What are the signs of an oncoming tonic clinic seizure?

[LindsAsaurus]

Hello everyone! I had a seizure yesterday around 8:00 pm. On my way home from school I noticed I was feeling really off. My hands were tingling and I just felt very nervous and out of it. Almost like a sense of impending doom. I have had this feeling before, but I can't exactly tell if I am just worried I am going to have a seizure or this is actually a warning sign? I have had this feeling before with no seizure.

Can anyone else tell when they are about to have a seizure? If so, what are the warning signs for you? I would like to become more aware of these pre-seizure feelings, so that maybe I could try to sit down or something before they actually happen!

Thanks!

[epileric]

A lot of people do get auras before a complex partial or tonic/clonic seizure.

Everyone has a different type of aura though, some people smell something (often burning)others feel psychic phenomenon. Those are just 2 of the many auras people can get.

I find that I usually forget what happens before my seizure but it often comes back to my memory but it can take between an hour to a week before it comes back. If you do remember anything mark it down. You can also ask people that are around you often (if they're supportive). I've found that sometimes I don't remember things until someone else tells me about it then I become more aware of it next time.

[Brent]

As Epileric said, it's different for everyone. For me, I can't always tell. If I'm talking or just about ready to speak, I can tell immediately. My speech halts immediately. If I'm aware, I just feel "off" - like the world is slipping away from me. This is usually accompanied by a hard-to-describe "whooshing" sound/sensation, and then a little bit of what I like to call the "technicolor fog" - just a strange light show on the right side of my view.

But, sometimes I get these partial seizures and it ends at that with no loss of consciousness or other drama. So, these are not reliable predictors.

Here's what's weird. I have a seizure alert dog who is able to predict 100% when I'm going to have a generalized seizure. She has been sleeping in the other room, behind the bed, with the TV on as background noise, and she's jumped up to come find me and alert me to an imminent seizure.

It's a mystery as to what she's perceiving. But, if there is a change that is significant enough to wake a dog from her sleep in another room, then you would think I would be somewhat aware. But, that's usually not the case. I often have an aura right before the seizure (just a couple of seconds), but she'll alert me about 30 seconds before - and she tends to be clingy and attentive for hours before.

[Nakamova]

For most of my tonic-clonics I've had no warning. But for the most recent ones, I had warnings in the form of "breakthrough seizures" where for a brief moment I could feel myself struggling to keep focus, and had the sensation of being awake and dreaming at the same time. Unfortunately, these warnings seemed to come about a week prior to the actual seizure -- not so great for preventing or preparing for the actual event.