Seizure When Awake?

[katamaridood]

Hey guys. Wow, it's been a year since I joined and the only post I made was my intro post!

Anyway, there's something that's bugged me for months.

For anyone who doesn't know, I have an epilepsy that occurs during sleep.

All my seizures have occurred during sleep. But there have been exceptions to that. Somewhat.

There was a time while my dad was driving me to buy some bread at night, I remember suddenly falling into a trance. I suddenly fall into a sleep-like state. Then a few minutes later, I'm woken up by my dad and he tells me while I was in that state, I was saying garbled stuff and I wasn't responding to his questions properly. So he has stay put in the chair and later, he wakes me up and I suddenly don't remember what happened after that. I couldn't tell if that was a seizure so I just list it down as a seizure while i'm awake.

It's also happened a second time during dinner. While I was eating my dinner, all I can remember was I suddenly enter into a trance but it comes without warning. Then minutes later, I suddenly get stared at by my family and they tell me to go to my bed and rest for a while. They tell me during this "trance", I burped so loud that I didn't bother to say "excuse me". They were making fun of me just a little when I did the burp but when they noticed I was staring blankly for several seconds, they knew I wasn't fully awake.

So guys, do you think it's seizure when awake? My neurologist said to me that seizures can happen to me even when I'm awake. He also said it doesn't necessarily mean seizures are those usual attacks I get when I sleep. Seizures could also be times when you're suddenly blank or dull. They don't have to be the usual seizures.

 

[LJ-Bain]

Hi there!
It sounds like you have a good neurologist who listens to you!
How scary this must be for you to have things change on you.
From only having seizures nocturnally to experiencing daytime seizures must be quite an adjustment.
They do sound like complex partial seizures. Is your neurologist changing your medication at all?

 

[katamaridood]

He hasn't changed my medication. I'm still taking my Trileptal 600mg 1 and 1/2 tablets per day. He only changed it early last year.

Oh yes, I have a bit more information for you.
After discussing this with my family, here are the things circling around my episodes:

1. I hear music. I suddenly remembered. Before an episode occurs, I suddenly hear music. Music that I often listen to on my iPod and on Youtube. When I hear the music, I lose myself.

2. It may have been caused by my fatigue. I'm a part-time online writer so there are times I go overboard a bit when I'm doing work and I am a gamer. I play 3DS, PSP, VITA and PC. I most frequently play on my 3DS and sometimes, I play a bit too much

The first episode of a daytime seizure (call that nighttime, since it happened at night) happened when I was really tired.

The second episode of a daytime (nighttime, again) happened during dinner. I was done with my work on articles and I remember being hungry and tired prior to dinner.

The third episode of a daytime seizure happened while I was playing my 3DS! This happened yesterday. I was playing my Nintendo 3DS while sitting on an exercise ball. And then, without warning, I heard music and all I remember was being told to go to my bed.

3. I have to adjust my gaming habits. Imagine... Fatigue + playing games = more fatigue. And many of my seizures happened while I was tired towards bedtime.

My neurologist mentioned that fatigue can cause seizures. So it's my fault. I'm doing my best to not get into fatigue. Or else, I might experience head music again. And yes, it is scary. While they're not exactly frequent, it proves that fatigue and playing too much and working too much can be causes to the while-awake seizures.

Okay, I checked up on complex partial seizures. Whoa... you're right. It may sound like CPS. The symptoms and signs of the CPS are similar to what I experience in my daytime seizure episodes. Maybe they are. But at least it doesn't come in randomly.

LJ-Bain, I'd like to ask... what tips can you suggest about my gaming habits? I want to make sure I'm not doing any damage to myself while I play games. I know I have to limit the hours I play. I'll do my best to limit it to 1-2 hours.

 

[Cint]

Seizures can change over the years. It does sound like CP seizures, the music you're hearing is an aura. If you're fatigued and playing Nintendo, that can influence your daytime seizures. I've had 3-4 daytime CP seizures in the past and some TC seizures in the night, so I make sure I get enough rest and eat regular meals. Don't let my blood sugar drop, either, that can cause problems.

 

[LJ-Bain]

Katamaridood:
I wish I had gaming tips for you. I'm not a gamer at all but I do know that it is an enjoyable hobby for many and can make you feel like you're part of a community.
You have to enjoy life but be sensitive to your body too.
Do you keep a seizure diary to keep track of your seizures to see if decreasing your gaming habits help?

 

[katamaridood]

@Clint
An aura? I see. I'd better keep attention to what goes in my head all the time. I might suddenly hear elevator music...

I do the same as well. Gotta keep those blood sugar levels on a regular level too. Thanks for the tips!

@LJ-Bain
Yes, I keep a seizure diary. The seizure details mostly on nocturnal seizures (as I've listed previously, only 3 daytime seizures have happened so far). And some of them were caused by me playing until 12mn. I have since prevented myself from playing in the midnight hours.

After searching a bit, I see that many people recommend playing 1-2 hours a day in a well-lit room. There should also be breaks in between so I'll try that and see what happens.

All right, so I guess we can conclude that my daytime seizure episodes may be complex partial seizures. Thankfully, they only occur when I'm overfatigued and playing too much Nintendo. I have to keep an eye on my thoughts because when I hear music and I lose consciousness, then the episode begins! We can also say that I'm not just nocturnal in seizures but also awake in seizures.

Thanks guys for the info. I appreciate the response. These bits of info are very handy. At least I'm a little more educated about my situation.