As Emma Leenders came to in an ambulance with a team of paramedics firing questions at her, she thought she was dreaming.<\/p>\n
\u2018I did not know who I was or where I was and I just woke up to people saying \u201cwhat\u2019s your name, what\u2019s your dog\u2019s name, do you know where you are?\u201d,\u2019 she recalls.<\/p>\n
It was only as her partner Chris, 50, who works in TV production, told her she\u2019d had a seizure during the night and that he\u2019d called an ambulance that things started to become more clear.<\/p>\n
A confused Emma was then put through a blur of tests \u2013 after which doctors told her she had a seizure, \u2018but they had no idea why\u2019.<\/p>\n
A year on the teacher tells the Mail: \u2018I was stunned \u2013 I\u2019d had no other signs, no seizures as a child and believed you had to be born with epilepsy. I had no idea it could come on in middle age.\u2019<\/p>\n
She was prescribed levetiracetam (brand name Keppra), an anti-seizure medication \u2013 but the drama didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n
Emma and Chris, who were holidaying with his 13-year-old daughter in Japan, returned to their Airbnb much later in the early hours of the morning: exhausted by what had happened, they went back to bed.<\/p>\n
Emma recalls: \u2018Chris said I had a seizure straight away and he had to again call an ambulance, but this time I was unconscious until I woke up in hospital the next day.\u2019<\/p>\n
She was put on stronger anti-seizure medication, phenytoin, given intravenously, and underwent further tests \u2013 \u2018but I don\u2019t remember those at all\u2019, says Emma.<\/p>\n
This time she was kept in hospital for five days.<\/p>\n
![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/07\/11\/108436053-15797859-Emma_was_prescribed_levetiracetam_brand_name_Keppra_an_anti_seiz-a-31_1778149985227.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nEmma was prescribed levetiracetam, an anti-seizure medication, after she had a seizure during the night and was taken to hospital<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Epilepsy](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/07\/11\/108436025-15797859-Epilepsy_occurs_when_the_brain_develops_a_tendency_to_send_recur-a-30_1778149985205.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nEpilepsy occurs when the brain develops a ‘tendency to send recurrent and unprovoked faulty electrical signals \u2013 a bit like a sudden \u201celectrical storm\u201d \u2013 which can cause seizures’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018I was shocked, scared and just wanted to get home,\u2019 she says. \u2018I was in a kind of denial. I thought I would just take the meds until I got home and then stop, as I didn\u2019t believe I had epilepsy.\u2019<\/p>\n
Epilepsy occurs when the brain develops a \u2018tendency to send recurrent and unprovoked faulty electrical signals \u2013 a bit like a sudden \u201celectrical storm\u201d \u2013 which can cause seizures\u2019, says Dr Barbara Wysota, a consultant neurologist at University Hospitals Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\u2018Depending on where that activity starts, it can cause very different symptoms: anything from a brief \u201cblank spell\u201d \u2013 in which people stare and appear not to be listening to you \u2013 to sudden behavioural changes associated with brief confusion, to full-body convulsions.<\/p>\n
\u2018Most people hear the word \u201cseizure\u201d and imagine whole-body convulsions, which we call generalised tonic-clonic seizures. This is a major seizure and is where the \u201celectrical storm\u201d involves both sides of the brain.\u2019<\/p>\n
However, seizures do not always look dramatic, she adds.<\/p>\n
\u2018For some people, it can be brief confusion, staring into space, a strange feeling of deja vu, sudden fear \u2013 or a brief loss of awareness for a few seconds. This can be associated with automatic movements, such as chewing or lip smacking.<\/p>\n
\u2018We call these focal seizures and they involve just part of the brain. Some people don\u2019t even realise these are seizures. Focal seizures are more likely to occur when epilepsy starts later in life.<\/p>\n
\u2018The frequency of seizure episodes may vary. Some people have them every few days, every few weeks or every few months. Other patients can experience them more frequently; several times a day, or they might occur in clusters.\u2019<\/p>\n
Other types of seizures, such as absences \u2013 which manifest as brief staring, usually lasting only a few seconds \u2013 or myoclonic jerks (sudden jumping of arms or legs) or atonic drop seizures (sudden, unanticipated falls to the ground, which often causes injury), are more likely to start earlier in life. Those seizures also involve both sides of the brain, explains Dr Wysota.<\/p>\n
Yet many people are unaware of these other symptoms, and those affected may not realise their \u2018vague spells\u2019 are in fact epilepsy.<\/p>\n
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions in older adults affecting more than 160,000 people aged 65 or over in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emma, from Hackney, east London, had been having regular deja vu and feeling \u2018disconnected\u2019 on occasion, for a year before her major seizure \u2013 but put it down to the menopause.<\/p>\n
\u2018I would feel a sense of dreamy, out-of-body experience and that I had been here before,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
\u2018It would last about 30 seconds to a minute. I could still talk to people and at times I would even say to people \u201cI am having a deja vu\u201d,\u2019 she recalls.<\/p>\n
\u2018It would happen occasionally, perhaps a couple times a month, but did not worry me at all. There were no particular triggers and I slept really well,\u2019 adds Emma.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was going through perimenopause so just put it down to that.\u2019<\/p>\n
But after her trip to Japan, Emma\u2019s GP referred her to a neurologist, who ran brain scans and read the notes from the Japanese medics \u2013 and confirmed the diagnosis. Her previous \u2018funny turns\u2019 had been a form of seizure.<\/p>\n
Emma says: \u2018The neurologist explained I had two types of seizures \u2013 the tonic-clonic seizures [she\u2019d had in Japan, where she trembled and shook in her sleep] and focal seizures, which had caused that feeling of being dreamy and sense of deja vu.\u2019 Her medication dosages were increased.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/07\/11\/108436027-15797859-Dr_Barbara_Wysota_a_consultant_neurologist_at_University_Hospita-a-32_1778149985234.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDr Barbara Wysota, a consultant neurologist at University Hospitals Birmingham, explains that the ‘frequency of seizure episodes may vary’ for different people<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/07\/11\/108436023-15797859-In_adults_especially_if_it_starts_in_midlife_epilepsy_is_commonl-a-33_1778149985235.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nIn adults \u2013 especially if it starts in midlife \u2013 epilepsy is commonly linked to previous head injury, stroke or brain tumour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In the UK, one in 100 of us live with epilepsy; around 680,000 people.<\/p>\n
When it starts in childhood, it often has genetic causes, but in adults \u2013 especially if it starts in midlife \u2013 it is commonly linked to previous head injury, stroke or brain tumour.<\/p>\n
\u2018However, in many people, no clear cause is found, which can feel frustrating,\u2019 says Dr Wysota.<\/p>\n
Emma was one of those people. Her neurologist could find no reason for epilepsy coming on at age 49.<\/p>\n
She had a 48-hour EEG \u2013 an electroencephalogram, a test that records brain activity continuously over two days \u2013 as well as another brain scan.<\/p>\n
Emma had to relinquish her driving licence (people with epilepsy are not allowed to drive), which was hard she says because \u2018I enjoyed driving\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018Thankfully I am in London with good transport links so could still get to my job.\u2019<\/p>\n
(Under DVLA rules, patients who have been seizure-free for 12 months can regain their driving licence.)<\/p>\n
Dr Wysota explains that while epilepsy is often thought of as only starting in childhood, the incidence of epilepsy rises with age.<\/p>\n
In 2023 Claire Freemantle lost control of her Land Rover Defender in Wimbledon, south-west London, and crashed into school picnic, killing two eight-year-olds, Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, and injuring 16 others. She was later diagnosed as having had an epileptic seizure with loss of consciousness at the wheel.<\/p>\n
No charges were brought around the time, as this was not a pre-existing condition. (However, the driver has now been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Her lawyers said she would deny all charges.)<\/p>\n
\u2018There are two peak times when epilepsy is more likely to start: during childhood and in older adulthood,\u2019 says Dr Wysota.<\/p>\n
\u2018Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions in older adults. It becomes increasingly common after age 40, and especially after 60.\u2019<\/p>\n
She explains this occurs in middle age, \u2018usually because something changes in the brain over time\u2019.<\/p>\n
She adds: \u2018Seizures may start on a background of a stroke or vascular disease in the brain. Sometimes, small strokes that the patient may not be aware of may become a trigger point for seizures.<\/p>\n
\u2018Other potential causes include scarring due to previous head injury, infection, alcohol misuse, brain tumour or dementia.\u2019<\/p>\n
Dr Wysota adds: \u2018A seizure may be the first sign that something else needs investigating, which is why it should never be ignored.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Emma](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/07\/11\/108436051-15797859-Emma_says_she_struggled_with_side_effects_of_my_medication_and_w-a-34_1778149985235.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nEmma says she ‘struggled with side-effects of my medication’ and ‘was scared to be on my own in case I had a seizure’ \u2013 but that she is now ‘starting to feel more positive’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
However, it usually does not come out of the blue. As Dr Wysota explains, there are signs \u2013 but people can miss them.<\/p>\n
\u2018These may be brief \u201cblank spells\u201d, deja-vu episodes, a strange rising feeling in the stomach, sudden confusion, odd smells that aren\u2019t there or shaking while asleep,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
\u2018Those symptoms may indicate focal seizures. Sometimes patients report experiencing those episodes for months before a bigger convulsive seizure occurs.\u2019<\/p>\n
Dr Wysota adds: \u2018It\u2019s very important to seek medical help if someone is experiencing such symptoms and to start treatment if an epilepsy diagnosis is confirmed by a specialist.<\/p>\n
\u2018The treatment can be a little different if epilepsy starts later in life. The choice of antiseizure medication is often influenced by a combination of the patient\u2019s pre-existing health conditions and other medications they\u2019re taking.\u2019<\/p>\n
Emma has had one tonic-clonic seizure since her diagnosis last year, when she was on a train a few months ago.<\/p>\n
\u2018I woke in an ambulance,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018Thankfully a doctor had been on the train, had timed my seizure, called 999 and got me help.\u2019 (If a seizure lasts more than five minutes, it means it is serious and needs urgent medical attention.)<\/p>\n
While Emma will have to live with epilepsy now, Dr Wysota explains in some cases seizures can be a one-off episode.<\/p>\n
\u2018Some patients have one isolated seizure, that for some reason sends the electrical balance \u2013 for example, this might be due to electrolyte imbalance, a period of vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration. It may also be a reaction to medication. In these cases, the diagnosis is not epilepsy.\u2019<\/p>\n
But if the seizure is unprovoked, especially if there is an abnormality on an MRI scan or EEG \u2013 then the chance of recurrence can be high, explains Dr Wysota.<\/p>\n
She adds: \u2018Up to 70 per cent of patients can become seizure-free with appropriate antiseizure medication.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018In addition to taking this medication, patients can reduce their risk of seizures by avoiding alcohol, ensuring a good night\u2019s sleep and minimising stress.\u2019<\/p>\n
Finally accepting she has epilepsy has not been easy, says Emma.<\/p>\n
Life has changed: \u2018I struggled with side-effects of my medication [with low mood, memory problems and fatigue] and was scared to be on my own in case I had a seizure.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was also told to no longer have baths, as I could drown, and was warned about SUDEP [sudden unexpected death in epilepsy] which can happen in sleep.<\/p>\n
\u2018I have always been really independent, travelling on my own, and felt I had lost this.<\/p>\n
\u2018I am starting to feel more positive as feel the medication has the seizures under control. I also attended an epilepsy support group run by The Epilepsy Society which really helped\u00a0\u2013 only people with epilepsy can really understand how it feels.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Emma Leenders came to in an ambulance with a team of paramedics firing questions at her, she thought she was dreaming. \u2018I did not know who I was or where I was and I just woke up to people saying \u201cwhat\u2019s your name, what\u2019s your dog\u2019s name, do you know where you are?\u201d,\u2019 she<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9078","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}