Aura or two seizures in a row?

[skyfire322]

This morning, I had my typical aura (phantom senses, tremors, burning head). My GF who was sleeping at the time heard me taking some pretty loud deep breaths, so rushed out and took me to the couch.

She said that I started to rub my legs constantly, and was smacking my lips. I was responsive but everything I said was pretty slurred. A few seconds later, my body tensed, eyes rolled back, and had trouble breathing. Then I started to convulse for about one minute.

The whole ordeal from lip smacking to the end of my convulsion lasted around five minutes and my postictal state lasted approximately 10 minutes (longer than usual for me).

I know that lip smacking (any automatisms for that matter) are usually linked to complex partials, but I just don't know if that could have been a bigger aura than usual since I went into a (possible) tonic or T/C.

Has anyone have this happen to them?


I should note that I was only able to get two and a half hours of sleep last night which is a massive trigger.

 

[bandmom]

Something like that has only happened to my daughter while in the hospital for a VEEG and off her medication. It was during sleep but started as a partial then became a tonic clonic. Isn't that what they call partial with secondary generalization? Seems like that would be considered two seizures in a row. Have you called your doctor today to let them know? If it was different than usual they probably should know.

 

[skyfire322]

I left a message, but didn't receive a call back today. Hopefully I'll get a response on Monday.

 

[bandmom]

I left a message, but didn't receive a call back today. Hopefully I'll get a response on Monday.

That sounds familiar. I hate having to wait over a weekend for a call back. Good luck, get lots of sleep over the weekend (I just noticed you said you only had 2 1/2 hours) and hopefully it won't happen again

 

[valeriedl]

I know that people consider auras simple partial seizures (right, correct me if I'm wrong).

Sometimes before a complex partial I will have a simple partial. I'll get dizzy, slur my speech, get confused, my eyes could get glassy and other things like that are things that. I may do more and I may do less. I'm completely aware of what I'm doing and can answer questions correct that I'm asked.

After I do this I may go into a complex partial. I blank out and won't know what's going on at all and won't respond to things. Sometimes when I come out of the complex partial I may know what I did before hand and other times I don't.

I very rarely have grand mals but my memory of what happened before one is completely gone so I don't know if I do anything before it.

I don't know if this is considered two seizures or just one? I've always considered it just one but I let my neuro know that I had a simple partial before the complex partial seizure.

I hope they call back on Monday. If not you can do what I do at times. I'll call one or more times a day. I think they get sick of hearing messages from me on their voice mail so I get a call back shortly after that.

 

[Kgartner]

I think that would be considered one seizure.

My daughter has both simple partials on their own, and simple partials that "evolve" first into complex partials, and then secondarily generalize into tonic-clonics. Luckily she hasn't had one of those "big" ones in about 3 months, but when she does it is considered to be one seizure event.

I hope that you hear back soon!

 

[N Sperlo]

You'll hear some doctors call them "auras" (mind does), and others call them "seizures". If you are having a simple partial and it proceeds to a complex or a T/C, I would consider it one seizure, so I agree with Kgartner.

As usual, you'll hear one say this and one say that.

 

[Nakamova]

I think that would be considered one seizure.

I agree. What you describe is a seizure episode that slowly generalized (spread in the brain) from a simple partial seizure to a complex partial seizure to a tonic-clonic seizure. The first part of your symptoms -- the simple partial -- is referred to as an aura when it leads up to a more generalized episode. But if the seizure doesn't generalize then it's "just" a simple partial rather than an aura.