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Altered Consciousness/impaired awareness?
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 22:16Could someone explain what this may actually mean?
For example, after my aura of a very distinctive smell - I'll open my eyes suddenly and be staring at the sky, ceiling, or wall (after having been standing, walking, or sitting straight up watching TV, etc.) and be completely confused, bewildered, and groggy minded as to what happened with loss of actual time between what I was doing and where I'm at in that moment - not knowing or remembering anything in between
or
as in recently I had 2 seizures over 2 days back to back.
1) I was sitting in my recliner talking to my daughter & neice about what to have for dinner. I had the "smell", then my daughter & neice were talking to me but they were at the end of a very long tunnel & I couldn't answer them (they said later that my eyes were closed & they thought I had fallen asleep sitting up).
Then I kinda opened my eyes and my niece was gone. I got panicky cause I didn't know where she was. My daughter said my sis came and picked her up. I never saw my sister. My sister later told me that she spoke to me, I only grunted never spoke, and she left.
Somewhere I lost time and I felt groggy, bewildered, drained, and sleepy for a while afterward.
2) I had the "smell", took a header face first towards the curbing in the parking lot at a local Wal Mart (my Dad's quick thinking saved me cause he apparently caught me in mid-fall). My dad said I never said a word, was looking straight ahead, took a few steps, and then just dropped.
While sitting on the curbing, I saw the other cars rolling through the parking lot but they weren't real in that they were wavy and weird looking and seemed to be close and far off at the same time. My Dad spoke to me but he too was at the end of a long tunnel for a moment, maybe 2.
After both of these, I kinda "woke up" in that no one was in a tunnel and nothing was waving back and forth but was left drained, tired, bewildered, groggy, and sleepy for quite a while afterward.
In fact, I had my Dad take me home the day of the parking lot incident. We never even entered the Wal Mart. I laid the seat back in the car and then went to bed as soon as I got home.
Pardon me if I may seem stupid about this but in all sincerity, when I read about altered consciousness or impaired awareness, I'm just not sure what it's talking about or if what I have is what this is.
Comments
Re: Altered Consciousness/impaired awareness?
Submitted by Nerak95 on Fri, 2009-05-15 - 19:00
Pewter,
I'd contact your neuro to see if you need to check your medication levels and also to let him know what you've been experiencing. Details before, during and after seizures are important.
Also, I've known people that when they feel the aura coming on, they use biofeedback to ward off the pending seizure. They will go to a quiet place, relax and just sort of meditate. Might work for you.
Auras come in many different forms so yes, you have have multiple types of sensations, feelings, tastes, smells, etc.
~Karen
Pewter,
I'd contact your neuro to see if you need to check your medication levels and also to let him know what you've been experiencing. Details before, during and after seizures are important.
Also, I've known people that when they feel the aura coming on, they use biofeedback to ward off the pending seizure. They will go to a quiet place, relax and just sort of meditate. Might work for you.
Auras come in many different forms so yes, you have have multiple types of sensations, feelings, tastes, smells, etc.
~Karen
Re: Altered Consciousness/impaired awareness?
Submitted by pewter on Fri, 2009-05-15 - 17:32
thanks everyone
see I get that "smell" first. It's very distinctive and when I smell it I KNOW what it means now. I know that is my "aura" or my Partials.
then I immediately either have the total loss of consciousness/time memory loss OR the end of the tunnel - not quite right - surreal thing
then I have some GI distress, I'm confused, bewildered, groggy, foggy, and just physically drained to the point of just wanting to sleep or lay down for a while
sometimes I can't move my arms or legs for 2-3 minutes and then the muscles in my arms, legs, and the one where I took the header in the parking lot last week - my back & neck muscles ached so bad afterwards.
The muscles hurt and ache for a long while afterward. I mean my calves hurt so bad where I was in the recliner that other time last week I couldn't stand up.
I just never quite knew what it meant by altered consciousness/impaired awareness - I just know that things aren't as they should be and yet are as they are and everything is just weird and I'm usually not able to respond and/or grab hold of anything for a moment or two cause my depth perception is just really weird and way off apparently.
I know, at times, I lose consciousness or I think I have cause I have no memory and time has passed I just didn't know about these other symptoms.
Can folks have 2 auras at the same time? Cause you guys are saying it's kinda like an aura?
I'm sorry, I'm still new to all this and I am wanting to learn what I can about Partial Complex seizures cause I just don't want to be so in the dark, so to speak, about what they are and especially what in the world is going on with me. It is so disconcerting and unsettling, not understanding.
thanks everyone
see I get that "smell" first. It's very distinctive and when I smell it I KNOW what it means now. I know that is my "aura" or my Partials.
then I immediately either have the total loss of consciousness/time memory loss OR the end of the tunnel - not quite right - surreal thing
then I have some GI distress, I'm confused, bewildered, groggy, foggy, and just physically drained to the point of just wanting to sleep or lay down for a while
sometimes I can't move my arms or legs for 2-3 minutes and then the muscles in my arms, legs, and the one where I took the header in the parking lot last week - my back & neck muscles ached so bad afterwards.
The muscles hurt and ache for a long while afterward. I mean my calves hurt so bad where I was in the recliner that other time last week I couldn't stand up.
I just never quite knew what it meant by altered consciousness/impaired awareness - I just know that things aren't as they should be and yet are as they are and everything is just weird and I'm usually not able to respond and/or grab hold of anything for a moment or two cause my depth perception is just really weird and way off apparently.
I know, at times, I lose consciousness or I think I have cause I have no memory and time has passed I just didn't know about these other symptoms.
Can folks have 2 auras at the same time? Cause you guys are saying it's kinda like an aura?
I'm sorry, I'm still new to all this and I am wanting to learn what I can about Partial Complex seizures cause I just don't want to be so in the dark, so to speak, about what they are and especially what in the world is going on with me. It is so disconcerting and unsettling, not understanding.