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From: maggie
John - "smells" prior to passing out can indicate seizure but not absolute. "Twitching" is actually common in a faint, but full blown convulsions point more to epilepsy, although I believe someone who has fainted can have this convulsions is the oxygen is cut off long enough. This would be an anoxic seizure though, not an epileptic seizre. The fact you are waking up in a "panic" first is intersting - have you had an echocardiogram or other heart tests? I wonder if your "panic" isn't actually tachycardia (fast heart rate). This can lead to syncope. I'm not sure why it would only happen in your sleep though. Maybe you need to have a sleep study done. This is when they put you in a "sleep lab" and record everything that happen, all your vitals, etc. Sleep apnea comes to mind, but there are a lot of different sleep disorders. Seems like something worth pursuing since they always happen at night after you've been asleep. Maggie