What was most damning about Sunday morning’s grand mal was that I seemed to do everything right. Before bed, I had taken a guaifenesin ER pill. I had gotten up for a walk at both 3am and 4am and was sleeping on my back with the bed head raised. Despite taking all those cautionary steps, a really big attack occurred at 5am.
It was hard coming up with a reason why; after thinking about it for a bit, I decided “Position 2” (aka the self-coined term describing a bad posture of my neck) was at fault. The soreness of my neck that lasted the entire day and my low BPM during my morning jog supported that guess. However, it was still difficult figuring out what caused my neck to slip into “Position 2” in the first place.
Currently, I think it’s due to my bed head raised too high. The high bed head could’ve pushed my neck too far forward, limiting my breathing. My lack of a pillow could’ve also contributed to the misaligned neck posture, further limiting my breathing and triggering the seizure.
I can’t say for certain whether that really was the case, but it has gotten me more cautious about raising my bed super high. (15% to 20% might be more suitable for me.) I’ve also become more prudent about neck support; at the minimum, I’m likely to sleep with a rolled towel.
For a while, 30% raised with no pillow seemed like the way to go. After Sunday’s seizure, it no longer seems like the right choice; once my neck recovers, I will start experimenting again.
