Seizures that are just "feelings". Anyone else?

[SniffleCat]

This has bugged me for years. I have epilepsy but always had myoclonic seizures. When I was a young teen, I all of a sudden started getting a new thing, what I believe had to be a seizure. It was like I was experiencing some emotion that there was no word for. I kind of felt like I was eavesdropping on a really bad argument between other people. I don't know how else to describe it, but it wasn't a normal thing, it was definitely some sort of "episode" and it would happen when I was really tired. I couldn't really describe it well to my neuro so he didn't have any answers. Does anyone know what I am talking about or have any sort of "emotional" seizures?

 

[Howll]

Well my petit mal seizures start with a feeling. It's really odd, I know it's coming but I don't know how to describe it. It's almost as if my perception of reality changes, and my emotions almost go away. For instance I had one in the car and looked at my partner and felt nothing, numb. Then I have the most horrendous feeling of doom imaginable, as if I'm about to die or the world is going to end. Pretty shitty tbh.

 

[SniffleCat]

That is "sense of impending doom". I used to get that with my night terrors when I was little. It was the most utterly awful, hopeless feeling ever. It isn't that, no where nearly as extreme. Scary shit!

 

[KatymomtoA]

I believe you can. Sensory seizures can be either simple or complex in nature, depending if awareness is lost, partially lost or retained. They can also be related to auras. My son has been having them lately. Some days 6 or more. He gets a feeling of impending doom, anxious, tight/nauseous stomach, bad taste in his mouth, sometimes with drooling, and says his head feels funny/yucky (he's 6). He also fads in and out of consciousness, but these episodes are brief, usually under a minute in duration. On the days he has these he seems "off", "slow","distant" and is usually very moody.

 

[seagull]

Yes I do understand.i getting long forgotton memories suddenly pictures in head.i know it physical problem but trying to explain it nobody understands..Most of time nothing going on in my brain then bang something from past is clear as day.
I also have a lot of tiredness issues we are all being awakened with noise at 3am everyday but I sure tiredness not my cause.
Brain funny old thing it retained emotions memories,I surppose it brain way having clear out but it is disconcerting

 

[resaebiunne]

I'm not sure if this is an aura, but between my medications, sometimes I feel like I'm expecting a seizure even though nothing happens. It's been so long that I've had my typical seizures that I just expect them and live with the consequences. My medication is on max dose (Keppra and Lamictal) and has failed to control my seizures adequately. There is no warning that they will happen when they do.

 

[Kgartner]

Yes - right now this is the only type of seizure my daughter is having. In the past these partial seizures have progressed to complex partials and tonic-clonics, but at the moment she is having only simple partials.

For her it is an intense feeling that everything is "weird" and "wrong" coupled with changes in her perception: the world "tilts" and sound gets very muffled. Sometimes she has difficulty speaking during them. She will often have autonomic symptoms as well: heart racing, flushing and trembling. The seizure itself is generally only 5-30 seconds long. How she feels afterwards depends on the intensity of the seizure. If they are short and mild she will often feel fine afterwards, but the really intense ones leave her trembling and anxious for minutes or hours afterwards, and exhausted as well.

 

[Zoe]

This has bugged me for years. I have epilepsy but always had myoclonic seizures. When I was a young teen, I all of a sudden started getting a new thing, what I believe had to be a seizure. It was like I was experiencing some emotion that there was no word for. I kind of felt like I was eavesdropping on a really bad argument between other people. I don't know how else to describe it, but it wasn't a normal thing, it was definitely some sort of "episode" and it would happen when I was really tired. I couldn't really describe it well to my neuro so he didn't have any answers. Does anyone know what I am talking about or have any sort of "emotional" seizures?

I had seizures with sudden emotions being the only symptom. In my case, I might weep, feel suddenly distressed, and odd stuff like you describe. I dated a man with E once and he had seizures that triggered an outburst of hysterical laughter. Seizures can take many forms. These seizures can arise in the limbic system of the brain.

You may want to do a Google search on "seizures" "limbic system" or "seizures" "amygdala". Below is one article link that turned up in my search. It is odd that your neurologist didn't tell you this.

Limbic System: Amygdala (Section 4, Chapter 6) Neuroscience ...
neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter06.html‎Cached
SimilarAmygdala is the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and ...
lesions of temporal lobe epilepsy have the effect of stimulating the amygdala.
http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter06.html

 

[MidwestMama]

I've not been diagnosed with epilepsy or had any confirmed seizures (I'm here on behalf of my son). But as I learned about his epilepsy, I remembered some odd things that happened to me when I was growing up, and I've wondered if they were some kind of seizure or were seizure-related.

The best way I can explain it is that all of a sudden everything around me would seem to be in slow motion for maybe 20-30 seconds, and then I would have the strangest feeling that I'd lived this moment before -- a deja vu feeling. It was like I was outside myself, looking in, in slow motion, and I'd experienced it all before. Definitely not a physical sensation -- more of a psychic sensation.

 

[MikeL]

For a good 15 years after my tumor extraction this is exactly what my seizures were like. Things felt "off", my perception of things around me changed, I felt a sense of impending doom, my emotions were extreme and out of control, I felt as if I could predict what was going to happen next as if I had lived that moment a million times before.

I still have all those symptoms but they act more as a warning sign to a bigger complex partial seizure. (the "doom" I was anticipating)

 

[txtiger]

Many years ago, before I was diagnosed with epilepsy, or even realized I was having seizures, I remember getting this feeling that I couldn't describe. It was a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach, and even though I had a good group of friends, it reminded me of an earlier time when my family moved to a new town and I felt terribly alone. Long after I wasn't experiencing those sensations as part of my "seizure set", I realized that I was having simple partial seizures.

Even now, though my seizures are for the most part controlled and have a pretty predictable presentation when I do have them, I have sometimes gotten a vague "I don't feel right" feeling as the beginning of a partial seizure.

 

[Zoe]

Three things helped me a lot to stop this type seizure, or seizure-like experience with emotional changes; 1 getting off all dairy, 2, going on a gluten free diet, and 3, using the amino acid L-taurine. A Google search on any of these = seizures will turn up a lot of information on them

 

[epileric]

I'm glad that Taurine worked for you Zoe but according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre we should be careful since it can have an effect on medications that we're taking.

Some supplements may make certain antiseizure medications less effective. Ask your doctor before taking any herbs or supplements.

Taurine is an amino acid that may be involved in the brain's electrical activity and is often low in people with seizures. It acts like GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid, 500 mg, 2 times per day), another amino acid that is often low in people with seizures. But there is no scientific evidence that taking either supplement will reduce seizures. Taurine may interact with many medications. Do not take taurine of GABA supplements without your doctor's supervision. Do not take taurine or GABA if you have a history of bipolar disorder, or if you take psychoactive medications.

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/seizure-disorders

 

[Zoe]

It is not just the supplements and herbs interacting with AEDs, but other drugs, prescription and over-the-counter. Whenever look into using a drug, a first important stop may be to a good pharamicist for information on possible interactions with other drugs, herbs, supplements or foods. Some of the pharmacies have references abbout drugs and their possible interactions on hand. That's just a good rule of thumb when using medicines of any kind.

 

[Blonde Angel]

It is not just the supplements and herbs interacting with AEDs, but other drugs, prescription and over-the-counter. Whenever look into using a drug, a first important stop may be to a good pharamicist for information on possible interactions with other drugs, herbs, supplements or foods. Some of the pharmacies have references abbout drugs and their possible interactions on hand. That's just a good rule of thumb when using medicines of any kind.

Yes
pharmacists have studied pharmacology, they would be aware of possible interactions and contraindications.
Also, the onus is on the individual to check whether over the counter stuff is ok with the current meds they are on with the pharmacist.
The onus is on the individual to provide information on ALL their supplements, and meds to all the professionals they seek assistance from.


eg
is some various cold and flu stuff ok with certain anti seizure meds? Is certain antihistamines ok?

 

[Zoe]

Penn State used the same warning as U of Maryland regarding not using taurine or GABA supplements if diagnosed with bipolar. Research on the role of taurine in neurological disorders, including seizures go back more than fory years ago. Both universties neglected this information. This is a link to one of more than 250 research reports at PubMed:

Riv Patol Nerv Ment. 1975 May-Jun;96(3):166-84.
[Therapeutic effects of taurine in epilepsy: a clinical and polyphysiographic study (author's transl)].
[Article in Italian]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/819984

Nearly twenty years ago I went to the epilepsy clinic at the University of Arizona. I went there specifically to see a neurologist who had been involved with some of this research on taurine. From this point forward let's post taurine information in another thread.

On mood changes triggered by seizures, consider partial complex seizures. Seizures whose main symptom is mood change can easily be mistaken for psychiatric disorders, misdiagnosed, and possibly treated with drugs that might make the seizures worse.


Psychiatric Times
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), now more commonly called complex partial seizure ... grand mal seizures, physicians may often fail to recognize the epileptic origin of ... inexplicable sudden change in mood, a neurological workup was ordered.
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/complex-partial-seizures-present-diagnostic-challenge

Seizures | University of Maryland Medical Center
umm.edu/health/medical/.../seizur...
University of Maryland Medical Center
Some seizures only cause a person to have staring spells. ... Grunting and snorting; Loss of bladder or bowel control; Mood changes, such as sudden anger, unexplainable fear, panic, ... But during a seizure, the person can be hurt or injured.
http://umm.edu/health/medical/ency/articles/seizures

op:

 

[Sabbo]

I recall complaining about weird feelings in my head as a kid. I still have trouble describing exactly what they feel like. They were finally diagnosed as Simple Partial seizures when one occurred during an EEG after a Tonic Clonic.

 

[Zoe]

Were you relieved to learn that it was seizures cauing the strange feelings? Are you free of them now?

 

[Sabbo]

Yes, I was glad to find out what those feelings were. Unfortunately, the type of seizures I get has changed. I still get the Simple Partials, & about 18 years ago began to get Complex Partials. Thankfully, no Tonic Clonics since those long ago.
I've taken/tried at least a total of 12 AEDS--I'm currently taking 400mg/daily of both Vimpat & Topamax. Even then, I average 1-3 breakthrough Complex Partial seizures/month.