I suffered panic attacks after my break-up - but they were actually a sign of epilepsy: Mother, 29, says she was misdiagnosed with depression

A young mother diagnosed with depression after a break-up was shocked to learn epilepsy was actually to blame for her panic attacks.

Madeleine Dippnall was left 'hysterically' crying and gripped by paranoia following the end of her two-year 'traumatic' relationship, which saw the 29-year-old move back in with her parents in Cornwall.

As well as depression, doctors diagnosed her with anxiety and PTSD.

Ms Dippnall, aged 22 at the time and living in an affluent part of north west London before packing her belongings up, also lost nearly 6st and was constantly vomiting, prompting doctors to diagnose her with anorexia.  

Medication she was given only helped with a fraction of the catalogue of issues she was diagnosed with, leaving her confused as to whether something else was afoot.

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

After suffering a seizure out of the blue six years later, which saw her wake up on the bathroom floor, Ms Dippnall was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. 

The graphic designer's symptoms 'literally washed away' overnight thanks to seizure-beating drugs.

Recalling her diagnosis, Ms Dippnall said: 'I felt relief that I wasn't crazy. Now I know what's going on.' 

Around one in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy.

Temporal lobe epilepsy — one particular type — causes seizures which start in the areas of the brain with the same name. 

They are responsible for memory, hearing, and understanding language, according to the charity Epilepsy Action.

Seizures which start in this area of the brain can can make you feel frightened, get deja vu, hear things that aren't there, experience an unpleasant taste or smell and cause fidgeting — Partly explaining Ms Dippnall's symptoms. 

The graphic designer from Cornwall, was diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering 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

Recalling her decision to move back 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 equivalent to being on a roller-coaster.

'Everything sweats. I'd go to the toilet to be sick. I'd be hysterically crying. You have this fear of God in you that something awful is going to happen.

'My mum used to put my head under a cold water sink.

'Sometimes 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

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 works 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'

Ms Dippnall was on a cocktail of medication for about three years and didn't see much improvement, describing it as 'frustrating'. 

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

She said: 'My body 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 floor.

'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 urgent referral. I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. I felt relieved that I wasn't crazy.

'I was angry at all these authoritative people who told me I had mental problems. If this went untreated I could have really had issues.'

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

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

Ms Dippnall added: '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 investigated properly because of the way I reacted to the tests.

'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 works as a carpenter.

She said: 'Since being on the epilepsy medication I haven't had a single episode and my depression has literally washed away.

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