My husband had a convulsion yesterday

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He is fine right now, but any medical professionals out there that might want to weigh in, I’d be appreciative.

TG day he woke up with a cold, thought it might turn into something worse. He just kept his distance from everyone. Yesterday it was full blown. He had a bad night, chills then sweats. He felt awful. Worked in his office with the space heater on yesterday. Went for a 3 mile walk as cold air helps clear his lungs and the terrible cough according to him. He had taking DayQuil, then Tylenol Advil alternating as he should.

I have an old prescription of cough medicine with codeine (Tussienex pentinken). He took about one ml (if that) as there is barely anything left in the bottle.

About 4:30 we were sitting in the family room with the fireplace on and he just looked like he was ill. I asked him if he was ill and hot and wanted me to turn off the fire. Yes. I do , then all of a sudden I noticed he was sliding down the chair, then his arms raised up and he started convulsing from his stomach with his arms waving for about 45 seconds maybe. I yelled for my son to call 911.

my husband then was unconscious for about a minute or so. He woke up and after a sitting there fur a minute went to throw up. Fire truck and paramedics arrived and he said he felt fine after he threw up. They said his vitals seemed fine. They took him to the ambulance parked outside and he insisted he was fine and don’t want go. They couldn’t make him but highly suggested we take him to the emergency room.

I know one of the reasons he didn’t want to go was because the ambulance would cost about $10k, and he said we’d probably get a bill for $3k just for what they did. He works with that stuff. My other DS and DIL came right over and none of us could talk him into going to the hospital.

He’s insistent it was a reaction to the prescription cough medicine, mixed with all the other stuff he had been taken. Ok. Maybe, but what if it’s not. He has a doc appointment sometime in December and will address what happened then and do whatever they want, but he’s not calling next week to be seen early.

I can’t force him and ur makes me so frustrated. That was scary as hell. He’s always been the model of health. It was something you expect to happen in 15-20 years but not today.

So, my questions are can a mixture like that cause convulsions? My son read that tussinex possibly can if accompanied by high blood pressure but they took his vitals.

What kind of scans will they do, as I’m sure they will want him to do that. Ct brain?

if it happens again, what do I do while he’s having one and after. Lay him flat, turn him on his side ?

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I don’t have any answers, @conmama , but I hope others here do. That must have been terrifying. :confused:

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They would do a EEG for sure, but this is best done as close to when the seizure happens. Depending on what the EEG shows, they possibly could order additional tests to help determine cause…and the cause might have absolutely nothing to do with the cold or cold medicine.

I think your husband needs to make an appointment with his PCP.

If the medics feel an ambulance ride to the ED is necessary, why would this cost you so much…that’s a whole different discussion.

I’m sending you a PM.

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Fear of medical bills (along with uncertainty of insurance coverage) does seem to have a significant effect in deterring people in the US from seeking medical care.

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I’m sorry this happened, it is scary when you see someone having a seizure. Perhaps your H would go to urgent care, where things would be less expensive?

I do think only a doctor, ideally one that knows your H’s health history can answer the question if the meds could have caused the seizure. I hope he sees a physician soon.

Lastly, is it possible to extract an agreement from him that if he has another seizure he will go to the ER? There can be significant risks with having seizures, such as falling and hitting head or breaking a bone, swallowing tongue/choking, etc. It’s a lot to ask that you manage that on your own. Hugs.

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He really should go get checked out, but I understand the issue with ambulance cost. In all honesty what you witnessed may not have been a seizure at all. A syncopal or “fainting episode” can look just like a seizure to someone not in the medical field; syncope can be due to many things, dehydration, a sudden heart arrhythmia, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, just to name a few. The fact that he was ill and taking meds that could alter his blood pressure or heart rate makes me suspicious that a syncopal episode could have caused this. Throwing up right afterwards is also a sign of this. Unfortunately without further testing it’s hard to say exactly what the underlying cause would be. I would definitely take him to the ER if something like this happens again, I would not take him to an urgent care as they would most likely just transfer him to an ER anyway. I hope he continues to feel better and has no further episodes.

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I second this. Our urgent care specifically states on its website that they don’t deal with emergencies like fainting or seizures and urge folks to go to straight to the ER.

Hugs to you, @conmama

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The post above describes what happened to me long ago. In my case I was 21 and my first day on the job. I drank a Diet Coke and it went down funny and I felt a burning in my chest. Next minute (as it felt to me) I was struggling to get up off the floor and the paramedics were there. Apparently I passed out, fell out of a tall drafting chair, turned blue and purple and “had a seizure.” They wanted to take me in, but I refused because of cost even back then.

I did go for all kinds of tests on my own. EEG, EKG, heart monitor, etc. nada. They called it a vasovagral response and not to drink Diet Coke in the morning. I have long since disregarded that advice but for many many years I wouldn’t drink anything while driving. Never happened again.

but I was only 21 and very healthy. I would probably touch base with a pcp if you have one.

Edit - I should also add I have low pressure and resting heart rate naturally, so any drop is probably what caused me to pass out (90-100/50-60 and a heart rate in the upper 40s/low 50s)

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I was not suggesting to go to urgent care immediately after the seizure happened. I meant today. Urgent care would be appropriate today, whereas the ER would not (assuming OP has an urgent care option.)

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Thank you so much for this information! I’m going to do research on it to better understand. I’m crossing my fingers that’s all it was.

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Thank you! I will look this up and research more!

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That might have been the term used years ago when I passed out at the eye doctor’s office. I have very low blood pressure, and there was speculation that perhaps the eyedrops / dialation were a factor. (Probably the discussion at the desk also had stressed me - preglaucoma visit would start being charged to Medical, not Vision). Two nice ladies working the desk drove me/car home, and my husband drove home from work to keep watch over me.

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I tend toward low blood pressure as well and have collapsed onto the ground (at Safeway) when I knew I was at danger of fainting. I’m sure it looked very odd but I was not accompanied by anyone. I made sure I was OK again before driving 5 minutes home. If H had been around, I suspect he would have freaked out. I was very quiet and no one was watching at the time so no one saw me. I did speak with my MDs and they said it was likely a combo of low blood pressure and dehydration. Have never had problems since but work to be sure to stay hydrated. Am also being monitored for my low blood pressure and taking a medication that seems to help it, Midodrine. The person I am seeing is a APRN who specializes in Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). My D also has this issue.

I’m so sorry your husband had this issue and I’d try to schedule a visit with his primary care ASAP, explaining what happened.

My D has fainted as well for low blood pressure, as she also has POTS and is under the care of a POTS cardiologist at UCLA. There are NO POTS cardiologists in our entire state of HI. The one we had moved to TX as HI was just too dang expensive!

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How scary! Did the paramedics ask what he had taken? Some of those medications are not recommended to be taken at the same time. DayQuil typically contains acetaminophen, so taking Tylenol at the same time can exceed the recommended dosage. And DayQuil and Tussionex both contain acetaminophen and antihistamines and are dangerous to take together. Hopefully it was just a bad med interaction combined with whatever virus he has and will never happen again, but definitely follow up with his doctor as soon as possible.

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Yes he told them, but they didn’t say anything. From Resfing your posts then going to research what everyone has mentioned, I’M starting to think he did have a reaction to everything and fainted. But I’m not telling him all this because I want him to do what the doctor says and not dismiss it even more than he’s doing. Better safe than sorry.

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Codeine itself can cause seizures but usually if there is some underlying factor. Always a good idea not to take others meds. Urgent care is a waste of time.

Sounds like your hubby needs a physical with blood work as a starter. If they classified it as a seizure and not just syncope or if not sure then an EEG is warranted. Good luck to him

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He needs a head CT and blood work for a new onset seizure. He also should not drive or take a shower/bath unsupervised until he is medically cleared. If he has any focal neurological symptoms, severe headache, or stiff neck, he needs to be seen immediately. Ask him if he had witnessed YOU having a seizure, would he be okay with you not seeing a doctor right away? I am guessing the answer is no.

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How is he doing now?

Honestly, I would try to get him to the ER as soon as he’ll go. They are set up to do a plethora of tests. Maybe it was just some odd, random seizure, but it could have been a heart attack, stroke, blood clot in the lungs, who knows? Have you recently traveled? They need to investigate.

At our age, you can’t screw around. The consequences of not following up are too serious. But I know how impossible it can be to force someone to do what they don’t want to, and how very frustrating it is!

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