New could I still have Petit Mal

[ALakes]

Hi,

As indicated - I am new and hope I am in the right spot to ask the following. When I was young I was diagnosed with Petit Mal seizures. I was prescribed Epilim. Based on an EEG before my 20s, my specialist told me that I had probably outgrown epilepsy and was taken off the medication.

Over the years, I am now in my 40s, I have had the 'feeling' associated with epilepsy - I really find it too difficult to describe. For me it's rather like a quick wave that goes across my brain. Fortunately, I haven't had any instances where I've had gaps in memory like in my youth. I do, however, find that I stare/daydream a lot - I thought this was quite normal but when I asked a couple of people whether they liked to just stare off into space they couldn't seem to relate to what I was saying. When I do stare I am conscious of my surroundings and if someone spoke to me, I could respond, etc. I also read recently that epilepsy can cause anxiety - something I have struggled with for years.

I suppose I'm mostly curious as to whether my staring is related to epilepsy or I'm just a daydreamer who needs to lift my head out of the clouds. I don't feel like my quality of life has been affected but how would I know? If this is indeed epilepsy-related and I was on medication then maybe I wouldn't be staring so much!

I hope this all makes sense. It probably sounds a bit vague but I'm just curious given advances in understanding that may have occurred over the years.

I also don't want to go to a doctor if I'm going to be told that I can't drive because that would be a major over-reaction in my case.

Thanks

[epileric]

Good to have you here. The locals here are very supportive & there's tons of info regarding epilepsy as well.

As far as your staring goes, I've always stared lots. During a seizure I stare out into space & normally my mind just wanders. I remember in elementary school I was always getting into trouble for daydreaming. My question is whether it is caused by the seizures, the medications or both. I was also on epilim (also known as Valproic Acid) plus mysoline (primidone) & dilantin (Phenytoin).

For the longest time I thought I didn't have gaps in my memory but someone once told me what happened during a seizure & I had no recollection of it so no matter what I thought I could be wrong.

Meanwhile make yourself at home, check out all the nooks & crannies here. There's some pretty informative stuff. Also I hope you don't mind that I moved your message to the foyer so that everyone can say "welcome" or "hi".

[Nakamova]

Howdy ALakes, and welcome to this great site.

It doesn't sound like your "staring" is disruptive to your life, so I would hold off on medicating -- that can bring its worries and also affect your quality of life. You might want to try and keep track of how often the staring seems to happen. If it's increasing in frequency or duration, that might be worth knowing. And ask a friend or family member to let you know if you seem truly "out of it."

Best,
Nakamova