University Community Hospital

Basically, the hospital staff did lots of tests on me (CT scan, MRI, EEG). They also asked if this was the first seizure I'd ever had. At the same time, Jeff and I replied "Yes," but I added that I had been having these weird "anxiety attacks" for the previous two and a half years that sometimes woke me up at night. I had seen my PCP multiple times because I was having strange sensations in my chest and neck. I had a full physical exam including a stress test on the treadmill and complete blood analysis. My PCP told me that it was anxiety and that I must be experiencing depression, so he prescribed Wellbutrin (an anti-depressant), then Buspar (another anti-depressant). After no improvement, he sent me to a Psychiatrist who prescribed Zoloft!!!(How depressing!!!). Seriously though, I've never been one to get too uptight about life. "Anxiety attacks" never really made much sense to me (I guess I should have listened to my inner voice.) At that point, I just said forget it, I am not taking any more drugs. I'll just deal with the "anxiety" myself. The docs at the hospital told me that those "anxiety attacks" were most likely simple partial seizures (affecting me like the sensory ones described in the hyperlink.) In retrospect, I think that during that time, I tried to justify the "attacks" but wondered why the tiniest thing could send me spinning. I tried not to make a big deal out of them and actually was embarrassed and tried to hide them. Sometimes I massaged my left hand. Often I excused myself from the room. I always tried to focus on my breathing. The "spells" would generally pass in about 30 seconds (maybe a little longer if it was a bad one.)

The doctors determined that I had an Arachnoid cyst. They said that it looked like it was in a fold, and that it may have been there since birth. They determined that the combination of stress, lack of sleep, and perhaps post-partum hormones all converged to trigger the Grand mal seizure. So they sent me home with a prescription for anti-seizure medication (Dilantin), informed me of the Florida law that states one cannot drive for six months after a seizure, and told me to make an appointment to see a neurologist. Fortunately, I had the wherewithal to ask my nurse to recommend the best neurologist she knew. She recommended Dr. William O. Tatum . The only other person I asked about neurologists also recommended Dr. Tatum, so I made an appointment to see him.