Question about partial seizures

[CQ:)]

I have partial seizures (focal seizures), both simple & complex partial.

When I have a partial seizure I have what I call it in 3 stages, I hear a strange noise , then voices like people talking & go into a dream like vision. I call the strange noise my aura or simple partial as I am usually still alert when it happens. But when I hear the voices & have the dream like visions that is when I start losing awareness so I know thats when I have gone into a complex partial.

With my last couple of seizures I've not heard the strange noise and instead just heard the voices or gone into the dream & 'spaced out'. Both times I was at home alone so I'm assuming it was only for a minute.

Both now & before my brain surgery I've always had an aura before a complex partial seizure so I was wondering if you can have a complex partial without an aura. I am due to see my neuro in a couple of months so will be mentioning it to him aswell.

 

[Porkette]

Hi CQ

Just like you I will hear a voice repeating one word over and over again then I start to see colors of the rainbow flashing back and forth in my eyes this is all a aura seizure then it leads into a complex partial where I blank out and sometimes wander around and find myself in a different location than before the seizure started.
There have been many times when I've just had the complex partial seizure and no simple partial but that went on more when I was in my teens since I've gotten older I now have the aura seizure leading into the complex partial seizure.
You may want to do what my neuro told me to do yrs. ago and that is the moment you start to have a simple partial tighten up all the muscles in your body and make your hands into tight fists and keep your body that way for a few seconds. If you do it quick enough it may stop the seizure completely. I was amazed at how well it worked for me. Give it a try if you are interested. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue

 

[Hobbes]

Our child does not recall anything prior to her CPs. She can’t actually figure out a CP occurred. But those CPs do such a whammy on her memory that it could be she did have something but it gets wiped out with everything else. If she’s missing a huge chunk of a day, that’s our clue something happened if no one saw the seizure occur (just prolonged staring so easy to miss).

 

[CQ:)]

Thankyou

Before my brain surgery in 2011 I had mainly complex partials and it was always the same. I would have the aura which back then (pre surgery) was dream like vision & the feeling of wanting to use the bathroom then Id lose awareness and not remember anything until I came out of the seizure.

After my surgery I was 2 years seizure free until I started having simple partials again in 2013. My aura or simple partial is now a strange noise, I can't rmemeber the noise until I have the seizure but think it's like a clicking noise. I think it was 2016 when I started hearing the voices like people having a conversation after I'd hear the noise then only last 6 or so months I started seeing the dream like vision again.

I mentioned it to my neuro at my last follow up and he said it is all related to the focal seizures & where the seizures come from (near the area of my brain that controls sound). After the seizures returned I wasn't used to them changing & I dont like change but my neuropsych said it's common to have change in seizures especially after surgery.

 

[CQ:)]

Hi CQ

You may want to do what my neuro told me to do yrs. ago and that is the moment you start to have a simple partial tighten up all the muscles in your body and make your hands into tight fists and keep your body that way for a few seconds. If you do it quick enough it may stop the seizure completely. I was amazed at how well it worked for me. Give it a try if you are interested. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue

Thanks Sue

Like most of us I have issues with stress but let it get to me, I also overthink/ overanalyse most things. I was seeing a psychologist for little while who taught me how to cope better with my stress & the issues with my overthinking.

My psychologist taught me quite a few handy techniques to use, some of them were relaxation ones to use when I am stressing or overthinking things. From memory I'm pretty sure one of the techniques she taught me was similar to what you describe where you tighten each part of your body. I can never remember if it's start from head to foot or foot to head though lol.

 

[Nakamova]

Both now & before my brain surgery I've always had an aura before a complex partial seizure so I was wondering if you can have a complex partial without an aura. I am due to see my neurologist in a couple of months so will be mentioning it to him as well.

I think it's definitely possible to skip the aura stage. It may have to do with how quickly the seizure spreads, or where it starts in the brain, or if it starts in more than one place.

 

[Sabbo]

Yes, complex partials may occur without auras. I, unfortunately, never have auras prior to mine. For this reason, mine are especially dangerous. I've burned myself--2nd & 3rd degree--five or six times. Without a witness, unless I do something to myself or my surroundings, I don't even know when (or if) one occurred.

 

[CQ:)]

Yes, complex partials may occur without auras. I, unfortunately, never have auras prior to mine. For this reason, mine are especially dangerous. I've burned myself--2nd & 3rd degree--five or six times. Without a witness, unless I do something to myself or my surroundings, I don't even know when (or if) one occurred.

Thankyou so much Sabbo

Usually I have some type of an aura before a complex, even before my brain surgery so with these last two seizures to just hear the voices or have the dream but be spaced out was different to me.

I know I've had tonic clonics where Ive not had any warnings but that has only happened a couple of times & luckily the last tonic clonic was in hospital while I was in for a VEEG.

 

[Sabbo]

My complex partials have put me in many dangerous situations. Once, I had one while I was at the train station. If another person hadn't been there, I would have fallen onto the train tracks! Another time, I had come out of my office building, & the next thing I knew, I was "coming to" in the ER. Apparently, I'd had a complex partial & collapsed on the sidewalk. I haven't tried to work since.

 

[CQ:)]

My complex partials have put me in many dangerous situations. Once, I had one while I was at the train station. If another person hadn't been there, I would have fallen onto the train tracks! Another time, I had come out of my office building, & the next thing I knew, I was "coming to" in the ER. Apparently, I'd had a complex partial & collapsed on the sidewalk. I haven't tried to work since.

Wow that is scary. I know I'm lucky as I've never injured myself in a seizure, with the complexes I usually do weird things.

Worse thing for me to happen during a seizure was Valentines day 2008 I was leaving to do volunteer work at 9 am and woke up at 12pm in hospital. Apparently someone found me down the street around 10am, they realised something was wrong saw my medic alert bracelet and rang the ambulance. The ambulance came, saw my medicalert bracelet abd took me to hospital. My bracelet is registered so when I got to the hospital they rang the medic alert foundation who gave them my emergency contact number.

When I came to a nurse explained to me what happen and where I was found which was a street I didn't even usually walk near. We still dont know what happened on the hour from the time I left home to when I was found. It was also never clarified whether I had a tonic clonic or a bad complex partial.

As I wasn't expecting to be long I didn't take anything with me, just my house keys.