So confused, can you have partial seizures and generalized seizures

[mommieinmi]

My daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy a couple months ago. Her first seizure was in November and I thought it was a partial seizure. It only affected her left side. Her face was turned to the left and her left arm and leg were shaking. This seizure was probably a minute and a half long.

Well after that she had two grand mal seizures which affected her whole body and lasted for about 5 minutes.

She has had a CT scan, an MRI, and an EEG. She is on Keppra 1000 mg 2x a day. They've increased her Keppra from 600 twice a day, to 750 twice a day, and now 1000 mg twice a day.

Well the results from her EEG indicated that she had generalized epilepsy. She has been having other seizures. I believe she is having absence seizures, myoclonic seizures, and maybe drop seizures. I am not sure about them all but she will lose feeling in her feet and just fall down. She says she blacks out.

Well here's where I am confused. I thought that you either had partial seizures or generalized seizures. Her EEG seemed to indicate generalized and the other types of seizure I've seen seem to indicate that too. But if that's so, how could she also have partial seizures? Or am I just not understanding this? I'm really confused as to why she's having so many different types of seizures.

She had another seizure today and it definitely looked like a partial seizure. She was aware of what was going on when it happened and it only affected part of her body - her left side, like the first seizure she had (well the first one I saw anyway).

So I guess I'd like to know if you can have other types of seizures if you have partial seizures and get your thoughts on what's going on with her.

[epileric]

You can have more than one type of seizure. Personally I think that's one instance where I can do without variety.

When a seizure generalizes it spreads throughout the brain rather than staying in a focused part.

There are 2 types of partial seizures, simple partial & complex partial. My understanding is that a simple partial originates in a specific part of the brain & stays there whereas a complex partial originates in a specific part of the brain & spreads (generalizes) throughout the rest of the brain.

[Loopy Lou]

You can have both. My EEG showed that my seizures start in thetemporal lobes (my neurologist wasn't sure if it started in one side then spread to the other or if they both start at the same time) and then sometimes it will progress to the rest of the brain, hence tonic clonic seizures.

[Belinda1961]

At times I've had Complex partial,simple partial,generalized,tonic-clonic and atonic.

You can have more one type of seizure.
That's why a lot of ppl take more just one drug.

Belinda

[momofthree]

My son has simple partial seizures, complex partial seizures and generalized seizures, so yes, it is possible to have all this go on. It seems that your daughter and my son are on the same course. He is also on Keppra and recently upped the does to 1000mg's in the AM and 750 PM, I am sure we are not far away from 1000 2x per day. We started at a much lower dose and seem to always be increasing due to break through partial seizures but we have avoided all generalized seizures since being on Keppra. This is also fairly new to us too, he was diagnosed this past April and it has been a scary road. How old is your daughter, is she handling the Keppra okay?

[momofthree]

Eric, I thought that a simple and complex partial originate in a specific part of the brain but in a simple seizure you maintain awareness and in a complex you loose awareness. That was my understanding of it, but I am new to this so I could be wrong. My son has maintained awareness and has not maintained awareness during seizures that did not generalize, of course he is completely unaware during a generalized seizure.

[Cint]

I have complex partial seizures that may/may not go into a generalized seizure (tonic/clonic). A simple partial seizure is basically an aura. I am not aware during a complex partial and do not remember a thing when I regain consciousness. This website explains seizures:
http://www.epilepsy.com/EPILEPSY/TYPES_SEIZURES

[elizzza811]

The term 'generalized' when applied to seizures just means it spreads. A partial seizure can generalize (spread) to other areas of the brain, not necessarily the entire brain (and thus the other side of it), but definitely beyond the seizure's original focus. (I believe this is correct.)

If it is determined that these seizures spread to both sides of the brain, they will use the term 'independent', meaning the seizures affect both sides of the brain - the seizure starts on one side of the brain, spreads beyond the original seizure focus (generalizes) and spreads enough to be 'mirrored' onto the other side, thus affecting both sides (independent). That is how my neurologist explained it. This is what I have, generalized independent seizures. They spread (generalize) and end up spreading and being mirrored onto both sides (independent). My neurologist said that with independent seizures, even if she were to remove my one temporal lobe, I'd still have seizures because of this mirroring effect that has already been accepted by my other temporal lobe. Hope that helps.

[Wobblez]

I had grand mals (tonic clonics) as a kid and now I seem to have mainly complex partials and simple partials.

[Wobblez]

Hi Cint. I've had epilepsy as a kid but it's recently returned after a ten year break so i'm still getting up to speed on the new terminology. You said you have simple partials that are just an aura? Can you tell me more about those please? I'm trying to distinguish between sensations/auras and an actual simple partial. I feel twitchy, numb in my right arm and mouth, zone in and out, have a strong headache, aching in my sinuses and sometimes the smell of cigarette smoke, I feel dizzy and lightheaded. Often, this is as far as it gets but it reoccurs several times throughout the day. After these episodes I feel tired and have a headache for the rest of the day. This sort of thing can go on for 3 or 4 days then I feel fine again. My neurologist is not convinced these are actually seizures but he has diagnosed me with partial seizures epilepsy. He thinks there may be a secondary issue going on besides the epilepsy, possibly vertigo. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

[Cint]

Wobblez,

The symptoms of simple partial are actually auras before one goes into complex partial seizures, like odd smells.
It does sound like you're experiencing partial seizures since you mentioned you "zone in and out and sometimes you smell cigarette smoke".

http://www.epilepsy.com/EPILEPSY/seizure_simplepartial

Sometimes the seizure activity spreads to other parts of the brain, so another type of seizure follows the simple partial seizure. This can be a complex partial seizure or a secondarily generalized seizure.

Doctors often divide simple partial seizures into categories depending on the type of symptoms the person experiences:

Motor seizures:

These cause a change in muscle activity. For example, a person may have abnormal movements such as jerking of a finger or stiffening of part of the body. These movements may spread, either staying on one side of the body (opposite the affected area of the brain) or extending to both sides. Other examples are weakness, which can even affect speech, and coordinated actions such as laughter or automatic hand movements. The person may or may not be aware of these movements.

Sensory seizures:

These cause changes in any one of the senses. People with sensory seizures may smell or taste things that aren't there; hear clicking, ringing, or a person's voice when there is no actual sound; or feel a sensation of "pins and needles" or numbness. Seizures may even be painful for some patients. They may feel as if they are floating or spinning in space. They may have visual hallucinations, seeing things that aren't there (a spot of light, a scene with people). They also may experience illusions—distortions of true sensations. For instance, they may believe that a parked car is moving farther away, or that a person's voice is muffled when it's actually clear.

[Wobblez]

Thank you Cint, that was really helpful.

Hi Mommieinme, sorry to hijack this thread but I figured it would be relevant to us both =)

[Krista2882]

Yeah, I think Simple Partials are called Auras when they lead into another type of seizure. But some people (like me) only get simple partials, so I think they're technically not called "auras" in that case because they're not leading up to another type of seizure. I get motor simple-partial seizures where I get shaking and jerking in my right side of my body, but I remain alert through the whole thing.
There was one time that a simple partial generalized into a gran mal. That's when I began taking meds, so to thankfully it hasn't happened since, and now my seizures are almost completely under control.