Does anyone have epilepsy?

I have passed out in the past and been told i had a fit while past out by the crowd standing around me when i woke up. Never bothered to get it checked out, usually it just happens when i pass out due to pain or something (like a blood test) so pretty easy to know when its gonna happen. If its bothering you then yeah you should get it checked out.

why does that mean you have epilepsy?

And an egg? what?

I assume they mean an EEG (electroencephalogram, which is a reading of the electrical activity in the brain). I have no idea how good they are at picking up epilepsy.

To the OP, have you ever actually had a fit? That's different from fainting. Of course if you do have epilepsy then it's important to get it sorted out because it can be dangerous for e.g. driving.

What makes you think it might be epilepsy?

There is a range of tests that can be done to narrow down the cause of the "weird spells" you are experiencing. I do think it is worth a trip to the doctor's, since you are anxious about the situation.

Maybe just think about a few things in advance, such as :
When does it occur?
Were you really unconscious?
How long were you unconscious (i.e. was the film you were watching finished by the time you woke up)
Has anybody ever seen what has happened and can they describe to you what went on?
Have you ever bitten your tongue?
Have you ever lost controll over your bladder during one of those episodes?

I think it might be epilepsy because people say that its impossible to faint during a panic attack as blood pressure rises, to faint the blood pressure has to be low. Ive read that a symptom of epilepsy is getting extremely anxious.. so maybe it is something more than just panic attacks.. if its impossible to faint during them. I don't know, I have been to the gp after every faint and he just diagnosed it as a 'simple faint'.

Are these professional medical people? Have someone decribe exactly what they have seen if one of these spells has been witnessed.
An EEG might come up with something, why not have yourself referred to a specialist.
How did the GP do his diagnosis? (i.e. what tests did he do?)

Well, it can't be diagnosed by people on the internet, so if you are anxious about what is going on you will just have to keep on going to the doctor.

"Simple fainting spells" shouldn't be a regular occurrence either, so maybe get him to find out the reason for that.

Looks like im a little bit late here, but interesting to see peoples responses.

Epilipsy IS NOT a clear cut thing, it ranges from very mild, to very very serious, and pretty much every case is different. it can be triggered by many different things, sometimes unknown. Symptoms can range from loosing feeling in areas of your body/blacking out/full grand-mal siezures.

I thnk epilepsy awareness needs to be improved, as well as its diagnosis and understanding as it seems to be becoming much more common.

If you think you have epilepsy, just go and get it checked out- it can kill you. You may not recover from a fit, you may black out and fall down some stairs. It will give you more piece of mind if you know whats going on.

I am epileptic, i believe its triggered by something to do with the sleep chemicals in my brain, but nothing has been confirmed. I only fit at night- i wake up and know im about to have a fit, and theres nothing i can do about it. I l spare you the details form there, its not a pleasant experience.

Ive had 2 CT scans, 2 MRI scans, a 20min EEG and a 24 hour EEG as well as various other random tests and there no closer to understanding it.

I am on medication that has helped a lot though.

I will get it checked out but like you said ..they don't really understand it and probably won't detect anything. I didn't know a fit could kill you, how can you not recover? I thought that the fainting was a mixture of being prone to faint and the panic but bp is supposed to increase during panic.

Sorry about your experience, like you said at least you have been diagnosed so sort of know what it is.