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"Post-ictal" confusion

Wed, 01/07/2009 - 00:06

Hey all,

Most of you don't know me, but, as I stated in my introductory thread, I'm new to all of this (Holy pleonasm, Batman!).  

The first time I ever witnessed a seizure was during my video EEG in November.  Naturally, I saw quite a number of them over the next few nights.

What has stuck with me wasn't necessarily the seizures themselves.  It was the period afterwards.  The doctors and nurses would begin asking a series of question to the teenager in the bed next to me.  I'm sure some of you are familiar with the routine:

"What's your name?"

"David."  He got that one right.

"Do you know where you are?"

"September...19th.  Or 20th.  I think."

So David was capable of responding to verbal cues, but he wasn't actually able to comprehend them.  He knew he was being asked general questions, but he didn't know what he was being asked.  

Essentially -- I think -- his brain wasn't really functioning, at least not at anything resembling a normal level for him.  While it was in the process of recovering, David's brain had created a limited level of awareness.  He wasn't in a seizure state, he wasn't back to normal, he was sort of in the middle somewhere, almost as if it was a survivalistic instinct.  His brain had developed a third state.  

The mere fact that some of you have gone through this so many times that your brain reacts this way is heart breaking.  It was by far the most devastating realization of my four day stay in the hospital.  

I hope this is not a breach of etiqutte as, again, I'm new to this and only suffer from absence seizures, but is this what it's really like for a lot of you?  What is that recovery period like?  How does all of that compare to the seizures themselves?

 

 

 

 

Comments

Re: "Post-ictal" confusion

Submitted by wichitarick1 on Wed, 2009-01-07 - 01:26

peace R.C.

   Hi ,similar to smoking pot, only a 1/2 lb in one hit.

    I had 4 gmal szs sun night and my 10/11 yr old d.d said all that to me .

    I used to say it took 8days to recover from this BUT this is bad.

     I am 45 and tough as nails  it finally got me last yr.but I have always toughed it out . there are worse cases. I feel for people . I can not say what I think here I am real slow.  Rick

 

peace R.C.

   Hi ,similar to smoking pot, only a 1/2 lb in one hit.

    I had 4 gmal szs sun night and my 10/11 yr old d.d said all that to me .

    I used to say it took 8days to recover from this BUT this is bad.

     I am 45 and tough as nails  it finally got me last yr.but I have always toughed it out . there are worse cases. I feel for people . I can not say what I think here I am real slow.  Rick

 

Re: "Post-ictal" confusion

Submitted by kay69 on Sat, 2009-01-10 - 19:35

A few years back I had a TC in the emergency room, triggered by a prescription drug I was given. I woke up wiht a oxygen mask on in a cubicle. Apparently I had been in the resus room and I vaguely remember seeing the clock in there. Somebody said I had "a turn" but that meant nothing to me. If somebody doesn't tell me I've had a sz then It can be a long time before I figure it out. I got hold of my ER notes later on which fully documented what happened. What amazed me was how it was 8 minutes from the sz onset to "GCS of 15" ie fully concious and alert which means I was obviously looking and sounding awake, when it was easily a hour before I "woke" up. I don't remember anyone asking me any questions. I've never been able to figure that out. Apparently that's happened alot, I've been holding conversations with people with absolutely no recollection.

Another time apparently I rang a friend when I was post-ictal (I live alone) and she came round, took one look and tried to drag me down to ER. I vaguely remember arguing with her then agreeing to go. I though it was only a couple of minutes, she told me later it took her over half an hour to get me in the car. (That one got me admitted because it was taking too long to "come right".

I've managed to trash my lounge a couple of time right after a sz, I still don't know why. On,e it got me a broken finger. It's really quite scarey. Coming out of a TC when I'm on my own is the biggest problem, but if someone is around to tell me I had a sz then things make more sense. I haven't had to deal with that for a long time since my TCs went all nocturnal and I've slept right through the post-ictal part.

I'm not sure if there's any point in figuring it out, brains make no sense at all.

Kay

 

A few years back I had a TC in the emergency room, triggered by a prescription drug I was given. I woke up wiht a oxygen mask on in a cubicle. Apparently I had been in the resus room and I vaguely remember seeing the clock in there. Somebody said I had "a turn" but that meant nothing to me. If somebody doesn't tell me I've had a sz then It can be a long time before I figure it out. I got hold of my ER notes later on which fully documented what happened. What amazed me was how it was 8 minutes from the sz onset to "GCS of 15" ie fully concious and alert which means I was obviously looking and sounding awake, when it was easily a hour before I "woke" up. I don't remember anyone asking me any questions. I've never been able to figure that out. Apparently that's happened alot, I've been holding conversations with people with absolutely no recollection.

Another time apparently I rang a friend when I was post-ictal (I live alone) and she came round, took one look and tried to drag me down to ER. I vaguely remember arguing with her then agreeing to go. I though it was only a couple of minutes, she told me later it took her over half an hour to get me in the car. (That one got me admitted because it was taking too long to "come right".

I've managed to trash my lounge a couple of time right after a sz, I still don't know why. On,e it got me a broken finger. It's really quite scarey. Coming out of a TC when I'm on my own is the biggest problem, but if someone is around to tell me I had a sz then things make more sense. I haven't had to deal with that for a long time since my TCs went all nocturnal and I've slept right through the post-ictal part.

I'm not sure if there's any point in figuring it out, brains make no sense at all.

Kay

 

Re: "Post-ictal" confusion

Submitted by clcsidi on Sun, 2009-01-11 - 17:38
When you are post ictal your brain is trying ot get back to normal after mis firing.  I remember after my first seizure, I was 17 and I was brought into the ER in a small town in West Virginia. I was a 17 year old Calfornia blong girls who was working on  her pilot's license, had solod a month before, planed to be a pilot for a living, but some how had the presense of mind to ask the doc how the siezure would affect my flying.  Not realizing I was in fact a pilot, he told me, it would not.  Not being with the program, I was in for a rude awakening when I got home and lost my driver's license, not to mention my medical to fly. I'm still grounded for now.

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