I ¶ì¤·¤àd panic attacks after my break-up - but they were ¸½¼Â¤Ë a Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë of epilepsy: Mother, 29, says she was misdiagnosed with ÉԷʵ¤

A young mother ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with ÉԷʵ¤ after a break-up was shocked to learn epilepsy was ¸½¼Â¤Ë to ÈóÆñ¤¹¤ë for her panic attacks.

Madeleine Dippnall was left 'hysterically' crying and gripped by paranoia ¤Ë°ú¤­Â³¤¤¤Æ the end of her two-year 'traumatic' ´Ø·¸, which saw the 29-year-old move »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë in with her parents in Cornwall.

ƱÍÍ¤Ë as ÉԷʵ¤, doctors ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd her with ¶ìǺ and PTSD.

Ms Dippnall, Ϸǯ¤Î 22 at the time and living in an Ë­ÉÙ¤Ê part of north west London before packing her ½ê»ýÉÊ up, also lost nearly 6st and was À䤨¤º vomiting, Ͷȯ¤¹¤ëing doctors to ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ë her with anorexia.??

°åÌô she was given only helped with a fraction of the ÌÜÏ¿ of ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ës she was ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with, leaving her º®Í𤵤»¤ëd as to whether something else was ¿Ê¹ÔÃæ¤Ç.

Madeleine Dippnall, 29, was told by doctors her panic attacks were caused by depression and PTSD which she put down to the end of a traumatic relationship

Madeleine Dippnall, 29, was told by doctors her panic attacks were ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ëd by ÉԷʵ¤ and PTSD which she put É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë to the end of a traumatic ´Ø·¸

After ¶ì¤·¤àing a seizure out of the blue six years later, which saw her wake up on the bathroom ¾²¤ËÂǤÁÅݤ¹, Ms Dippnall was ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with temporal ¹â¤¯µÝ·Á¤ËÂǤÁÊÖ¤¹ epilepsy.?

The graphic designer's symptoms 'literally washed away' ÌëÄ̤· thanks to seizure-¡Ê·Ù´±¤Î¡Ë½ä²ó¶è°è¡¤¼õ»ý¤Á¶è°èing ËãÌôs.

²òǤ¤¹¤ëing her diagnosis, Ms Dippnall said: 'I felt µßºÑ that I wasn't crazy. Now I know what's going on.'?

Around one in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy.

Temporal ¹â¤¯µÝ·Á¤ËÂǤÁÊÖ¤¹ epilepsy ¡½ one particular type ¡½ ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ës seizures which start in the areas of the brain with the same »Ø̾¤¹¤ë.?

They are ÀÕǤ¤¬¤¢¤ë memory, ¿³Íý¡¤¸øÄ°²ñ, and understanding language, ¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð the charity Epilepsy ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ®.

Seizures which start in this area of the brain can can make you feel ¶¼¤¹d, get deja vu, hear things that aren't there, experience an unpleasant taste or smell and ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë fidgeting ¡ ½ Partly explaining Ms Dippnall's symptoms.?

The graphic designer from Cornwall, was diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering a seizure out of the blue

The graphic designer from Cornwall, was ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with epilepsy after ¶ì¤·¤àing a seizure out of the blue

After suffering panic attacks she went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with PTSD, anxiety, depression and anorexia, which saw her weight plunge to less than six stone

After ¶ì¤·¤àing panic attacks she went to a psychiatrist who ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd her with PTSD, ¶ìǺ, ÉԷʵ¤ and anorexia, which saw her Éé¤ï¤»¤ë µÞÍî¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤·ã¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ than six ÀС¿ÅêÀФ¹¤ë

²òǤ¤¹¤ëing her ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to move »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë to Cornwall, Ms Dippnall said: 'I needed to be by the sea.?

'We had to get away. It was horrible.'

She said of her symptoms: 'You have the adrenaline ƱÅù¡Ê¤Î¡Ë to ¸ºß on a roller-coaster.

'Everything sweats. I'd go to the ÀöÌ̽ê to be sick. I'd be hysterically crying. You have this ¶²¤ì¤ë of God in you that something awful is going to happen.

'My mum used to put my Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë under a Îäø¤Ê water ÄÀ¤à.

'¤¤¤Ä¤«s I'd get catatonic. I couldn't move. I'd go within myself.

'But if you were looking at me you wouldn't really know what was going on.'

Ms Dippnall, pictured with her husband Christopher, 35, was on the medication for about three years and didn't see much improvement

Ms Dippnall, pictured with her husband Christopher, 35, was on the °åÌô for about three years and didn't see much ²þÎÉ

Sin
ce her diagnosis, she's been able to enjoy her life again with her step-children, two-year-old son, Bo (pictured), and her husband Christopher who works as a carpenter

Since her diagnosis, she's been able to enjoy her life again with her step-children, two-year-old son, Bo (pictured), and her husband Christopher who ºîÉÊ as a carpenter

Since being diagnosed, she's been taking lamotrigine, a medicine to help with her condition and said her depression has 'literally washed away'

Since ¸ºß ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd, she's been taking lamotrigine, a Ìô¡¿°å³Ø to help with her ¾ò·ï and said her ÉԷʵ¤ has 'literally washed away'

Ms Dippnall was on a cocktail of °åÌô for about three years and didn't see much ²þÎÉ, ½Ò¤Ù¤ëing it as '¼ºË¾¤µ¤»¤ëing'.?

One night in April 2023, she woke up with the insides of her mouth bleeding. She had had a seizure.

She said: 'My ÃÄÂΡ¿»àÂÎ was cramping all over. I'd bitten the insides of my mouth. I had a nocturnal seizure, a tonic clonic (where the muscles twitch and start jerking).

'The next night I woke up on the bathroom ¾²¤ËÂǤÁÅݤ¹.

'I said to Chris, my husband, oh my God I think I've had a seizure.

'I went to the GP and he put through an ¶ÛµÞ¤Î referral. I was ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with temporal ¹â¤¯µÝ·Á¤ËÂǤÁÊÖ¤¹ epilepsy. I felt relieved that I wasn't crazy.

'I was angry at all these ¸¢°Ò¤Î¤¢¤ë people who told me I had mental problems. If this went untreated I could have really had ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ës.'

Ms Dipnell recalls having a?seizure when she was about 19, but says it wasn't investigated properly

Ms Dipnell ²òǤ¤¹¤ës having a?seizure when she was about 19, but says it wasn't Ä´ºº¡¿Áܺº¤¹¤ëd ŬÀÚ¤Ë

After taking her new medication lamotrigine she said she is 'feeling good' and build
ing a graphic design business from her off-grid cabin where she lives

After taking her new °åÌô lamotrigine she said she is 'feeling good' and building a graphic design ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö from her off-grid cabin where she lives

Ms Dippnall Äɲ乤ëd: 'My dad had an instinct all along. He said, "those are not normal panic attacks that you're having".

'I had a seizure when I was about 19 but it wasn't Ä´ºº¡¿Áܺº¤¹¤ëd ŬÀÚ¤Ë because of the way I È¿±þ¤¹¤ëd to the ¼Â¸³¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës.

'I felt like something was going on and there was something wrong with me. I felt like no one was listening to me.'?

Since her diagnosis, she's been able to enjoy her life again with her step-children, two-year-old son, Bo, and Chris, 35, who ºîÉÊ as a carpenter.

She said: 'Since ¸ºß on the epilepsy °åÌô I ¹Á¡¿ÈòÆñ½ê't had a Áª¤Ó½Ð¤¹¡¿ÆÈ¿È episode and my ÉԷʵ¤ has literally washed away.

'My husband says the difference is like night and day.'

WHAT IS EPILEPSY?

Epilepsy is a ¾ò·ï that ±Æ¶Á¤¹¤ë¡¿´¶¾ðs the brain and leaves ´µ¼Ôs at ´í¸± o f seizures.

Around one in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy, Epilepsy ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ® Åý·×¡Ê³Ø¡Ë ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ë¤¹¤ë¡¿Ï³¤é¤¹.

And in the US, 1.2 per cent of the Á´½»Ì± have the ¾ò·ï, ¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð the Ãæ¿´s for ɵ¤ »ÙÇۡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÅýÀ©¤¹¤ë and ͽËÉ.

Anyone can have a seizure, which does not automatically mean they have epilepsy.

Usually more than one episode is Í׵᤹¤ëd before a diagnosis.

Seizures occur when there is a sudden burst of Åŵ¤¤Î activity in the brain, which ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ës a disruption to the way it ºîÉÊ.

Some seizures ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë people to remain ·ÙÊó and aware of their surroundings, while others make people lose consciousness.

Some also make ´µ¼Ôs experience unusual sensations, feelings or movement, or go stiff and Íî¤Á¤ë to the ¾²¤ËÂǤÁÅݤ¹ where they jerk.

Epilepsy can be brought on at any age by a °ìÂÇ¡¿ÂÇ·â, brain ´¶À÷, Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë ½ý³² or problems at birth that lead to ·çÇ¡¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë of oxygen.

But in more than half of »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs, a ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë is never ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë.

Anti-epileptic ËãÌôs do not cure the ¾ò·ï but help to stop or ¸º¤º¤ë seizures.

If these do not work, brain ³°²Ê can be ¸ú²ÌŪ¤Ê.

Source: Epilepsy ³èÆ°¡¿ÀïÆ®?