Transient amnesia can be a form of epilepsy

[Bernard]

Episodes of transient amnesia, which frequently occur on awakening and are associated with other memory problems, may be a symptom of a distinct type of epilepsy. A British team describes this condition they call "transient epileptic amnesia" in a study published in the Annals of Neurology.

...

In correspondence with Reuters Health, Zeman described transient epileptic amnesia as "repeated short episodes of transient amnesia, occurring about once a month, usually lasting about half an hour, often occurring on waking, typically in middle-aged people around the age of 60."

...

Zeman's team found that the condition was often misdiagnosed -- only 12 of the 50 patients in the study had received an initial diagnosis of epilepsy.

Anticonvulsant medication was effective in 44 of the 47 patients treated. "Most of our patients were treated with carbamazepine, sodium valproate or lamotrigine and the response to treatment was generally excellent," Zeman said.

Transient amnesia can be a form of epilepsy

[Blessed]

Is there any connection to Alzeheimer's or senile dementia?

[Blessed]

I was just wondering about this because my husband's grandmother used to exhibit these symptoms. She is now 92 and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is living in a nursing home. I thought that true Alzeheimer's usually began much earlier in a peron's life. Just curious.

[Bernard]

I don't know. This is the first I've heard of transient amnesia.

[Stacy]

I'd like to add Parkinson's to that list of possibilities.

[brain]

I'd like to add Parkinson's to that list of possibilities.

And TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)

[RobinN]

Bernard, another interesting article.

My daughter had her first seizure June 2006 at the age of 14. Two full blown tonic clonic seizures. EEG was abnormal following these. She was placed on tegretol and it cause severe vision loss, so she was removed and went without. More tests were requested, and this poor child had a strange episode of Amnesia. It lasted for about 2 months.

One neurologist said seizure related, another said psychogenic. It was real, and shared a lot of the same symptoms this article suggested. It was 14 yrs of memory. She did not remember family, movies, activities. She knew how to read, and how to do math, but not how she learned them. She is a figure skater, and she did not remember what she knew, but when shown her body had muscle memory and it came back, actually better than where she was.
Then one night friends noticed an immediate change in communicating with her online and called us. It returned but she was remembering it to be 9 days prior to the date she actually lost the memory (if that makes sense)

Other than trauma from multiple medical tests, and thinking that she might die from what her body was experiencing (a trauma in itself), she has grown up in a safe and secure environment. She sees a psychologist that helps her to understand what is happening. Even she had no explanation for this.

I understand that 95% of regressive amnesia is psychogenic, yet the other 5% just might have a seizure relationship or a nutritional relationship.

[Bernard]

Thanks for your personal experience Robin. This is an area that I know nothing about. I'm glad your daughter's memory returned.

[RobinN]

Today is the year anniversary of the day my daughter lost her memory for two months. It was quite traumatic at the time. I can take a look back from where we are today, and breath a sigh of relief. The fear at the time was that she might be having TIAs. This has been ruled out. I can understand now how traumatic all of this was for Rebecca.

She has been doing well, even though last month she had 6 seizures. This month so far so good. She is happier and appears healthier to me. I have include some new vitamins, 5HTP, DMG, and Vit D ...to the B Complex, Taurine, Ultra Omega, Vit C, and Ionic magnesium.
Plus... she got a 100% on a math test!

[brain]

Plus... she got a 100% on a math test!

Congrats! on the 100% on the Math Test!

[angel]

Transient amnesia can be a form of epilepsy

my dad has been a welder forever his happens about every four months that im aware of..... it lasted from when he woke he took two showers because he forgot he took one.... he from what my older kids told me i wasnt there the whole time would walk by them and say something then look all spaced out and repeat it again then when my kids called me no one else was around at the time they were really scared for him ... he was walking and talking but couldnt remember what he had just said really when i took him in it to me was just like a complex partial seizures that was lasting for ever.... i dont know though.... he also my mom said had painted a chair the day before.... fumes she said made him sick.... im stressed for him because to my parents E is a bad word i feel hes hiding it and has seizures that are going bad... lasting long time...

I also noticed when hes really stressed out he has little spells... like one day i was in the store picking up my meds and he was in the store too but not with me... anyways he just kinda stood there at a distance looking at me i said hi dad he then says hi sweetie i was having trouble recognizing you i almost wasnt sure if it was you... hes 62 now. he stood with me for a few not saying a word just looking at me I said how are you feeling he says ive not been feeling that great he says he's feeling dizzy.....

I just dont know......what i can do for him because he and my mom refuse to believe he has anything wrong......

some more links
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi...ournalCode=epi

Transient Global Amnesia as a Postictal State from Recurrent Partial Seizures

Summary: A 60-year-old patient had a 3-year history of recurrent memory disturbances. The video electroen-cephalographic (EEG) recording of one attack showed that the amnesic state, which clinically resembled transient global amnesia, was characterized by a normal EEG tracing followed by electroclinical complex partial seizures. We suggest that "epileptic" transient global amnesia is postictal in nature.

[bluemcgoo]

At the end of Feb. of this year, I was sent to the hospital because I was driving aimlessly around when I was supposed to be picking up my daughter from a friends house. Luckily, my friend called me on my cell phone and told me to go home, which I did without hurting myself or anyone else.
I do not remember this episode at all. My friend met me at home with my daughter and took me to the hospital. At the hospital, she said that she saw me turn very pale, my eyes rolled up and to the side, and my right arm straighten and become very tense. Unfortunately, even thought we were in the hospital, none of the personal saw this happen. She said that afterwards, I complained of a headache and that my tongue hurt. Now, my friend is a nurse, and she was very sure that I had just had a seizure. After 3 days of being poked and prodded, the doctors diagnoised me as having TGA. They informed me that it was due to a stroke that I had had in my temporal lobe and that it would never happen again. I asked the doctor if he was sure that is what happened since my friend saw one episode and was very sure that it was a seizure. He was adament that I had not had a seizure since the 10 min EEG they did 3 days after the episode showed no abnormal readings. (Note: At this time I was also on Tegretol 400mg 3x a day and gabapentin 600mg 3x a day) So, I went home and thought the whole thing was over.
At home I noticed that I had times that I felt like I was in a waking dream, I couldn't remember pieces of the day, suffered headaches, couldn't remember how to do math (not even subtracting) and had trouble remembering words. I called my PCP and went in to see him and he diagnoised me as having temporal lobe epilepsy after seeing me have a simple partial and the postictle period as I was leaving his office one visit. Now I'm waiting to see a seizure specialist and I am wondering what is going to happen next.
As a nurse, I love working in the health field, but as a patient..the health field sure has a lot to be disired. Do I have TGA or was it seizures all along? Could I have both?

[RobinN]

Google a few things...
Hypoglycemia / Amnesia
Amnesia / Seizures

It can be one and the same. But there still is an underlying CAUSE to all of this. If you are determined you can possibly find it, though it sure isn't easy.

HAHA - @ the doctor that did a ten minute EEG. You need to tell him, if you didn't have a seizure during that 10 min then it doesn't mean that the seizure did not happen. It is not different than having a security camera on at the 7-11 until 11:00pm, if the thief comes at 11:45 it certainly doesn't mean that the store didn't get robbed.

Are you still on those medications?
Are you ready to make our health field Patient focused? I sure am.

[bluemcgoo]

Hi Robin!
Yes, I'm on the same medication, but they increased the gabapentin to 900mg 3x a day. After the initial sleepiness from the med increase, I have been feeling more "clear headed" for lack of better words.
I still have difficulty with my math skills, I am at a grade level 4, and difficulty remembering words. I have short-term memory loss, but I don't know if from the meds or if from the TGA and/or seizures.
I just want my life back. This is all very frusturating to me, I miss working and being independent. I wish I could just wake up and have all this be some kind of bad dream. I feel so cut of from everything, my friends lead busy lives and haven't been able to come over and visit and I feel isolated from everyone. Ok, enough of the pity party, that doesn't get me anywhere.
I just want to know how I can get back to being me again. The tegretal is great for my trigiminal neuralgia, but I don't think that it's helping for my temporal lobe epilepsy. I know when I've had a simple partial and I've still been having them, but my PCP will not change my meds. He wants me to see the specialist first and see what he/she has to say. I believe that dilantian with the gababpentin will be my best bet, but I'm only a nurse who happens to know her body and noone will listen to me...very frustrating. GRRRRR!! Well, I guess there is nothing to do but sit and wait for my appt. on the 27th and see what the new doc will have to say. Big Sigh.
I have read Rebecca's story and I have to say that she is an inspiration, what a strong and wonderful young lady. Robin, you are an inspiration to me and I'm sure others, as you never gave up and always searched for what was best for your daughter.
Thanks,
Blue