Crazy morning

[Jen]

Me and my 3 year old were sleeping in the bed this morning, my husband had already woke up and left to watch sports. Our cat was also sleeping next to me on my pillow--I guess it was a pretty crowded bed I moved to wake up and my cat was falling off the bed so it latched onto the pillow and my shoulder with it's claws. It went right through my shirt and left puncture wounds...it was shocking. I went out to tell my husband and we went to get peroxide to put on it...then I said I didn't feel very well and walked toward the bed fearing I was passing out...and I did, and my husband caught me before I fell among our crowded bedroom furniture and tiled bathroom floor. I had passed out and had a siezure at the foot of the bed. My husband was trying to wake me up quietly so that my little boy in the bed didn't see me. Apparently my hands were drawn up in the air and clenched, I was gurgling and couldn't breathe for about 20 seconds. I could hear him saying relax your hands and I woke up to him standing over me and my son at my side. I feel very tired from it all.
Crazy stuff, I had passed out before with injury, but the siezing thing is worrysome....I'll mention it to my Onc.
I wish I was stronger and that my body didn't give out on me I'm sure my husband wants to trade me in for a newer model

[Terry]

I'm glad your alright. I have had to give patients IV antibiotics from cat bites, now scratches I'm not to sure about but you may want to talk to your doctor if your currently on chemo about the possibility of cellulitis.

It sounds really scarey and you better mention the seizure to your doc. You've never had them before?

[Ivona]

Seizures are serious...I would call a doctor right away.

[grammyto4]

Now you've got us all worried about you - let us know what the doc says about the seizure thing. Thinking about you today

[fourT's]

Whoa! I could not believe what I was reading. It just got worse and worse. I agree that you should contact your Dr. sooner than later. Hope you are doing better and it sounds like your husband did a great job taking care of you!

Tracy

[Dori]

Yikes! I'm not sure if I missed something. Do you have a history of seizures?

I don't want to sound alarmist, but if this happened to me or someone near me I would insist on seeing a doctor today, even if that entailed a trip to the ER. Seizures are serious, and if you don't have a history of epilepsy I think this is a very urgent matter. At a minimum, I think you need to get someone on the phone asap. Page your doctor, call your insurance company's nurse line, something.

[NWgirl]

Jen - please call your doc - you have us all worried now!

[Jen]

Hi all, thanks for your concern. I have a history of passing out but not siezures. I did call my doctor after your prompting, and the fact I couldn't stop thinking about it...I was told by both my GP and Onc to go to the emergency room and they ordered an MRI. Well, the ER took so long and I was missing a Cinco de Mayo party that I left 2 hours into the bureaucracy after an EKG where they told me my heart rate was that of an athlete (I was very flattered). They told me I'd have to wait an additional 2hrs for my MRI..Geesh! I didn't wait for discharge because my doctor was called to an emergency, I took off my EKG stickers, signed some other form and got out of there...I decided cancer can wait. The ER Doc said if I have a brain lesion/tumor it'll be there a week from now so I went off to the party. Carpe diem...I don't want to waste another minute on this stupid cancer...Also, with the flu stuff going on I was getting a little paranoid in the ER - the bathroom had someone's blood that hadn't been cleaned up, and my room had some nasty liquid on the floor - I felt more in danger being there. I am also the poster child of mirroring symptoms that turn out to be nothing. You'll hear from me if it is or isn't something

[garbovatwin]

If your immune system is compromised in any way from treatment, you will want to mention this to your doctors.

Every cats claws are loaded with bacteria and can cause illness that usually does not require treatment in healthy individuals, but many need medical attention and antibiotics in those of us with compromised immune systems.

What you do not need on top of what you are going through are the symptoms of a cat scratch.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections ... ratch.html

jA

[wamo]

Jen... please tell your husband if you should have another seizure (as much as you hate the ER which I can understand) that should really turn into a 911 call if you haven't had a history of seizures or stop breathing even for 1 minute. PLEASE!

Very worrisome.... and I don't understand why MRI in ER would take a week to hear the results. In ER they should have it in within an hour??? Don't ignore this very major symptom of something.

Just care for you!!!!
wamo

[Dori]

I wasn't going to say anything else because I totally understand not wanting your whole life dominated by medical stuff, and I despise emergency rooms too.

It's just that I forgot to say that I wasn't even thinking this is related to the cancer or chemo. It could be something VERY serious and most likely not cancer related. My brother has epilepsy, and for most of my life I've lived with the rule that if someone with epilepsy has a (only one, and not a long one) seizure, call the doctor. If someone without epilepsy has a seizure, call 911 because it could be something life threatening.

I hope I'm making sense, and I'm sorry I couldn't just let this go, but I felt obligated to say something more.

Dori

[hannahw]

Why does this sort of thing always happen on the weekend when your options are basically the ER or nothing and due to increase ER traffic you're practically guaranteed to spend the whole day in the ER?

The ER at my local hospital has been trying this thing they call "fast track" but I can't figure out the criteria for getting fast tracked. It's not a matter of your condition being acute, obviously those get priority anyway. I guess it has something to do with the problem being relatively uncomplicated and potentially easily resolved. But that seems to promote using the ER for primary care which means when someone comes in with a seizure they have to wait all damn day to get the tests they need.