Seizure? (After finishing Chemo)

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Each_day_2018
Each_day_2018 Member Posts: 154
edited April 2019 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

I finished 4 AC and 12 Taxol almost 3 weeks ago. My family and I (3 kids and Husband) went camping this past weekend and on Sunday morning, I decided to drive to the restroom which was about half a mile away. I only made it to the vehicle. About an hour later my husband, who had been cooking, realized I never came back to the cabin.

He came to the vehicle where I was passed out. When he woke me up, I didn't know where I was or what I was doing. It took me nearly 15 minutes to figure out that we were still camping and still at the campground. I must have clenched my jaw/bit down really hard because even today, my jaw is still tender, one of my front teeth is really sore, and I bit the entire length of the right side of my tongue, enough to draw quite a bit of blood (I woke up with blood on my shirt). We think I may have had a seizure. I had a headache through yesterday, but today I feel fine.

We did have a few drinks the night before (I had about 2-3 glasses of wine and we were in bed by 11pm), but I had woken up around 5am to use the restroom and felt fine, and I woke up again around 7:30am when the kids got up and felt fine. I was up and moving around for at least a 1/2 hour before all this happened. We were leaving that day, so I had started cleaning and packing up. I didn't feel hungover or ill at all before this happened. Then afterwards, I vomited and was very dizzy for much of the day. I plan to mention this to my doctor when I go again, but was curious if anyone else has experienced something similar after finishing treatment?

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  • KimE
    KimE Member Posts: 53
    edited April 2019

    You should contact your oncologist as soon as possible. From what I read, you had a grand mal seizure and should be looked at.

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  • LoriCA
    LoriCA Member Posts: 923
    edited April 2019

    I agree with Kim, you should see a doctor immediately. If it were me I would've headed straight to the emergency room after what you described. A grand mal seizure could be due to something as simple as an electrolyte imbalance or extremely low blood sugar, or something more serious like a stroke or brain tumor. I wouldn't waste any time in getting checked out.

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  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited April 2019

    Please, go to the emergency room now.

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  • Each_day_2018
    Each_day_2018 Member Posts: 154
    edited April 2019

    I called my oncologist office and they called back and left a message. When they called back, they didn't seem too concerned since it had already been 2 days. They said if it happens again to go to the ER. So makes me feel like it wasn't a big deal...The only reason I waited was because I don't really know what happened and after we started googling things, so it appears as though it COULD have been a seizure. Just not sure how the dr could address it now?

    Just
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  • Peregrinelady
    Peregrinelady Member Posts: 1,019
    edited April 2019
    I would think some testing would be in order. Either a MRI of the brain or CAT scan. Even if you didn’t have cancer, it seems like this is something you would want to figure out. I didn’t have chemo, but went through 4 years of chemo with my sister and this never happened to her. Maybe your PCP would take it more seriously.
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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2019

    Both my mom and mother-in-law had seizure disorders of different types, that initiated when they were adults. I would encourage you to have an exam to look further to determine if this was an episode of syncope (fainting) or a seizure. If you are driving, particularly with young children in the vehicle, you surely would not want this to happen again. If you have a seizure disorder that appeared coincident with your cancer diagnosis, a neurologist should be able to see emanation in a scan, and treat you accordingly. To me, it would be better to rule in or out rather than assume this was an isolated incident and roll the dice going forward.

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  • Each_day_2018
    Each_day_2018 Member Posts: 154
    edited April 2019

    Thanks everyone for your concern. I ended up having an MRI last week which was negative and will be following up with a neurosurgeon in May. Hopefully I will get more answers then!

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2019

    So glad your MRI was negative and that you have a neuro appt. Certainly hoping this was an isolated incident but better to have that answer so you have the right infogoing forward. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

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