What are your auras?

[valeriedl]

Alot of people have auras and I wanted to know what yours are like?

I've had what I'm assuming is an arua but I won't go fully into the seizure. I do alot of crossword puzzles and a few times when I've been doing one I can't figure out any of the answers so I just put it down and wait till later. The next time I pick it up I'll see that the answers are the simplest things in the world.

For instance the question might be something like - "What says meow". I can't figure out the answer for the life of me, but I'll pick up the book later and don't know why I didn't know it was "cat". I don't think I go fully into a seizure when that happens though.

I don't realize that this could be an aura though because I just think the questions are hard and that's why I can't figure out what the answer could be.

When I do have a seizure I don't know that I've had it until I've come out of it and there's someone there to tell me that I had it because I usually black out during it, so if I'm home alone I could be having ones that I don't know about it. I maybe having an aura before hand too but usually the 5 or 10 minutes (sometimes longer) are gone frome my memory.

There was one time however a little over a month ago that my lips started tingling then my arms started too also. I got really dizzy and started to walk to a chair to sit down in, but after two steps I knew I wasn't going to make it so I just sat down on the floor. It was about 5 minutes or so before I started to feel normal again, which is around how long it takes me to come out of a seizure. I didn't black out during this one so I think that might be why I remember what happened before hand.

Do you usually have the same types of auras or do you have different types.

 

[epileric]

You may want to check out this thread here & even check of the appropriate answers at the top.

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f27/experience-aura-auras-2485/

 

[momof3boys]

Well for years before I had my VEEG done In march, I remember seeing numbers (in my mind) right before having a seizure. I had a feeling like I just wasnt all there... thats how Ive always explained it to people. Then I would either black out, or turn my head to the right and start picking at my shirt, or smacking my lips, etc. I had complex partial seizures.

Now my last grand mal seizure was in 2000. Since then, Ive been on Carbatrol and Keppra and the only times Ive had seizures was when I was sleep deprived (after having my kids) or stressed out alot.

In March I had my first VEEG and I was taken off both my medications cold turkey. I had my first seizure 40 hours after my last dose of medications. Now with these seizures, I had a funny feeling, then I would get sad or feel scared, like a fear that something was going to happen. When I would start to get this feeling, my hands and feet would start to go numb, then I my head would start to turn to the right and my whole body would start to go numb. It went to my face, to the roof of my mouth, and my eyes, nose, etc. My right side, Leg, arm, etc would start to jerk, and I would stiffen up. The seizures lasted around 3-4 minutes each. There was one that i had on the morning of the 4th day I was there, that It got so intense that I blacked out for a few seconds, and I could hear everyone what they were saying, I just couldnt respond back. the seizure took over my body, but its like you cant stop it. You just have to let it go and wait til its over.

Im getting weaned off of Keppra now, and they never put me back on the Carbatrol. They added Lamictal too... Im on day 9 of that. Their goal is to get me off Keppra by July and be fully on Lamictal. Im praying it holds the seizures.

 

[mel239]

Do you remember the lip smacking? I have this curious sensation of my hands getting huge like balloons and I cant respond for about 20 seconds and my back teeth-all my teeth actually keep coming together like I am chewing gum like a robot and i remember the whole event-this happened at Good Friday services after i was extremely agitated by a phonecall before church.I wonder if the extreme emotionality of the phonecall followed within minutes by such a mournful service caused this and would it be yet another seizure? I thought this new addon med had these things pretty well controlled since the trileptal seemed to "wear off " after about 9 months,they added zonergran which has worked great the past month.I still have been experiencing some visual hallucinations,but no seizures so maybe that wasnt a seizure-just stress

 

[momof3boys]

With my complex partial seizures, I had the lip smacking, but I dont recall it. My mom witnessed my seizures mostly and she said i would do that or pick at my shirt, and then Id be staring off and not respond to her. The only thing I can remember about the seizures, is remembering the numbers I saw in my mind before the seizure began. What I did during the seizures, I dont recall at all. After the seizure was over, my head would be killing me, and my mom always gave me a adivan, which then would knock me out for a day.

 

[KeithH]

For me my aura begins with loosing both perifial vison on my left side. Loosing coordination on my left as well. When i have that feeling I find a safe spot or just lay down somewhere safe. My heart starts beating hard, like its going to jump out of my chest, probably from the fear of going into a seizure. but I kind of have it timed where i know if its going to pass or I will seize. From the time of the aura, i have 15 to 20 mins before I know, I will have a seizure or not.

My seizure, before i actually go fully into it starts with a muscle spasem, starting from my ab, then my leg starts to spasem. my head starts to turn. At that point, I see the room bigger or streached out, then I black out.

However lately with the new medicine, Vimpat and Lamictal, I dont black out, i stay awake thru the whole seizure, and my head dosnt turn. My leg convulses, and my side does my left side has no control. It seems to work where i dont black out, hopefully i can adjust it so i dont have any sizures.

Well that is my experience with auras and seizure, I hope it helps answer a part of your questions. For me ive lived with it for 10 years now, I havnt had that many sezures, I always have the auras and it still scares the living day lights out of me, to put it mildly.

 

[mel239]

I havent had ones where i forget in over a year now since Ive been on a higher dose of trileptal,now the ones I get are much more quicker and Im aware,i just cant respond-but they are pretty rare now with the zonergran-

 

[elizzza811]

I usually get a funny taste in my mouth right before a seizure, then I get light-headed...that's about it for me. I also noticed my pupils dilated briefly prior to one seizure I had while standing in front of a mirror.

 

[valeriedl]

Do you remember the lip smacking? I have this curious sensation of my hands getting huge like balloons and I cant respond for about 20 seconds and my back teeth-all my teeth actually keep coming together like I am chewing gum like a robot and i remember the whole event-this happened at Good Friday services after i was extremely agitated by a phonecall before church.I wonder if the extreme emotionality of the phonecall followed within minutes by such a mournful service caused this and would it be yet another seizure? I thought this new addon med had these things pretty well controlled since the trileptal seemed to "wear off " after about 9 months,they added zonergran which has worked great the past month.I still have been experiencing some visual hallucinations,but no seizures so maybe that wasnt a seizure-just stress

I don't remember anything that happened before the seizure. Someone has to be there to tell me what I did when it started.

The only thing that I notice is sometimes I'll get confused about little things, as I mentioned, but I don't know if I go completly into the seizure.

I have done crossword puzzles before where I'll look at the page and see that I've scribbled all over it. I know that I had a seizure but I didn't know it was coming on.

 

[valeriedl]

My seizures sound like they are similar to yours. After the lip smacking, I think when I'm actuall into the seizure, I'll pick at things or try to do goofy things. During one I picked up a pillow in a pillow case and tried to put it on my foot like a sock. My husband kept trying to take it off of me but finally gave up and let me go at it until I came too.

I'll usually have the horrible headache also. I've tried a ton of stuff to make it die down but nothing seems to work. I have one that sort of knocks me out but it's after about an hour and alot of times I may wake up a few hours after and still have the headache. I'm going to mention the med that you said and see what the neuro has to say about it.

He gave me a pescription for Butal-APAP-325-CAFF and Sumatriptan Succinate Injection but as I said neither seem to really do anything.