I'm a 28 year old female who has dealt with what I believe are atypical absence seizures for as long as I can remember. I didn't learn that this is what I actually had until 4 or so years ago when I was semi-diagnosed by a neurologist. I've been in my childbearing years since my early diagnosis, so I haven't been able to finalize the diagnosis as of yet. I've spent a lot of time reading about them and it sounds like a fairly good description of what occurs, but I can't find any material from people who actually suffer from them and their description of what transpires.
I can go months without having an episode. I usually know they are about to occur the day before because I start feeling a little funny. I begin to lose my appetite and become somewhat listless. I get a metallic taste in my mouth. The following day, I usually have anywhere from 4-8 episodes. The best I can describe an episode is a very familiar day dream. When they occur, I can hear people talking around me, but I can't respond intelligibly. I then have this day dream that at the time seems super familiar, like one I've had a million times. But, as soon as it's over, I can't remember what the dream was about. I've tried to write it down during the episode, but I can't read my handwriting afterwards. Once it's over, I usually feel a little nauseus for 30 seconds or so. The whole episode probably lasts 60-120 seconds. Within 24 hours, the episodes generally disappear and my life returns to normal until the next cycle. I've tried to relate it to foods I eat, lack of sleep, hormones, etc. But, I always come up empty handed.
It's not a huge impact to my life, so I doubt I'll ever want to consider taking regular medication. But, I would love to know if this is the same experience of other people with this disorder, how you deal with it, a if I should be concerned that this might worsen with age, or if I should be concerned that my children could inherit it. Any input would be appreciated.
I can go months without having an episode. I usually know they are about to occur the day before because I start feeling a little funny. I begin to lose my appetite and become somewhat listless. I get a metallic taste in my mouth. The following day, I usually have anywhere from 4-8 episodes. The best I can describe an episode is a very familiar day dream. When they occur, I can hear people talking around me, but I can't respond intelligibly. I then have this day dream that at the time seems super familiar, like one I've had a million times. But, as soon as it's over, I can't remember what the dream was about. I've tried to write it down during the episode, but I can't read my handwriting afterwards. Once it's over, I usually feel a little nauseus for 30 seconds or so. The whole episode probably lasts 60-120 seconds. Within 24 hours, the episodes generally disappear and my life returns to normal until the next cycle. I've tried to relate it to foods I eat, lack of sleep, hormones, etc. But, I always come up empty handed.
It's not a huge impact to my life, so I doubt I'll ever want to consider taking regular medication. But, I would love to know if this is the same experience of other people with this disorder, how you deal with it, a if I should be concerned that this might worsen with age, or if I should be concerned that my children could inherit it. Any input would be appreciated.