Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

Simple Partial Seizures and EEG/EKG

Sun, 01/09/2005 - 16:08

I have not been diagnosed, but I am beginning to supiscion that I have been having Simple Partial Seizures.  Please bear with me, it might take a little while to describe my experiences and my questions....

Every so often (perhaps once every 2 months and more frequently at times) I have been experiencing what I have seen other people on this site describe as strong, scary deja vu feelings.  It feels like deja vu, but much stronger.  It feels like I know what is going to happen next or I have dreamed that moment in time before.  Sometimes this feeling is so strong that I almost wonder if I am losing my mind - or if I'm just now seeing the world with a rare moment of clarity.  It is like I am seeing the world with new eyes for just a few seconds.  This is accompanied by what feels like a frightening adrenaline rush.  I'm not sure if this rush is a response to the deja vu/psychic feeling frightening me or if it just part of the experience itself.

A few months ago I was sitting on the floor in a very emotional state and I had one of these "episodes".  (I wish I had a name for them!)  But this time, the next thing I knew it was about 15 minutes later and I had no recollection of what had happened since the episode.  I felt a bit nauseus with a headache and my tongue was bitten and quite swollen.  This has never happened before.

I went to the doctor and I had an EEG and EKG/ECG taken.  It while I was waiting in the neurologist office that I saw for the first time a poster describing a "psychc simple partial seizure".  This was the first time that I had ever heard of something that may have explained the "episodes" I have.

My physician called me after breifly reviewing the EEG results and said, "It looks like you didn't have a seizure in the EEG, so you must have just stood up too fast and passed out." 

I think that perhaps when I lost conciousness I may have experienced a Psychic Simple Partial Seizure (one of those "episodes") that lead to a Complex Partial Seizure (the part I don't remember) which was triggered because I was in such an emotional state.   Is it possible that these deja vu "episodes" are Simple Partial Seizures that would not have been detectable by an EEG?  Is it possible that if I did have a Complex Partial Seizure that didn't show up on an EEG?  I don't understand what exactly an EEG can determine.

~Erica
Age 24

Comments

RE: Simple Partial Seizures and EEG/EKG

Submitted by Elena on Fri, 2004-12-10 - 04:31
Hello Erica!My name is Elena and I am 28 years old. An EEG can determinate only work of your brain in that time when you are on that machine and when it can read how your brain is working. Well, I had almost the same experience like you. 15 years ago I moved to another city, and my new neurologist didn't believe me and my mother that I have epilepsy. And all because of that I didn't have seizure when I was on EEG. Or he was maybe a bad neurologist. So, I went to another doctor, and he believed me and saw little irregularities on my brain. He knew (because of my stories) that I have seizures. I had only few big seizures (grand mal) in my life and lot of little (petit mal), like you have now, maybe.So, I recommend to you, that you have to go to a new neurologist. Maybe he will understand you and help you.I wish you a lot of luck Erica to fix your problems.Bye!Elena

RE: Simple Partial Seizures and EEG/EKG

Submitted by Karolwf on Fri, 2004-12-10 - 14:37
Find a new doctor. Sometimes it takes a few doctors to get through to one that understands. NOT ALL DOCTORS KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EPILEPSY and even the doctors that do DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING!  The brain is a complex computer and no one on this earth knows everything about it. ONLY GOD knows everything.  SO PLEASE go to a new doctor-- do not allow doctors to dictate what they think you feel or may have had-- they do not know-- just like a man will never know what it is like to carry and give birth to a baby -- they can only guess!! and we women can never know what it is like to go through puberty as a boy ---and know what a boy thinks during that time of his life-- so think of doctors the same way-- they may be doctors who are trying to help but they do not know everything!!!

RE: RE: Simple Partial Seizures and EEG/EKG

Submitted by LeeMc on Sun, 2004-12-12 - 17:08

Lee here..........what you are discribing are the types of seizures I had for a long time.  They nearly took my breath away with the familiarity of the situation and/or surroundings.  I learned to talk myself in to relaxing during such seizures - and yes they are seizures - because often times they occurred in very public places where I had probably been 100 times before in my life - so maybe something was similar or familiar......that made talking myself down much easier and that did help me through them - but did not solve the problem.  Over time they progressed in to extended absence seizures and finally in to grand mal types before I was diagnosed and a course of treatment found that would control them.

I have been on Dilantin and Mysolin (now generic forms of both) for nearly 30 years now.  There are side effects I am beginning to have to deal with now as a result of the long term use - but I have also been seizure free for almost 30 years.  Had I known what the trade-off would be I might have saught a re-evaluation and different drugs a long time ago but I have lead a good life and it isn't over yet!

Get to a neuro that listens to you instead of just telling you what he/she thinks.  It might take some time but if you get the one that does the job right you will have a future to look forward to.  Best Wishes...............Lee

Lee here..........what you are discribing are the types of seizures I had for a long time.  They nearly took my breath away with the familiarity of the situation and/or surroundings.  I learned to talk myself in to relaxing during such seizures - and yes they are seizures - because often times they occurred in very public places where I had probably been 100 times before in my life - so maybe something was similar or familiar......that made talking myself down much easier and that did help me through them - but did not solve the problem.  Over time they progressed in to extended absence seizures and finally in to grand mal types before I was diagnosed and a course of treatment found that would control them.

I have been on Dilantin and Mysolin (now generic forms of both) for nearly 30 years now.  There are side effects I am beginning to have to deal with now as a result of the long term use - but I have also been seizure free for almost 30 years.  Had I known what the trade-off would be I might have saught a re-evaluation and different drugs a long time ago but I have lead a good life and it isn't over yet!

Get to a neuro that listens to you instead of just telling you what he/she thinks.  It might take some time but if you get the one that does the job right you will have a future to look forward to.  Best Wishes...............Lee

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.