Yes I wondered about hypoxic hypoxia (what they say affect pilots) first but it's probably ulikely that alone could be the culprit as everyone else on board would have also suffered from it as well. It could be, and I am suspicious of, me being more sensitive to it. The reason why is where the question comes in. Maybe a borderline hypoglycemic combined with altitude is just enough to slow down brain function. It wasn't enough to reduce life functions, but enough to make performance an issue. Performance that was just fine doing the same thing at ground level, but not at altitude.
As far as not happening at altitude, remember I only had 2 seizures and they were as a kid. One was in flight as a passenger and one was while riding a motorcycle at altitude. The day on the motorcycle I had spent the day at a waterpark, with a barbeque and lots of sun exposure. I was rather exhausted and probably not in the best condition to be riding a motorcycle on the street (freeway) for 50 miles. What I have read about hypoglycemia also indicates that exhuastion can be an issue. Again, both of those incidents resulted in seizures, but those were the only times. This time, the issue just seems to be slow mental reflexes. Something that is akin to hypoxia, so I'm told. Once again that brings up the question why did I go hypoxic when the oxygen in the cabin would have only been 8000 feet (the equivelant level on board a pressurized aircraft). No one else was affected, why was I?
I understand the thought of heart and especially lung problems, but no, I have had lung tests done and I seem to function rather well in that aspect. I have no history of heart problems and no one in my family has them either. I have had a couple oxygen tests with that thing they clip on the finger and my levels are very strong I'm told. The only medical problem I have had was a rupturing galbladder. I was admitted and had that removed in 1999. I know the liver has an affect on blood sugar and the galbladder is somehow tied to the liver but I havn't heart it would cause any issues with the blood sugar, just the ability to digest certain foods. If it can cause blood sugar problems, it's certainly worth investigating as well. I had a very difficult time digesting most foods for a few years after the surgery, but that seems to have passed. Now most foods are easy to digest, with few exceptions.
One thing I didn't mention before was as a child I took ritilan for what is now called ADHD. I took that for quite a number of years. I have heard many negative reports about that treatment and now wonder if that could have affected me in adulthood. I did take a test for Adult ADHD at the suggestion of my mother years back, but they said I didn't have it. Of course, as a kid I grew up eating sugary cerials, pop tarts and at the experienced the dawn of fast food. Now they are saying that is often the cause of ADHD and medicine is not always required. My parents didn't feed us fast food that often, but we certainly had the sugary breakfasts. My Mom told me, she wanted us to eat better breakfasts, but we insisted on that lousy food and she gave up trying. She said that may have had more affect than she realized at the time. She told me, now days they point out all the things that cause kids problems, but when she was raising her kids, it was either you are healthy or they shove a pill down your throat.
My mom passed away a few years ago, but my dad is still alive. He isn't sure what they had said anymore, but he does know I was not positive for epilepsy. He said he was quite concerned about that because of the issues it would have caused me and was relieved to know it wasn't epilepsy. There was something with my Mom and the possibility of diabetes, but I believe it turned out she was not diabetic, but told to monitor her diet as she came close to it. I will have to ask my sister who I believe would know that better than me. My Grandfather (her father) did have diabetes since mid adulthood and he took pills and controlled diet for it. My father has no medical issues at 69 years old, but he eats quite healthy, especially as his age as gotten up there.
You asked about feelings before the seizures. I don't have any memory of it, as it seems mostly to be like amnesia. I do recall some information about how I acted right before and I believe it was the passenger next to me who passed that information on to the paramedics who gave that to the hospital. As I recall the story, I was holding my stomach and said I am not feeling well. The passenger thought I was going to vomit and handed me a "bag". I refused it and lied back in the seat and turned pale white and was sweating just before I passed out. I do recall being quite wet when I woke up. I think he had called to the flight attendant (we were in the front row right behind the flight attendants) and im told the flight attendant was there as I passed out. I think she witnessed me loosing consiousness and having the seizure. Something makes me recall a feeling of almost being out of my body. I'm not sure how I recall that, but that sounds familiar. Perhaps I said something and it was reported back to me by the doctor. Maybe I vaguely remember that part. I am not sure.
The other seizure was also witnessed, by the fireman. He said I grabbed my stomach, exited the bike and keeled over in pain and wondered around the shoulder. He was concerned I was going to walk out in front of freeway traffic in the dark (scary). Before he could get to me I had gone to the ground and began the seizure. That time I did not regain consiousness until I was in the hospital. I had the seizure, was put into an ambulance and transported to the ER, undressed and put into a bed while unconsious. That seems like a long time, but perhaps I wasn't unconsious, but I have no memory of it like I did on the flight. Then again, when I came to, the nurse was there re-assuring me I was ok. My father came in just about that time and told me where we were as I had no idea. On the flight, I recall waking up and it had not been that long. Also, on the flight, I had vomited on myself. Not sure if that means anything, but I recall that and cleaning myself up with towels the flight attendant gave me.
I did read Susan's article. Unlike her though, I can't recall what the feelings were before the seizure. I seem to have lost memory when they happened. I did not know what I was doing on an airplane when I woke up the first time. I didn't remember boarding or even being at the airport. I thought I should have still been in Los Angeles. It was almost like someone drugged me and put me on the plane and I woke up enroute questioning where I was. I'm certainly not saying that happened, I'm just explaining the feeling.
I will look into the link you gave me and see about free or reduced medical care. This is something that I would like addressed. It would be nice to know what I can do about it and hopefully there is a solution to the problem. It was really quite frustrating to know I could do something, but even when I knew what I needed to do, I couldn't do it. Whether or not I go back to that line of work remains to be seen. I certainly am not happy with what I do now, but it does pay the bills.
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Hello again Susan,
Yes I wondered about hypoxic hypoxia (what they say affect pilots) first but it's probably ulikely that alone could be the culprit as everyone else on board would have also suffered from it as well. It could be, and I am suspicious of, me being more sensitive to it. The reason why is where the question comes in. Maybe a borderline hypoglycemic combined with altitude is just enough to slow down brain function. It wasn't enough to reduce life functions, but enough to make performance an issue. Performance that was just fine doing the same thing at ground level, but not at altitude.
As far as not happening at altitude, remember I only had 2 seizures and they were as a kid. One was in flight as a passenger and one was while riding a motorcycle at altitude. The day on the motorcycle I had spent the day at a waterpark, with a barbeque and lots of sun exposure. I was rather exhausted and probably not in the best condition to be riding a motorcycle on the street (freeway) for 50 miles. What I have read about hypoglycemia also indicates that exhuastion can be an issue. Again, both of those incidents resulted in seizures, but those were the only times. This time, the issue just seems to be slow mental reflexes. Something that is akin to hypoxia, so I'm told. Once again that brings up the question why did I go hypoxic when the oxygen in the cabin would have only been 8000 feet (the equivelant level on board a pressurized aircraft). No one else was affected, why was I?
I understand the thought of heart and especially lung problems, but no, I have had lung tests done and I seem to function rather well in that aspect. I have no history of heart problems and no one in my family has them either. I have had a couple oxygen tests with that thing they clip on the finger and my levels are very strong I'm told. The only medical problem I have had was a rupturing galbladder. I was admitted and had that removed in 1999. I know the liver has an affect on blood sugar and the galbladder is somehow tied to the liver but I havn't heart it would cause any issues with the blood sugar, just the ability to digest certain foods. If it can cause blood sugar problems, it's certainly worth investigating as well. I had a very difficult time digesting most foods for a few years after the surgery, but that seems to have passed. Now most foods are easy to digest, with few exceptions.
One thing I didn't mention before was as a child I took ritilan for what is now called ADHD. I took that for quite a number of years. I have heard many negative reports about that treatment and now wonder if that could have affected me in adulthood. I did take a test for Adult ADHD at the suggestion of my mother years back, but they said I didn't have it. Of course, as a kid I grew up eating sugary cerials, pop tarts and at the experienced the dawn of fast food. Now they are saying that is often the cause of ADHD and medicine is not always required. My parents didn't feed us fast food that often, but we certainly had the sugary breakfasts. My Mom told me, she wanted us to eat better breakfasts, but we insisted on that lousy food and she gave up trying. She said that may have had more affect than she realized at the time. She told me, now days they point out all the things that cause kids problems, but when she was raising her kids, it was either you are healthy or they shove a pill down your throat.
My mom passed away a few years ago, but my dad is still alive. He isn't sure what they had said anymore, but he does know I was not positive for epilepsy. He said he was quite concerned about that because of the issues it would have caused me and was relieved to know it wasn't epilepsy. There was something with my Mom and the possibility of diabetes, but I believe it turned out she was not diabetic, but told to monitor her diet as she came close to it. I will have to ask my sister who I believe would know that better than me. My Grandfather (her father) did have diabetes since mid adulthood and he took pills and controlled diet for it. My father has no medical issues at 69 years old, but he eats quite healthy, especially as his age as gotten up there.
You asked about feelings before the seizures. I don't have any memory of it, as it seems mostly to be like amnesia. I do recall some information about how I acted right before and I believe it was the passenger next to me who passed that information on to the paramedics who gave that to the hospital. As I recall the story, I was holding my stomach and said I am not feeling well. The passenger thought I was going to vomit and handed me a "bag". I refused it and lied back in the seat and turned pale white and was sweating just before I passed out. I do recall being quite wet when I woke up. I think he had called to the flight attendant (we were in the front row right behind the flight attendants) and im told the flight attendant was there as I passed out. I think she witnessed me loosing consiousness and having the seizure. Something makes me recall a feeling of almost being out of my body. I'm not sure how I recall that, but that sounds familiar. Perhaps I said something and it was reported back to me by the doctor. Maybe I vaguely remember that part. I am not sure.
The other seizure was also witnessed, by the fireman. He said I grabbed my stomach, exited the bike and keeled over in pain and wondered around the shoulder. He was concerned I was going to walk out in front of freeway traffic in the dark (scary). Before he could get to me I had gone to the ground and began the seizure. That time I did not regain consiousness until I was in the hospital. I had the seizure, was put into an ambulance and transported to the ER, undressed and put into a bed while unconsious. That seems like a long time, but perhaps I wasn't unconsious, but I have no memory of it like I did on the flight. Then again, when I came to, the nurse was there re-assuring me I was ok. My father came in just about that time and told me where we were as I had no idea. On the flight, I recall waking up and it had not been that long. Also, on the flight, I had vomited on myself. Not sure if that means anything, but I recall that and cleaning myself up with towels the flight attendant gave me.
I did read Susan's article. Unlike her though, I can't recall what the feelings were before the seizure. I seem to have lost memory when they happened. I did not know what I was doing on an airplane when I woke up the first time. I didn't remember boarding or even being at the airport. I thought I should have still been in Los Angeles. It was almost like someone drugged me and put me on the plane and I woke up enroute questioning where I was. I'm certainly not saying that happened, I'm just explaining the feeling.
I will look into the link you gave me and see about free or reduced medical care. This is something that I would like addressed. It would be nice to know what I can do about it and hopefully there is a solution to the problem. It was really quite frustrating to know I could do something, but even when I knew what I needed to do, I couldn't do it. Whether or not I go back to that line of work remains to be seen. I certainly am not happy with what I do now, but it does pay the bills.
Thanks again
May 29, 2011 - 2:32amGreg.
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