Is THAT a seizure?
Thanks to astarte59's question about what happens when I have a seizure, I decided to write a post about it. I describe the seizures all the time in conversation, but I've never written a description of them before. Should be an interesting exercise for me!
I have partial complex seizures which means that they occur on one side of my brain and do not cause me to lose consciousness. Although I may look like I'm mindlessly drifting in an alternate universe, I am actually very much aware of what's going on around me during a seizure but am helpless to respond. The seizures often occur in flurries or clusters, meaning that the first one is a trigger for others. My husband describes them like an earthquake and aftershocks; those of us who live in Southern California know that after an earthquake, aftershocks are a given. My seizures act the same way.
So, what happens when I have a seizure? Some people who deal with seizures have an "aura," or a way of knowing that one is coming. I am one of those lucky folks. In fact I'm doubly blessed because I have two signals to alert me that my brain is about to experience an electrical overload. The first aura is a burning smell. When I start sniffing the air, checking out the stove and appliances, examining electrical outlets, and asking if anyone else smells something burning, look out -- a seizure is on the way. With this aura, I never know when the event will happen, just that it will. The second way that I know to prepare myself for a seizure happens very quickly and when it does, I know that a seizure will hit me in a hurry. This is the most frequent beginning to a seizure for me.
A gentle tingling sensation at the bottom of my feet is the first signal. I'm not ticklish (except between my toes), but I can imagine that the feeling must be similar to what those who do have ticklish feet feel. In a matter of a second or two, the tingling in the feet is followed by the strongest feeling of nausea I have ever experienced without actually barfing my guts up. As soon as the nausea happens, I know what to expect and sit down if I'm not already seated. I've only gone down twice during a seizure -- once in front of my 13 y/o niece who was home with me at the time, and once when I was at home alone. Those two experiences seriously traumatized me. Lying in a heap on the floor and drooling all over oneself is not a great way to spend the day, nor is it particularly graceful looking! Worst of all, my poor niece was so totally freaked out by the experience that for a while, she watched me like a hawk for any signs that another event would take place during her watch.
After the aura pays me a visit, a light film of sweat will break out on my upper lip, saliva will begin to fill my mouth more quickly than normal, I may feel hot or flushed, then the right arm will begin feeling numb. At about the same time that the arm goes numb, I just drift off. To those who see me when it happens, I appear to be daydreaming or staring off into space. When the electrical activity in the brain settles down, I will begin to cough -- sometimes quite violently, especially if the seizure has lasted at least a minute -- and shake my arm to relieve the numbness. The coughing spell sometimes lasts 5 or 10 minutes, during which time I am coming out of the seizure. During the seizure, I can usually hear what is being said by those who are around me; however, I don't always see. My eyes and expression freeze, giving the impression that I am daydreaming. If it weren't for the fact that I sometimes drool, I could do a fantastic impression of a daydreamer!
The length of the seizure determines the amount of time it takes me to come out of it. On the days when I have clusters, the seizures themselves don't last any more than 30-45 seconds but with each one, coming out gets increasingly difficult. No matter whether the seizures occur in clusters or not, I am compelled to sleep afterwards. I've tried to fight off the need to sleep but doing so only exacerbates the problem and often triggers additional seizures.
My neurologist assures me that once we find the right medicine in the proper dosage, the seizures will be fully controlled. I can't wait until that happens!
I have partial complex seizures which means that they occur on one side of my brain and do not cause me to lose consciousness. Although I may look like I'm mindlessly drifting in an alternate universe, I am actually very much aware of what's going on around me during a seizure but am helpless to respond. The seizures often occur in flurries or clusters, meaning that the first one is a trigger for others. My husband describes them like an earthquake and aftershocks; those of us who live in Southern California know that after an earthquake, aftershocks are a given. My seizures act the same way.
So, what happens when I have a seizure? Some people who deal with seizures have an "aura," or a way of knowing that one is coming. I am one of those lucky folks. In fact I'm doubly blessed because I have two signals to alert me that my brain is about to experience an electrical overload. The first aura is a burning smell. When I start sniffing the air, checking out the stove and appliances, examining electrical outlets, and asking if anyone else smells something burning, look out -- a seizure is on the way. With this aura, I never know when the event will happen, just that it will. The second way that I know to prepare myself for a seizure happens very quickly and when it does, I know that a seizure will hit me in a hurry. This is the most frequent beginning to a seizure for me.
A gentle tingling sensation at the bottom of my feet is the first signal. I'm not ticklish (except between my toes), but I can imagine that the feeling must be similar to what those who do have ticklish feet feel. In a matter of a second or two, the tingling in the feet is followed by the strongest feeling of nausea I have ever experienced without actually barfing my guts up. As soon as the nausea happens, I know what to expect and sit down if I'm not already seated. I've only gone down twice during a seizure -- once in front of my 13 y/o niece who was home with me at the time, and once when I was at home alone. Those two experiences seriously traumatized me. Lying in a heap on the floor and drooling all over oneself is not a great way to spend the day, nor is it particularly graceful looking! Worst of all, my poor niece was so totally freaked out by the experience that for a while, she watched me like a hawk for any signs that another event would take place during her watch.
After the aura pays me a visit, a light film of sweat will break out on my upper lip, saliva will begin to fill my mouth more quickly than normal, I may feel hot or flushed, then the right arm will begin feeling numb. At about the same time that the arm goes numb, I just drift off. To those who see me when it happens, I appear to be daydreaming or staring off into space. When the electrical activity in the brain settles down, I will begin to cough -- sometimes quite violently, especially if the seizure has lasted at least a minute -- and shake my arm to relieve the numbness. The coughing spell sometimes lasts 5 or 10 minutes, during which time I am coming out of the seizure. During the seizure, I can usually hear what is being said by those who are around me; however, I don't always see. My eyes and expression freeze, giving the impression that I am daydreaming. If it weren't for the fact that I sometimes drool, I could do a fantastic impression of a daydreamer!
The length of the seizure determines the amount of time it takes me to come out of it. On the days when I have clusters, the seizures themselves don't last any more than 30-45 seconds but with each one, coming out gets increasingly difficult. No matter whether the seizures occur in clusters or not, I am compelled to sleep afterwards. I've tried to fight off the need to sleep but doing so only exacerbates the problem and often triggers additional seizures.
My neurologist assures me that once we find the right medicine in the proper dosage, the seizures will be fully controlled. I can't wait until that happens!