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Petit Mal or Epileptic Seizures

Mon, 07/04/2016 - 18:33
Hi all, I have a question in regards to my seizures, and in particular my medication treating them. Background: In 2009 I had a seizure at work due to stress which caused me to be put onto Tegretol 200mg CR twice daily. After this I started suffering absence seizures. My medication was later upped to 400mg twice daily. Before the 2009 seizure, I received a brain injury due to medication-caused (cyclosporine) seizures as a child back in 1999-2000. In between these two periods where I was not on cyclosporine, I had no seizures whatsoever. Medication: Tegretol CR 400mg * 1 Twice a Day. My seizures: My seizures vary from time to time but are generally short ones where I will start rubbing my arms and saying "I'm being punished, I'm getting what I deserve". Normally, by the time someone comes over to see if I'm okay this will be finished and I will not know what's happened, except for becoming tired. Then I will have some other seizures that last longer: For example, at work (a high school), I walked into a room rambling while the teacher was talking about food. My co-worker was called in and told the teacher I was having a seizure and went and got the nurse (who is in one building over). When she arrived, she noticed I was going to trip myself over. This went for roughly 10 minutes. Another seizure I had while driving, I was meant to go straight down the road I was turning on but somehow locked in on the truck in front of me and followed it until I "came back" and realised I had turned onto the freeway. My question is: Are these petit mal seizures as there's no vicious twitching or falling over on the floor OR are these epileptic seizures as they go for a longer period of time than expected from petit mal seizures? I ask as Tegretol is known to cause petit mal seizures but my neurologist believes I am not suffering petit mal seizures due to the length. Thank you, Chmmr.

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