Place Your Advertisement Here
 
UPDATED: Sun, 10/21/2007 - 9:35pm

  • Epilepsy First Aid
  • Seizure Medication
  • Animation of a Seizure
  • Seizure Diary
  • Find a Doctor
  • Epilepsy Centers
  • Clinical Trials
  • Event Calendar

Place Your Advertisement Here

VNS Surgery

If you (or your loved one) have had a vagus nerve stimulator implanted, what happened after it?

no more seizures
5% (11 votes)
helped control seizures a lot
34% (76 votes)
helped a little bit
35% (78 votes)
didn’t help at all
17% (37 votes)
worse off
10% (22 votes)
Total votes: 224

View results
View past poll results

Secondarily Generalized Seizures

What are they like?

Seizures of this kind start as a partial seizure—that is, they start in one limited area of the brain. The forms they take vary as much as other partial seizures. But then (sometimes so quickly that the partial seizure is hardly noticed) the seizure spreads throughout the brain, becoming "generalized." Here's how a couple of people with epilepsy described their secondarily generalized seizures:

  • The seizures start with a tingling in my right thumb. In seconds, my thumb starts jerking. Soon, my whole right hand is jerking. I have learned that by rubbing and scratching my forearm I can sometimes stop the seizure. Other times the jerking spreads up my arm. When it reaches my shoulder, I pass out and people tell me that my whole body starts to jerk.
  • I see this colored ball on my right side. It seems to grow until it fills up my whole view. Everything becomes like a dream and I don't feel real. It is the strangest feeling. Sometimes the seizure stops then, and sometimes it goes all the way and I fall to the floor and have a grand mal [tonic-clonic seizure].

How long do they last?

The generalized, convulsive phase of these seizures usually lasts no more than a few minutes, the same as primary generalized seizures. The preceding partial seizure is usually not very long. Sometimes this part is so brief that it is hard to detect.

Tell me more

These seizures are called "secondarily generalized" because they only become generalized (spread to both sides of the brain) after the initial or "primary" event, a partial seizure, has already begun. They happen when a burst of electrical activity in a limited area (the partial seizure) spreads throughout the brain. Sometimes the person does not recall the first part of the seizure. These seizures occur in more than 30% of people with partial epilepsy.

Who gets them?

They can affect people of all ages who have partial seizures.

What's the outlook?

Many seizures of this kind can be controlled with medication. If a person has tonic-clonic seizures that are not well controlled with medication, the doctor should investigate to see whether they might be secondarily generalized seizures that begin in a limited area of the brain. If they are, surgery could be an option.

What else could it be?

It may be difficult to distinguish these seizures from primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, especially if they occur during sleep or are not witnessed by anyone else. Most convulsive seizures during sleep are secondarily generalized seizures that do begin as partial seizures.

How is the diagnosis made?

The EEG and MRI are often helpful in telling the difference between these seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Topic Editor: Orrin Devinsky, M.D.
Last Reviewed:2/11/04



This content is user-generated. Content is not monitored nor consistently reviewed by the epilepsy.com Editorial Board. Epilepsy.com therefore cannot guarantee the accuracy of any content edited with the Wiki sections. While epilepsy.com, the Epilepsy Therapy Project, and its partners encourage visitor interaction and publishing within these sections, users should use caution when exploring content, especially as it pertains to health concerns. No content on epilepsy.com is intended to replace the care of a doctor. We encourage you to contact your own health care provider for individual medical advice. We cannot provide second opinions or make specific recommendations regarding therapy, nor does this Wiki content constitute a recommendation for any diagnosis or treatment options.

No members have contributed to this topic yet. Be the first!

Welcome to the Wiki. This space is created for epilepsy.com members to share their own experiences and expertise to help refine and expand the discussion around important topics.

Epilepsy.com Members: If you are a member and wish to be the first to edit this Wiki topic, please make sure to login, then click on the orange "Edit this Wiki" button at the top of this page. Put in your own content about this topic in the Main Body text area and submit the page. Or, learn more about Wikis before you begin.

Register Today: If you are not an epilepsy.com member, register today to get started on this Wiki topic and the many other advantages of being a member.





Title Posted
Sex drive and seizure medications  
dfriedman
life  
kevinmo99
son newly diagnosed with Absence Seizures  
shu
Controlling absence seizures  
shu
Developmentally Delayed 1 yr. old  
kristy_08
My parents dont care...I feel soooo alone!  
blondestar25
Epilepsy and marijuana  
cjad234
Absence Seizure in toddler, need more info!  
KellaC32
New to site and living with Epilepsy  
asking79
Binaural Beats and Epilepsy  
Jamie-vette
View all Forums

Title Page Views
Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures.......  
spiz
my.epilepsy.com Updates  
epi_help
topamax and weight loss  
alexia mom
kepra  
brian mattingly
Possible cure for absence seizures  
pdl1
Epilepsy and marijuana  
cjad234
Sexual Side Effects  
George R
How exactly do aura's feel  
WendyBendy
MEDICAL ALERT I.D.'s  
picnupthepcs
Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures - Part 2  
spiz
View all Forums

Title Posted
Ms.  
sueanne
shilpa  
shilpa
First seizure at age 25  
suziereno
its hared but then i found this  
dan2work
Nobody Understands  
tmpino76
Depakote and Children  
twin12
what goes around comes around  
kelly28
Shari Story  
sharebear03
susu  
susu
Ayden's Story  
aydensvoice
View all Stories

Place Your Advertisement Here