are similar to what you mentioned. Before I was diagnosed I had to go through a lot of tests. They checked blood sugar, cardio function, lung function, and finally when I had a grand mal seizure they checked me for sleep apnea and put me on a CPAP machine. If I were to suggest  anything, go to your doctor and let him know what your symptoms and concerns are. The longer you wait the worse it could get. Who knows the next time you experience one you could be driving. That could be very bad.
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