Absence seizures

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moose324

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I'm new here, so please forgive me if this is not posted in the right place or if this question is out of place.

I've not been diagnosed with epilepsy, however, a doctor told me about 5 years ago in 2012, that he thought I may have it. I didn't think much about it because two other doctors said that they didn't think I did. So, recently I stumbled across a post on another site, about someone having absence seizures and I felt that what they were talking about was very similar to my experiences.

I've seen a couple of videos on YouTube of people have these types of seizures and I really think I've had some, based on what a friend has told me.

So my question is, can someone have this type of seizure and start talking to themselves? Like completely lose awareness of everything around them, and began vocalizing their thoughts?

The reason I'm asking this is because about two years after the doctor told me that he thought I had epilepsy, I was in class one day, and the professor was looking in my direction and asked if I was okay. I looked around to make sure he was talking to me and I nodded my head yes. He asked if I was sure and if I needed to leave. I didn't leave, but I was kind of confused as to what had just happened. The class was quiet and there was a weird energy in the room. It was all just very strange, as I had just been sitting there in class, listening to the lecture. Or at least I thought I had. And then I thought to myself "did I just say that out loud?" ('that' being my thoughts). Around this time in my life, I was having frequent flashbacks to sexual abuse that occurred when I was a child. So now I'm panicking wondering if I may have said or done something completely embarrassing. I also remember the professor making a seemingly random comment one day, although I cannot remember if it was the same day as this incident or another day.
 
Hi moose324, welcome to CWE!

In typical absence seizures it would be more likely for someone to stop talking (sometimes in mid-sentence) rather than to start. But that doesn't necessarily rule one out. And there is another kind of seizure called a partial seizure in which someone is conscious, but not aware (sort of like when sleepwalking) and may say or do odd things. So that may be what happened to you in the classroom. It's also possible that you experienced some kind of dissociative event (perhaps related to your past trauma).

Dissociative disorders can co-occur with temporal lobe epilepsy, so yet another possibility is that you have been experiencing symptoms of both.

I recommend that you check in with your doctor(s) and let them know of your concerns. Keep track of any unusual symptoms or episodes. Ask friends or family members if they've observed any odd behavior on your part, and, if so, to write down a detailed description of what occurred, including the duration. If you feel up to it, approach the professor and ask him to recall what happened in the classroom. It might be worth it to set your mind at ease.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Thanks for your response. I will be sure to bring up the possibility of dissociation with my doctor as well. I have had some issues with dissociation in the past, but I hadn't really considered it with this event, but it does sound like that could've had something to do with it.

When school starts back up, I'm hoping to run into someone who was in that class so that I can ask them. If I don't see anyone though, I might go talk to the professor. I'm just glad that it happened in a very sex positive and supportive Women's, Gender, & Sexuality class. Even if I didn't say anything embarrassing, I'd rather it happen in a class like that, rather than something generic like a math or science class.
 
Hi moose324 and welcome!

It sounds as if there could be several different things that happened in your class. I can only add a question, do you recall any feelings or sensations that would be unusual for you before the incident? As Nakamova mentioned, that could possibly have been a partial seizure. They usually start out as a simple partial, in which you maintain awareness but have sensory hallucinations or automatic motor movements. Those can progress to a complex partial seizure in which you lose awareness and can involve automatic movements or vocalizations. I have previously had complex partials, and I can tell you that coming out of them, one can feel confused.

I am not familiar with flashbacks, so I can't speak to that. These are just my :twocents:

I hope you are able to figure out what's going on.
 
Thank you for your input. I don't specifically recall having any unusual sensations before the incident, but I would not be surprised if I had had them. I used to have strange sensations quite frequently, many times per day most days, but not nearly as many nowadays. I have been taking Lamictal for about a year and a half for bipolar, so that may have something to do with the decrease in the sensations if they are in fact from epilepsy. I don't know much about what flashbacks feel like, but I am now wondering if maybe it was some sort of combination of a seizure and flashback, if that's even possible. I haven't really talked to any of my doctors or therapists about flashbacks before, so I am interested to see what they may think.
 
HI Moose324,

Welcome to CWE! I've had absence seizures for 45 yrs. and most of the time all I do is have a daydream look on my face but I'm out of it but I continue to answer people if they are talking to me I just don't remember it's like amnesia for a few seconds then after the seizure I'm confused for a few seconds until I realize what's happened, I also will be tired after the seizure and sometimes I get a headache.
When I have a complex partial seizure I start seeing colors flash back and forth in my eyes and I get a nervous feeling in my stomach then I blank out and my husband tells me I smack my lips and sometime I wander around and when I come out of the seizure I will find myself in a different area than before the seizure started. I also make moaning sounds sometimes but I don't realize it. Have your Dr. refer you to see a Epileptologist which is a Dr. that specialized in epilepsy they can do tests on you to find out what's really going on. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
Welcome To A Place That Will Help You If It Can!!

Moose324,
With the billions of different cells in the brain, the things a person may do during an absence seizure is limitless!
If you have any strong feelings that you may have a problem you should have an EEG done. This may or may not show something. It is much safer to be cautious than careless and ignore what could be happening!
It is great that you are asking questions before and not after something happens!
The biggest problem I have seen over the 51+ years I have had E is that too many doctors won't say a someone has E because it means the doctor may have to contact a specialist or clinic and the doctor simply doesn't want to be bothered having to do something that is different from what they normally do!

acshuman
 
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