Hi people, I'm new here :)

[smint]

This is smint, just turned 17, from Singapore... Diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy a few years back... just had seizures yesterday

I'm actually unclear of what type of seizures I experience, but I stare blankly into space and then suddenly fall down and start to jerk, hands and legs for 2 minutes.. then I lose consciousness for some time (unsure of exact time) and wake up with muscle aches, and sometimes my lips bleed because I bite on them...

sigh

[Bernard]

Hi Smint, welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about the seizures. Are you conscious while you are convulsing for 2 minutes?

[smint]

nope, and i'm also unsure if i'm conscious while i stare blankly. Sometimes I stare blankly like "stoning" and that worries my parents whether it's a seizure or it's just a random blank staring that occurs throughout the day - some of my friends suddenly stare blankly too when they are bored...

[Bernard]

The blank stares are probably absense seizures. The falling and convulsing with loss of consciousness are tonic clonic (aka grand mal) seizures. If the absense seizures always precede the tonic clonic seizures, it means the tonic clonic seizures are generalizing from the absense seizures (small seizure in the brain grows/spreads into the full fireworks show).

[smint]

Thanks bernard. Hmm, I was just wondering if there was any way to really "read" my symptoms? sometimes it feels as though i'm going to get an attack bcos i suddenly "realise" that im staring blankly, only to realise 10 seconds later that it was just a pure instance of staring blankly (like what normal people do) and not absence seizures.

How do i differentiate staring blankly (as a normal person) and absence seizures?

[Bernard]

I'm not sure you can. Stacy was able to figure it out sometimes indirectly. Ie. by gauging other peoples' reactions and expressions she could tell that she had been telling a story or stopped talking mid-sentence. Other than that though, she mostly had no clue how often she had them. After I understood what was happening, I (as an attuned observer) was able to recognize them instantly.

[smint]

Let's say I'm doing something.. like walking halfway or typing on the keyboard and suddenly stare blankly - but still continue to do the thing I'm doing (walking, typing) so I don't know how to tell if that is an absence seizure...

[Bernard]

That sounds more like a complex partial seizure. When Stacy had her absense seizures, she completely stopped all activity while seizing for a second or two.

[smint]

Hmm, nope I'm quite sure it's just the absence seizures which explode into the "fireworks" thing like you said. It's just that I have a problem with differentiating my absence seizures from just "staring blankly".. ie. I can't differentiate when am I having a seizure and when is it just purely staring blankly..

[Bernard]

These seizures usually start in a small area of the temporal lobe or frontal lobe of the brain. They quickly involve other areas of the brain that affect alertness and awareness. So even though the person's eyes are open and they may make movements that seem to have a purpose, in reality "nobody's home." If the symptoms are subtle, other people may think the person is just daydreaming.

Some people can have seizures of this kind without realizing that anything has happened. Because the seizure can wipe out memories of events just before or after it, however, memory lapses can be a problem.

Some of these seizures (usually ones beginning in the temporal lobe) start with a simple partial seizure. Also called an aura, this warning seizure often includes an odd feeling in the stomach. Then the person loses awareness and stares blankly. Most people move their mouth, pick at the air or their clothing, or perform other purposeless actions. These movements are called "automatisms" (aw-TOM-ah-TIZ-ums). Less often, people may repeat words or phrases, laugh, scream, or cry. Some people do things during these seizures that can be dangerous or embarrassing, such as walking into traffic or taking their clothes off. These people need to take precautions in advance.

complex partial seizures <- check out the Q&A at the bottom of the page for differences between absense and complex partial seizures.

[cool1984]

WELCOME sorry about you seizure hope you feel a bit better today

caz

[brain]

Hi Smint:

I think you would find this interesting (Partial Posting - Click on Link to view entire page) and it does apply towards adults too - there's an example in there too.


http://www.ilae-epilepsy.org/Visitor...ure_frame.html

 Absence status epilepticus
by C. P. Panayiotopoulos
Date of submission:October 30, 2000
Date of Update: November 2, 2002
Medline SEARCH DATE: October 25, 2002


Idiopathic (typical) absence status epilepticus. 

Idiopathic (typical) absence status epilepticus is easy to diagnose, providing that the associated syndrome of idiopathic generalized epilepsy with typical absences is correctly identified. This is often combined with myoclonic jerks and GTCS. With the possible exception of childhood absence epilepsy, all other syndromes of idiopathic generalized epilepsy with typical absences may manifest with typical absence status, either as a spontaneous expression of their natural course or provoked by external factors or inappropriate treatment maneuvers (Panayiotopoulos 1997; Agathonikou et al 1998). In these conditions, the patient or relatives are well aware of the clinical manifestations of absence status epilepticus, which often heralds GTCS. The most common misdiagnosis is made because absences are not recognized or are misdiagnosed as complex partial seizures (Panayiotopoulos 1997; Agathonikou et al 1998; Panayiotopoulos 2002). A previous or a new EEG invariably shows generalized discharges in idiopathic generalized epilepsy. It may be normal or may show specific focal spikes in partial epilepsies, mainly temporal lobe epilepsy.