I've had seizures and fainting spells all my life. They started when I was super young and I had a ton of tests done on my heart and brain but there was no conclusive diagnosis. The doctor basically just told my parents that I would likely "grow out of it". And I did, for the most part. However, I have had a fainting spell about 1x every year since I was young. The last time it happened I had just finished a long run and had gone with my boyfriend to the supermarket to get dinner. My stomach started cramping and I started to sweat profusely so I tried to make it to the café area out front. However, I could feel my vision start to go as I was heading out the front door and knew I had to get to the floor. So I did. I just laid down on the floor in the middle of the main entranceway and the paramedics were called. Since I have experienced this so many times now, I can feel when I'm about to have a spell and just try to get to the ground as quickly as possible to either lay down or sit down with my head between my knees.

Assuming everything is okay with you...and I hope it is...it's not the fainting/seizures that is dangerous, necessarily. It's where it happens. So a lot of the danger prevention is just listening to your body, knowing the signs, and knowing what to do when it happens.

My (non athlete) wife has epilepsy, 32F diagnosed for 6 years now. No known reason as to why. She underwent temporal lobe ablation (brain surgery) 6 months and has been doing very, very well since. Some information we have gathered along the way.... Seizures have nothing to do what you are doing ie; training, stress, anxiety, etc. If anything seizures will tend to happen when you are most relaxed or sleep deprived. If you have had one seizure (for no traumatic reason) you are kinda in limbo, as in the doc will most likely not give you meds. Once you have 2 seizures I would definitely want to be on meds. I would say the most important thing is to get plenty of quality sleep. Some swear by a Ketogenic diet for helping control episodes but there is no proof this work in adults. As for training and racing I would just be smart, try to train with a partner, ride on the trainer, swim in a lane with a partner. Depending on what type of seizure/epilepsy you may experience you can sometimes know the feeling of an oncoming seizure. For my wife it is "the rising of her stomach" or intensely scared feeling. Chances are if you feel weird something is wrong, keep a log and you will notice they probably follow a pattern. Finally, fainting has nothing to do with seizures (unless you are using the term instead of grand mal/generalized/tonic clonic)

There is a rather talented young pro named Michael Poole who has epilepsy and continues to race, and win. Look him up.

Sorry to hear about this life change. I had a few seizures 13 years ago, probably from lack of sleep and stress, but no definite reason was found. I've been on meds since then, lamictal, and have not had any problems. I was concerned about racing and training, especially the swim, and my doc said if one was to occur, the swim would be the most unlikely place. I think because there is less stress during that stage compared to running or riding. I've had some really tough workouts and races and have not felt any different.

Have the tests done, if you get put on meds, don't be afraid to ask for something different if you don't feel right. I became very tired and depressed while on dilantin. There are lots of drugs out there and some may work for you more than others. Best of luck and stay positive.

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

Sorry to hear about this and hope the tests help to show what is going on. I had my first seizure at the end of April (Age 35) and the MRI showed a tumor in my right temporal lobe. I had a craniotomy on May 12, am still recovering and on Keppra as my anti-seizure med. I was also on decadron (steroid) to reduce inflammation in the brain for about 1 month post-op. The tumor was benign and recovery has been slower than I'd like it to be. I'm back up to 45 minutes (~IM pace) on the bike per day, but no running or swimming (per doctors orders). My restrictions should be lifted in August at my next follow-up appointment (3-months post surgery).

Hopefully your situation is more simple than mine has been, but if you end up going down a similar road, feel free to PM me and I can provide more details that may help.

I think the real question is "did you really have a seizure?". As an ER doctor, we see a ton of people who reportedly had a "first time seizure" when their history is more suggestive of fainting (or "syncope" as the medical term). People will often have what LOOKS like brief seizure activity after fainting, but is not a true neurologic seizure. At age 52, I hope your workup has included an EKG and maybe an echocardiogram.

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

my dad had them when he was 12 or 13

He hadn't had one since maybe 14 years old. he went out with me on my 21st birthday which made him 51 and we stayed out all night (he doesnt really drink and was just tired) and had one the next day at work. Docs said it was a mix of stress and lack of sleep.

He just turned 57 and has not had another one since. Weird things

My buddy had standing ones where he would just go blank for 1 minute or so and stand there. He would come too and not remember anything from 2-3 minutes prior. Everytime he did this we would move furniture or all go hide or something and he would come too haha it was funny - only because he had a sense of humor about it

Your friend is having complex partial seizures ( misfirings in one particular area of the brain). While you don't lose conscienous you do lose time. Still dangerous if you are driving. In time these could* start turning into generalized episodes. Glad he has a sense of humor about it, very awkward when people don't know what's happening.

I had a seizure in 2006! Woke up in the hospital with my wife and daughter at the foot of my bed! I didn't remember anything, my wife said that I started thrashing around and was uncontrollable! paramedics were called and I was pretty combative during the drive to the hospital. They did a brain scan and checked all of my vitals. I was checked out by a neurologist and she didn't find anything unusual except a small growth inside my brain that she thought had been there for years.. I did sometimes have severe migraines ever since I was 12 , so that may have been the problem? She told me if it happens let her know and they would recommend some type of medicine. I had another issue about six months later, but this time the seizure was not as bad and I came out of it pretty quickly. The Neurologist put me on a drug called carbamazepine! The drug has not affected my running and biking performance, I am 67, but I take the drug twice a day, and have not had an issue since I have been taking.the medicine. I think that it does dull my senses about one click though. Good luck with you all and do check with your Dr. if you experience anything unusual.

http://www.michaelpooletri.com/about/

This is a kiwi racing in the US who has epilepsy. Might be useful to see if he has written much about seizures and racing. He is quite vocal about the condition.

Diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 27 after one complete loss of consciousness seizure. Have had several CTs over the years and EEGs which shows the continued abnormality. I have been on Tegretol for years and the seizures are well controlled. I've done triathlon since the age of 45. I know there is some small risk that I could have a seizure while competing, but feel it is low. Your life doesn't have to be completely turned upside down with whatever diagnosis you receive. Feel free to PM any questions.

My husband (now 56) started having seizures ~15 years ago. Fittest guy you'd ever see, and fast on the bike and run. He went on Dilantin, which gave him peripheral neuropathy. He also took Klonopin, which changed his personality (according to me) and is addictive. Keppra sort of worked. Phenobarbital absolutely didn't work. Gabbatril made him insane (like, scary kind of insane). Anyway, he tried many different meds and none of them got him under full control. Fast forward way too long after his first seizure and a new neurologist we saw immediately told us that drugs aren't the answer and sent us to ULCA. The doctor there immediately diagnosed a brain tumor - an oligodendroglioma. Within a few month he had a couple of brain surgeries and has been seizure free ever since - we just celebrated 7 years since the last seizure. And Dr. DeGiorgio and Dr. Fried are heros.

Don't stop trying to figure out what the hell is going on until you are completely satisfied with the answer. If we had been more persistent in the beginning we probably would have gotten to surgery earlier and the tumor wouldn't have been as expansive. We just took the prescriptions and tried them without grilling everybody on why this was happening. Do your homework and lots of it. We are in a rural area (~300,000 people within 60 mile radius) and didn't get the treatment we needed until we went to Los Angeles. Brain surgery sounds gnarly, and it is, but it was the best thing that ever happened to him. I wish we had done surgery much earlier, but we didn't even know what was wrong. Find a specialist that specializes in exactly your condition. We know so many people now who have such a similar story - totally healthy, seizure out of the blue, WTF is going on, lots of try this, try that, try something else, and on and on and then finally the right doctor gets the right solution. We've come across dozens of people who are now seizure free. Sure, brain surgery won't cure all seizures, but at least ask the questions.

Also, his seizures were preceded by an aura, but he crashed on the bike at least twice from seizures so be very careful out there. You are normal until you aren't.

I probably spelled a lot of words wrong. And brain surgery can be more expensive than triathlon, if you can believe that...

Good luck to you.

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

This. And what someone else said regarding pushing for information. Don't just take the meds if you are prescribed them. However, first figure out if you actually had a seizure (not fainting)

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Duathlete by choice?

Human body is pretty good at keeping homeostasis. Usually if something is an abnormal occurance (aka seizures) then something is off in the body. Find that something.

Meds are usually just patches to a problem and not a fix (usually - sometimes they are needed though)