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Hello person(s) -- I am in question if anyone has experienced or knows of someone close to them that experiences atonic seizures. Also known as Drop Attacks.
I've always had these seizures since I was 7, but they had escalated when I turned 10 (as a child, I thought this happened to everyone because they were so habitual to my everyday life). They became more apparent when I was a teenager in high school and an adult in college.
Everyone's experience and symptoms with epilepsy is different. I feel blessed because Drop Attacks/Atonic Seizures are not as severe as, say, Grand Mal Seizures (understandably). Why I feel that they are less severe is that although the attacks can cause physical injury, I am conscious and fully aware. Nonetheless, they happen randomly and without warnings, which is frustrating and at points, is emotionally frustrating because even though I am conscious, I can't control / stop the fall except by protecting my face or head by putting my hands up to catch my fall. The damage was mostly on my knees during the summer due to falling on cement. Or, scalding my hands when I had one while holding coffee in the morning. At one point, I broke the lower bathroom faucet from the shower with my tailbone (fun times!) - this fall specifically 'woke me up' in the sense of medical attention. The interesting thing about this specific type of seizures is that they are very common in children, but are almost nonexistent in adults because usually children outgrow their symptoms and are "seizure-free" (whatever that means). This is frustrating because I haven't found anyone, who is an adult, who has these. It is very common to have tonic clonic or grand mal seizures, but I have never heard anything about atonic or drop attacks commonly mentioned.
I was officially 'diagnosed' at age 23-years-old, but still the doctor had strong suspicions of me having epilepsy because my MRI scan was normal, but my EEG had small evidence of small, but sharp spikes. The word "suspicion", in my mind at the time, gave me room to create a theory that I don't have epilepsy so, even though, the neurologist prescribed medication for the seizures, I didn't take it because I assumed I could control them by manipulating the triggers. Come three years later, I would randomly get drop attacks, even if my triggers were controlled.
What made me change my mind is that one day at work, I had three myoclonic ("jerks" or "ticks") seizures in a row. I hadn't eaten anything, so I went to the Café upstairs. On the way, I had a small Drop Attack, which made me drop my phone. On the way to the elevator, I had 'fainted' (for all I know). What woke me up is that I don't remember falling - I went unconscious. Although, I do remember walking to the elevator. Paramedics were called, but I wasn't taken to the hospital. It took a while for me to "come back" because I found a medium-sized bruise/gauge on the frontal lobe on top of my head. So, that woke me up!
I am currently on Lamotrigine and while it does control the drastic Drop Attacks/ Atonic Seizures, I still have the myoclonic "tick" seizures. This drug is commonly used for bipolar disorder and anti-seizure / Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (which is actually correlated with Atonic Seizures. I have had symptoms of my eyes being sensitive to fluorescent lights and recently, because of my increase (one pill AM and at PM), I suddenly am very alert, but then have a hard time waking up. This has caused me to be late to work, which I am planning to confront my doctor about in order to possibly find another alternative. (
Please let me know if you have had any experiences or stories in regard to my story.
onder:
I've always had these seizures since I was 7, but they had escalated when I turned 10 (as a child, I thought this happened to everyone because they were so habitual to my everyday life). They became more apparent when I was a teenager in high school and an adult in college.
Everyone's experience and symptoms with epilepsy is different. I feel blessed because Drop Attacks/Atonic Seizures are not as severe as, say, Grand Mal Seizures (understandably). Why I feel that they are less severe is that although the attacks can cause physical injury, I am conscious and fully aware. Nonetheless, they happen randomly and without warnings, which is frustrating and at points, is emotionally frustrating because even though I am conscious, I can't control / stop the fall except by protecting my face or head by putting my hands up to catch my fall. The damage was mostly on my knees during the summer due to falling on cement. Or, scalding my hands when I had one while holding coffee in the morning. At one point, I broke the lower bathroom faucet from the shower with my tailbone (fun times!) - this fall specifically 'woke me up' in the sense of medical attention. The interesting thing about this specific type of seizures is that they are very common in children, but are almost nonexistent in adults because usually children outgrow their symptoms and are "seizure-free" (whatever that means). This is frustrating because I haven't found anyone, who is an adult, who has these. It is very common to have tonic clonic or grand mal seizures, but I have never heard anything about atonic or drop attacks commonly mentioned.
I was officially 'diagnosed' at age 23-years-old, but still the doctor had strong suspicions of me having epilepsy because my MRI scan was normal, but my EEG had small evidence of small, but sharp spikes. The word "suspicion", in my mind at the time, gave me room to create a theory that I don't have epilepsy so, even though, the neurologist prescribed medication for the seizures, I didn't take it because I assumed I could control them by manipulating the triggers. Come three years later, I would randomly get drop attacks, even if my triggers were controlled.
What made me change my mind is that one day at work, I had three myoclonic ("jerks" or "ticks") seizures in a row. I hadn't eaten anything, so I went to the Café upstairs. On the way, I had a small Drop Attack, which made me drop my phone. On the way to the elevator, I had 'fainted' (for all I know). What woke me up is that I don't remember falling - I went unconscious. Although, I do remember walking to the elevator. Paramedics were called, but I wasn't taken to the hospital. It took a while for me to "come back" because I found a medium-sized bruise/gauge on the frontal lobe on top of my head. So, that woke me up!
I am currently on Lamotrigine and while it does control the drastic Drop Attacks/ Atonic Seizures, I still have the myoclonic "tick" seizures. This drug is commonly used for bipolar disorder and anti-seizure / Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (which is actually correlated with Atonic Seizures. I have had symptoms of my eyes being sensitive to fluorescent lights and recently, because of my increase (one pill AM and at PM), I suddenly am very alert, but then have a hard time waking up. This has caused me to be late to work, which I am planning to confront my doctor about in order to possibly find another alternative. (
Please let me know if you have had any experiences or stories in regard to my story.
onder: