When I was 7, in first grade, I had what I believe in retrospect was a seizure. My classmates and I were standing on stage rehearsing for a play. I remember things going black, falling to the ground and buzzing yelling circling my head. When I came to, my music teacher was rousing me. Kids were still standing in their places. The music teacher sat me in a chair, and my mother came to pick me up. I remember feeling worn out and confused.
My mother took me to my pediatrician. He asked if I had eaten breakfast, which I had. He did the routine check of listening to my heart and checking my blood pressure. Then he pronounced me as having fainted. He told me to eat a good breakfast every morning, which I already had.
I always thought it was weird for that episode to be automatically called fainting (specifically vasovagal syncope) when I had eaten and didn’t remember feeling lightheaded. In the years after that episode, particularly when I was a teenager, I did have episodes of fainting or near-fainting. They were always preceded by feeling lightheaded and flush and hearing ringing in my ears. I could avert an episode by lying down or sitting down with my head between my knees.
After being diagnosed with seizures, I looked back on that fainting episode at age 7 and found more similarities with seizures. The confusion I felt afterward is more like the post-ictal phase of a seizure. I have never felt confused after fainting — worn out, but not confused. The ringing yelling circling my head is the most common part of all of the seizures I’ve had. I hear this yelling circling my head as part of the aura or the beginning of the seizure. I have already blacked out at that point. During the episode on the stage, I don’t believe that anyone yelled or screamed. I was told later by a friend that someone had said at the time that maybe a cat bit me. No, it makes no sense, but we were 7, and I loved cats. My classmates certainly weren’t circling me while screaming, yelling or singing.
I have read that too often people are diagnosed with a seizure disorder when really all they have is syncope. And yet I have had doctors on two separate occasions misdiagnose my seizures as syncope. Perhaps it was my fault for not giving as much detail as I could have about the episodes (such as the yelling and the confusion). But if you don’t know you’re having a seizure, you don’t know what information you should be giving. Instead of a doctor just asking, “How did you feel afterward,” perhaps she should additionally ask more specific questions, such as, “Did you feel tired/confused/disoriented/etc.”
Your post on this topic hits close to home. I have a seven-year old daughter who is has had several “seizure like” episodes, but spread out over a long time (one at 3.5 yrs, one at 5yrs and one a month ago at almost 7 years).
She has been seen by both a neurologist and a caridologist, but we still don’t know if she is experiencing seizures or vasovagal syncope. She has had 4 EEGs, including 72-hr. video EEG with no sign of any seizure activity. This led us to see the caridologist. He thinks it probably is vasovagal syncope based on the description of the incidents.
What’s confusing is that the majority of the history seems to match syncope but some factors seem to match seizure.
She was outside and standing in all 3 episodes. 2 were on very hot days — so she may have been dehydrated. She was exercising in 2 cases and had been on amusement rides in one case. In one incident, we think she tripped and scraped her leg before the syncope (may have been some very minor blood from the cut).
Also, I have some prior history of fainting, though in my teens to early 20s. I never had episodes as young as my daughter. Mine came one when I donated blood, when I scraped myself in a bike accident and when I was overheated.
After all 3 incidents, however, my daughter was disoriented and immediately slept after. This reaction seems to fit with seizure more than syncope. Also, in the first incident (the only one where I was present), her lips were definitely blueish. The cardiologist told me that syncope is usually characterized by complete pallor — very white whereas people having seizures are usually not white — he said they may appear flushed (red) or blueish. Also, when she was very young (12mos – 2 yrs) she had periodic staring spells that they thought might be absence seizures and daycare used to tell us that she occassionally had “drops” (vs. falls), but she never passed out with these falls.
Lastly, I’m a little confused as to how to distinguish a prodrome and an aura. The first incident (at 3.5 yrs.) she got very upset beforehand — complained of feeling “funny” and said her tummy hurt before she lost consciousness. This was an incident that occured on a hot day, in Central Park after going on kiddie rides that had some spinning. She has not described any ringing thus far.
Any thoughts? How long did it take you to get the seizure diagnosis (i.e. how many EEGs before a seizure or abnormal brain waves appeared?) I just feel like if we go for another EEG now, it is certain to come back clean given that her episodes are so far apart.