Seizure triggers ~ Casinos

[RanMan]

IMO the flashing lights and all the noise (ringing bells, loud music etc) at a casino are HUGE triggers for epilepsy, especially if you have the photo sensative type of epilepsy.

Randy

[Birdbomb]

I live in Las Vegas and go to the casinos several times a month. I have NEVER seen anyone have a seizure in a casino, HOWEVER the strobe lights from the FIRE alarms is the one to really be concerned with.

Most people who know they have a light trigger will shy away from such places, but then not all casinos use those annoying lights and noises.

There is one fantastic show on the strip but they have a warning to those with epilepsy and that is The Blue Man Group. Their show is awsome but they use a lot of strobe lights.

Tell you the truth, I have seen more seizures in resturants, grocery stores and public meeting places.

[RanMan]

Hi BB

The reason that I posted this was I thought ppl need to know of the risk to SOME ppl. with a "seizure condition".

IE: I was at a casino a few weeks back and after about an hour (in my case) the lights, bells and loud circus type music etc. started to get to me and I had several auras.

Before I was dx'ed with EP some 27yrs ago, these strobe lights, bells and loud music wouldn't bother me at all, I was used to this kind of environment as I was in a proffessional heavy metal rock band, then a music teacher but for the past 27 or so years, This stuff triggers a seizure for me. Maybe I'm just an isolated case but that was MY experience.
Randy

[Birdbomb]

Oh the noise gets to me after a while and it depends on ths casino itself as each one is different in their decor. But want to know the one place that effects me the absolute most?

Wal-Mart. The din in there drives me up a wall. They have TV's hanging from the ceiling blasting out Wal-Mart ads, then the P.A. system has to be even louder so employess can hear over the screaming brats. it's worse that any casino I have ever been in, I have have seen some real dives too!

We frequent The Cannery and they have very high ceilings that absorb and muffle a lot of the noise, their music is low and quite pleasent. The loudest thing in the place is the carpet cleaners late at night.

[Nancy]

I've never been in a casino :P . I've spent the night in Vegas a couple times (a motel out on the far edges) because we had to drive across country every 3 years so often and that was where we stopped.

However in this rural area now I frequently HAVE to go to Wal-Mart. I'd rather go to Vegas and take my chances. :x Birdbomb is right. Nothing is as noisy and horrible as Wal-Mart. I leave that place with a massive headache in addition to the stuff I have to have.

[Birdbomb]

The noise levels in Wal-Fart really affect me, I get very aggressive. We have a LOT of illegals who shop there and they just add to the "enjoyment". If I am in there more than an hour I feel like I'm going to have a seizure, even though I have been seizure free for over 1 1/2 years. I absolutely HATE that store. The service sucks, never enough cashiers and the selection is poor. Not to mention the lovely clientel. GRRRR!!!

I'll take Target/K-Mart ANYDAY over Wal-Fart.

[RanMan]

Hi again BB.

Funny you mentioned that about "WAL-FART".
I guess they're all the same across North America.
The clientel are all low lifes, and almost all immigrants who can't even speak English ~ STAFF INCLUDED.
The one in my area (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) is the same as you described. I hate that store the most of all but b/c of the way my medical plan works, I have to use their pharmacy for my meds.

There must be something about that store but I can't pin it down.
I had a gran mal seizure in their parking lot in 2002.
First seizure since 1979, this time they took away my drivers licence.

Randy

[Bernard]

Cheap prices will attract poor customers.

BTW, almost everyone in the USA is an immigrant or the descendant of immigrants.

[Birdbomb]

I wasn't talking about immigrants. There is nothing wrong with anyone being here LEGALLY.

The illegals that Wal-Fart is catering to, will be the demise of the chain. They recently changed their security measures. They will not prosecute petty thieft under $25! If the did, half the customers would be in jail anyway.

And in case you haven't noticed...Wal-Fart isn't the cheapest store anymore. They carry crap you can find in dollar stores, and grocery prices are better at Smiths'.

It's not so much the cheap prices it's the convenience of having everything in one store and close to home.

But at any rate....the noise level is worse than any modern casino I've been in. Now back in the 80's when the mob was here, oh boy were there bells and whistles and sirens and lights! Fremont Street was a fun and exciting place.

[Bernard]

I don't shop anywhere.

[Birdbomb]

Ahhh you need a first hand learning experiance.....

Go to your local Wal-Fart on a Friday after the 1st of the month when the welfare checks and food stamps come out, between the hours of 3 to 8 pm. No need to shop, just look and learn grasshopper. Dress down, real down, no need to bathe, if you do you'll be noticed. LOL!

[Elisa]

Flashing lights, any kind of 3D movie, a oh, what's it called those shows they have a disney? Imax? They ALL make me have seizures no question about it. EVERY TIME !
BB if I had to venture a guess there are lots and lots of people having seizures in the casinos, you just don't know it. You would never know that I was having a seizure if you saw me in a casino. I would just look lost and confused, like the rest of the world. Maybe ever a little drunk, and that would be diffrent how? It wouldn't last even 2 minutes, then I would be back to normal. People with seizures like mine are the most likely to have seizure set off by these things.

I do o.k with the wal-fart thing, like Target better anyways.

[jkj1995]

This is so funny! I haven't been inside a darn Wally World in about three years because I'd start getting these "weird feelings and sensations" that I now know are partial seizures and I refuse to go inside that store. But I do shop there for my meds (my hubby & daughter go in for me). I need to go to somewhere else but they are too convenient.

[brain]

I have to shy away from the
TOY STORE or TOY DEPARTMENTS
including the VIDEO GAMES!

MY GOSH!!!!

And not including the ARCADE GAME
PLACES!

ARRRGGGHHH!!!!

They ain't like those pinball machines
like the days of old ~ those electronic
machines can send a person with
Epilepsy into Twilight Zone!

And then there's the DEPARTMENT STORE
... FART-GA-RAGES (fragrances/colognes
and perfumes) - too much of that stuff
is just as bad as going into a NAIL SALON!
PAINT THINNER! FUMES! FUMES!
FUMES GALORE = SEIZURE MODE!

[RobinN]

I am proud to say I have never stepped inside of a Wal-Mart. I don't need anything that much to have to shop like that.
Costco is also another place I refuse to ever go inside again.

[brain]

Costco is also another place I refuse to ever go inside again.

Costco is the first and only place that we actually
got LOST! They opened the very first one several
hours away, and we had been to one in Georgia,
that was much smaller - but this place was HUGE!

[speber]

Flashing lights, any kind of 3D movie, a oh, what's it called those shows they have a disney? Imax? They ALL make me have seizures no question about it. EVERY TIME !

IMAX....I LOVE it....it's cool....can't watch it....sigh.

[Seruzies]

I lived in Las Vegas for 11 years and never had a seizure related to the flashing lights there, in fact, I loved them. The only flickering lights that bother me are fluorescent bulbs with a 'bad' flicker. In fact, I loved driving downtown at night when I lived in Vegas. I didn't do much gambling when I lived there, but I did go to hockey games at night when there were teams in town. I miss living in Vegas because of the hot, dry climate.

[brain]

Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, FL
recognizes people who have vision
problems and those who are "light
sensitive" (meaning those who are
prone to epilepsy, migraines, light
sensitivity, etc) - can ask any Staff
to direct them to a machine they
wish to play; where they won't be
influenced by triggers! How cool is
that?

It was all because early of last year
(Spring 2006) when I went with some
older folks over there, when I made a
comment of how I missed those old
one armed bandits where they weren't
seizure provoking; and a Staff overheard
me and directed me to the section where
they have casino machines (electronic)
that are specially designed for people
who are light sensitive (epilepsy, migraines,
light sensitivity, etc) and they have
extra staff there that monitors that area
and it's all designed differently. Even the
machine doesn't have a flicker rate.

I personally played it for 15 minutes to
give it a shot; and it was kind of neat,
different, but it was what she said it was.
I put $5 in and ended up loosing 50 cents.
- all in 15 minutes worth of work!

I can do better than that in Poker where
I can collect more (even though it's low
stakes) from ATM's (that's what I call
the players who don't know what they're
doing or thinks they know what they are
doing) in Poker.

I hadn't been back at Hard Rock this year
but I like to go once a year; play Poker,
collect from ATM's - and then go Christmas
Shopping with the profits.

The Pro and Con:
Con - The Smoking
Pro - Getting there after 2 AM when every
one is DRUNK and gets pretty careless
(*grins*) - I make sure I sleep all day for
this one!

It only takes me an hour or two and I can
triple or more my money and head home,
and my clothes ends up going in the wash
or outside to be aired out!

[Zoe]

Randy,
Think the lighting, along with the overload of noise, confusion, and stress. Tell them that it is affecting your seizure threshold and they might be happy to send you your meds rather than risk you having a seizure in the store. Another option is to try different types of sunglasses, just the colored lenses from the dollar store may do. A woman I knew was able to control the lighting triggering seizures wearing different colored glasses in the store. She used blue for one, brown for another. May be worth checking out.