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Thanks everyone. Im reading around here - so generalized can go into a partial seizure ?
Symptoms may be motor, sensory, psychic (states of consciousness), and/or autonomic (involuntary activity controlled by the autonomic nervous system). There is no impairment of consciousness in simple partial seizures.
Motor signs include the following:
* alternating contraction and relaxation of muscle groups
* eye movements and turning of the head to the same side
* asymmetrical posturing of the limbs
* speech arrest, vocalization
Sensory symptoms include the following:
* seeing flashes of lights or colors, illusions and hallucinations
* hearing humming, buzzing, hissing noises
* experiencing unpleasant odors and tastes
* dizziness, lightheadedness
Autonomic signs and symptoms include the following:
* borborygmi (rumbling noises produced by gas in the intestines)
* flushing
* incontinence
* nausea, vomiting
* piloerection (goose bumps)
* pupillary dilation
* sweating
* tachycardia (rapid heart rate)
Psychic symptoms include the following:
* detachment, depersonalization
* dreamy state
* memory distortion: flashback, deja vu (feeling that one has seen something before), deja entendu (feeling that one has heard something before), jamais vu (feeling that one has never seen something that is familiar), jamais entendu (feeling that one has never heard something that is familiar), panoramic vision (rapid recall of past events)
* time distortion
* unprovoked emotion: fear, pleasure, displeasure, depression, anger, elation, eroticism
Loss of consciousness distinguishes complex partial seizures from simple partial seizures. While unconscious, the patient may have "vacant" or "frightened" look and may have signs and symptoms of a simple partial seizure. Automatisms may occur during unconsciousness.
There are five types of automatisms:
* Alimentary: chewing, increased salivation, borborygmi (rumbling noises caused by gas in the intestines)
* Mimetic: facial expressions of fear, bewilderment, discomfort, tranquility, laughter, crying
* Gestural: repetitive movements of the hands, fingers, sexual gestures
* Ambulatory: wandering, running
* Verbal: repeated short phrases or swearing
Patients who have had complex partial seizures over a period of years may develop drop attacks. When this occurs, they lose postural tone and fall with the sudden onset of unconsciousness.
Complications—Complex partial seizures are easily triggered by emotional stress. The limbic structures (i.e., hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala) of the brain may be damaged by seizure activity. The limbic system is concerned with emotion and motivation.
These patients may develop cognitive and behavioral difficulties, such as the following:
* Interictal personality: humorlessness, dependence, obsessions, anger, hypo- or hypersexuality, emotionality
* Memory loss: short-term memory loss attributable to dysfunction in the hippocampus, anomia (inability to recall words or names of objects)
* Poriomania: prolonged aimless wandering followed by amnesia
* Violent behavior: aggression and defensiveness when subjected to restraint during a seizure
Complex Partials:
Loss of consciousness distinguishes complex partial seizures from simple partial seizures. ...
There are five types of automatisms:
* Alimentary: chewing, increased salivation, borborygmi (rumbling noises caused by gas in the intestines)
My daughter says Ive done the chewing thing. Why is it that I havent noticed this ?
If I have the partials - & after awhile of being on meds - am I going to feel better ? Ive felt this way for as long as I can remember & Im kind of pi$$ed no one noticed this before - of course I hid too as an adult. But my emotional stuff - if its related - could I feel better with meds after some time ? I wonder how much of my stuff I can attribute to epilepsy .....
If I have the partials - & after awhile of being on meds - am I going to feel better ? Ive felt this way for as long as I can remember & Im kind of pi$$ed no one noticed this before - of course I hid too as an adult. But my emotional stuff - if its related - could I feel better with meds after some time ? I wonder how much of my stuff I can attribute to epilepsy .....
I just wish they would consider doing an updated Part IIThis self-help program offers people with epilepsy and those who love them a chance to regain control of their lives.
See the highlighted part. As a partner of someone with epilepsy, I can tell you it gets REALLY, REALLY OLD having to listen to my wife argue with me when I tell her she just had a complex partial seizure (after she has recovered). She isn't conscious through them and it's as if they didn't happen as far as she is concerned.