Aa
Off topic---Does this sound like absence seizure?
I'm coming to my MS friends on this one because you know so much about things neurological and are sure to have some good ideas.
Today my brother-in-law was driving my sister and my niece when his driving became very erratic. He went through a couple of red lights, turned a corner and went up on the curb. Of course my sister and niece were frantic, and my niece was able to switch off the ignition and pull the hand break. B-in-law would not cooperate about getting out of the driver's seat and seemed to think he was okay, although his speech was slurry. My niece said his pupils were dilated and his eyes were glassy.
They got him direrctly to an ER, where of course the first thing they considered was whether he'd had a stroke. A CT scan of his brain was done, and it came back normal. Blood work was fine, as was his blood pressure and EKG. At that point he seemed almost back to normal, though tired and somewhat confused. He was not paralyzed or obviously deficient in any way. When this happened they were out of state, and since he apparently was okay, sis is driving him home to where he can have an MRI and other tests. She will make sure he doesn't drive again till this is solved, though I'm sure he'll object.
The time lapse during which he seemed out of touch, unable to drive correctly or to respond to my sister was about 5 minutes, after which he was better but not best. So my question is, if this was not a stroke, and apparently it wasn't, could it have been some kind of seizure? I am so worried about him. The poor guy is only 54 and has had a rough time of it. He had just begun to feel energetic, hale and hardy again after a heart attack and surgery last spring that left him pretty sick. His heart apparently is fine these days, so what could this new thing be?
ess
Today my brother-in-law was driving my sister and my niece when his driving became very erratic. He went through a couple of red lights, turned a corner and went up on the curb. Of course my sister and niece were frantic, and my niece was able to switch off the ignition and pull the hand break. B-in-law would not cooperate about getting out of the driver's seat and seemed to think he was okay, although his speech was slurry. My niece said his pupils were dilated and his eyes were glassy.
They got him direrctly to an ER, where of course the first thing they considered was whether he'd had a stroke. A CT scan of his brain was done, and it came back normal. Blood work was fine, as was his blood pressure and EKG. At that point he seemed almost back to normal, though tired and somewhat confused. He was not paralyzed or obviously deficient in any way. When this happened they were out of state, and since he apparently was okay, sis is driving him home to where he can have an MRI and other tests. She will make sure he doesn't drive again till this is solved, though I'm sure he'll object.
The time lapse during which he seemed out of touch, unable to drive correctly or to respond to my sister was about 5 minutes, after which he was better but not best. So my question is, if this was not a stroke, and apparently it wasn't, could it have been some kind of seizure? I am so worried about him. The poor guy is only 54 and has had a rough time of it. He had just begun to feel energetic, hale and hardy again after a heart attack and surgery last spring that left him pretty sick. His heart apparently is fine these days, so what could this new thing be?
ess
It could be a complex partial seizure, but I think it's more likely that he's having an issue with blood sugar, or perhaps a TIA. Diabetics can have similar episodes.
And I agree with Quix - find out what it is immediately!
And I agree with Quix - find out what it is immediately!
It sounds like a partial complex seizure, if it is a seizure at all. All the possibilities should be examined from a TIA to a tumor to a seizure.
The timing and circumstances make a partial complex the most likely of the seizure types. Loss of consciousness without loss of body control or falling. The description of how he was after the event sounds "post-ictal" or "after-seizure." These often occur in the temporal lobe.
An aggressive attempt to find out the cause of this is mandatory!
Quix
The timing and circumstances make a partial complex the most likely of the seizure types. Loss of consciousness without loss of body control or falling. The description of how he was after the event sounds "post-ictal" or "after-seizure." These often occur in the temporal lobe.
An aggressive attempt to find out the cause of this is mandatory!
Quix
Zilla, you are wise and wonderful. However, this is exactly how one of my father's seizures happened (he has epilepsy). All I'm saying is that this can happen, so be sure to have both sides of the matter examined, and make sure he doesn't just drop the matter. But don't be shocked if he has another one of these things. All I'm saying, from a person who has had and witness many many seizures in life is that progressed and acted just like one. So don't rule it out, until other things are ruled in.
I truly hope he will be ok
Sunnytoday
I truly hope he will be ok
Sunnytoday
Oh, my!
Poor guy! He really has been through it.
Being the expert on seizures that I am (not), I am going to venture to say I don't think it would make much sense that at this point in the game he would start with seizures, and it doesn't really sound like one to me. A seizure often is similar to a migraine with an aura before, and extreme exhaustion afterward.
I would really push, if I were him, to have a very thorough vascular work-up done, especially after his heart attack. Perhaps he could request somethng like an MRA, MRV and a CT angiogram. I am concerned that this was a vascular incident, even though it didn't turn out to be a stroke (Thank god!).
I am hoping Dr. Q will take a look and put her valuable two cents in. I am very concerned, and really believe B-in-law should NOT let this go. This has to be followed up, just as you suspect it should.
Please let us know how he's doing.
Zilla*
Poor guy! He really has been through it.
Being the expert on seizures that I am (not), I am going to venture to say I don't think it would make much sense that at this point in the game he would start with seizures, and it doesn't really sound like one to me. A seizure often is similar to a migraine with an aura before, and extreme exhaustion afterward.
I would really push, if I were him, to have a very thorough vascular work-up done, especially after his heart attack. Perhaps he could request somethng like an MRA, MRV and a CT angiogram. I am concerned that this was a vascular incident, even though it didn't turn out to be a stroke (Thank god!).
I am hoping Dr. Q will take a look and put her valuable two cents in. I am very concerned, and really believe B-in-law should NOT let this go. This has to be followed up, just as you suspect it should.
Please let us know how he's doing.
Zilla*
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