Onset of seizures and amnesia

[Matthew74]

I found some notes that my mom made from when I developed epilepsy. I had 7 seizures between 3rd grade and the beginning of 6th. Then I was put on Dilantin, and immediately began having 6 or more a day, for two months, until they put me on Tegretol. The tegretol worked. The seizures immediately became infrequent, and I stopped Dilantin.

I have always known that I had a period of frequent seizures, but I don't remember it happening. I remember a few particular seizures, and related events. I don't remember having them in school. I do remember my teacher making reference to it, but at the time I didn't know what he was talking about. I just realized what he was saying today.

It seems that I was not entirely aware of what was happening at the time. I think I may have been "disassociating" or experiencing some kind of traumatic amnesia of the seizures. I remember various other things, just not the seizures. Has anyone experienced this?

(I am fairly certain that the amnesia was not caused by the seizures themselves, because I don't experience that now, and because I remember all sorts of other stuff from the same period.)

 

[arnie]

Hello! Seizures can really mess with our memories in very random ways. It's not really in the category of trauma or disassociation, it's more like a windstorm has gone through your brain, especially where your memories are stored, and stirred things up and blown some things away, pretty much at random. Loss of memory for the seizures themselves, for events, and memory "flashbacks" to random events in our past are very common in people with epilepsy. There are lots of threads on here about how crappy our memories are! You're in good company.

Carry on!

 

[RunningGirl85]

I always joke that I have the memory of an eighty year old woman.... It's pretty bad, but it sounds different from what you've experienced. I do know that I lost almost all memory of the day that I had my last tonic-clonic seizure. I remember the morning, a little bit of lunch time frame, and then I guess I had the seizure at 3:30 that afternoon.. then I don't remember anything between that time and 7:30 that night other than small pieces of getting the CT scan done, and them taking off my pants and changing me into something else (I guess I must have wet myself, but obviously I don't remember).

I also have the random flashbacks, or I remember things that never happened as if I am in a dream... or maybe they did happen, but I can't tell if they actually did?

 

[Matthew74]

Thank you.

The main thing that makes me wonder about disassociation is I specifically remember thinking at that time that I didn't have seizures in school. In fact if you had asked me last week I would have told you I did not. It could be that my brain was just too messed up, but as far as I can recall I think I would have been stunned to find out even at the time.

 

[valeriedl]

I have semi and complex partial seizures. I very rarely have TCs.

During a semi I usually know what's going on. I'm very confused about things, have a hard time thinking strait and doing something. I do know that I've had it.

During a complex I black out and nine times out of ten I don't even know I had it unless there is someone there to see it happen. I don't know anything that went on during it. I may talk and do things but have no clue that I was doing them.

At first when I was having seizures after one I may have lost hours to days of memory. It's not like that now but I notice if I have several seizures close together I will lose memory of things that happened very recently. This happened a while back when my husband when to see a movie. During the week after the movie I had 3 complex seizures. I remember nothing about the movie, what it was called and even that we went.

My memory in general is pretty bad. After around 3 months or so things will start to fade away. It took me about a year to remember Present Regan had died. I'm surprised that I do remember but it's a long story and joke about it. There are so many things that I don't remember at all. People will tell me about it but I have no idea what they are talking about.

My husband gets mad about what I will remember and what I don't. I'll forget important things but I remember the time he saw a UFO :roflmao: (he's so mad that I won't forget that).

 

[Matthew74]

To all,

Does your doctor believe you have memory problems? And, do they believe that it is the meds as well as the seizures?

Generally speaking my memory today is terrible. At times it is a major problem. Like you my parents complain, but they have no idea.

 

[arnie]

The memory problems that many, if not most, of the people with epilepsy have are easily a result of the seizures themselves and the long-term use of meds.

 

[Janus]

Hi, yes my doc says that i have much more memory problems than i think. He says that i must be having 'absence' seizures that i do not remember. And or that is why so much of my memory is off. I even remember stuff that never happened just as much as missing parts of my past. ??

 

[valeriedl]

To all,

Does your doctor believe you have memory problems? And, do they believe that it is the meds as well as the seizures?

Generally speaking my memory today is terrible. At times it is a major problem. Like you my parents complain, but they have no idea.

My neuro believes that my memory problems are because of the seizures and epilepsy. He has never brought up any of my meds causing problems with my memory.

At my last visit my husband told my neuro about how bad my memory was. My neuro said it was a 'real big medical word' (can't remember what it was) then went on to explain what it meant and it was caused from the seizures. He wanted to let my husband know it was sort of side effects from having seizures/epilepsy and not just something that I was doing.