Are there different kinds of photosensitivity?

[Loopy Lou]

I know that during my EEG they did the standard flashing blue strobe lights test and I didn't have any reaction from that, but my last few tonic clonic have been after/during being exposed to flashing lights or flickering images of some sort. For example, the rock club I go to has a ring of strong coloured lights that go all the way around the dancefloor which flash different colours and speeds in time with the song. I've had a seizure once in the club and a few times after leaving it, once I got home. I don't drink every time I go out, but I did on the last occasion.

The one I had in Ireland that my cousin witnessed, I asked her what we were watching and she said it was a film with gun fights and fast car racing in it. When I see a 3D film I tend to have a lot of partials, and I did today whilst watching a tv program where there was a fast moving sequence of flashbacks that a character was having.

I assumed that I wasn't photosensitive because I didn't have a reaction to the lights in the EEG, but after my last seizure my mum suggested that perhaps its certain colours as she's seen a pattern emerging.

Any thoughts?

 

[Nakamova]

There are definitely different kinds of photosensitivity. A lot of people seem to be triggered by the fluorescents at WalMart. Others are bothered by bright sun or dappled shade. Patterns or grids can also be triggers -- the "vibration" of the intersections overtsimluates the eyes. And computer screens are another kind of photosensitive trigger. Often people with photosensitivity also suffer from other kinds of "reflex" epilepsy -- certain sounds or sensations can also be triggers.

 

[Endless]

They did the light patterns during my eeg's, too. It didn't provoke any seizures. Yet you put me in front of a ceiling fan that is going just the right speed, sun flashing behind the trees when I'm in the car, or a big zebra pattern on the booth at the lounge and I'm in complex-partial city. I've read posts in here where people say certain colors, patterns, frequencies, etc. are triggers for them.

The more I get to know people with epilepsy, the more I've learned that anything is possible. In fact, if you know enough people with epilepsy, it's probable.

 

[Chel]

Hi Loopy Lou

I seem to be extremely photosensitive, but did have a positive reaction on my EEG. I wouldn't entertain the idea of going near a club with flashing lights, or one-armed bandits (fruit machines - pokies, whatever you want to call them). I turn away from flickering lights, shut one eye driving through dappled shade, wear my sunnies in artificial night light (drawing strange looks), and have to be careful of supermarket lighting.

I don't watch 3D anyway because of another sight problem (convergence issue) but have heard it can be a seizure trigger for some epileptics. I think I read that in a brochure my local support group sent me, on photosensitivity.

Even the little animations some of our members use for their avitars send warnings into my facial muscles (my very early warning sign), and I have to scroll the screen up. And, mea culpa, I should be wearing my sunnies while I'm at the computer, but I'm not. *slaps hand*

I would say anything which moves quickly across a television or movie screen, could be a trigger, to the photosensitive epileptic.

Every time I read of a negative EEG, with such definite symptoms, I'm reminded how lucky I was with mine. Jackpot, with the first one. For you, I can only suggest staying away from some of these possible triggers and see if that helps.

 

[Loopy Lou]

Is there any tests or anything i can have done for this, or is it something i should bring up to my neurologist?

 

[Endless]

Lou,

The little light thing in front of your face during the eeg, with varying speeds of flashing lights is the test the docs use. And you'lve already had that.

Life experience is the test that told me I'm photosensitive. I started to notice patterns in things that set me off. Like candles flickering in restaurants at night. That's a hard one to get away from. But for me the solution is to try to eat early when the sun is still out a bit, sit next to a window, and look out when I can. I guess I'm not a great dinner companion. lol....

Is there anything that is pattern, color, sound, light, etc. related that you think is a trigger for you?

 

[Loopy Lou]

There's certain patterns of red and blue - like geometric shapes, blue writing on a red background or vice versa which can cause partials, but not every time. I don't think there's any sounds or anything which can set it off though.

It seems to be *head's gone blank, give me a minute here...* oh wait, i remember what i was going to say, like bold colours rather than muted tones which cause a problem.

 

[mel239]

spent today at cleveland clinic for a 76 min eeg (??)and mri since I hadnt had a specific epilepsy mri.The eeg was checking on the second med they added.I hope everything turned out ok,it felt fine,but i have a question about the strobes.My prior eeg said nothing about any problems with the strobes,but he told me to close my eyes.during all the differnt sequences,my heart was pounding,hands sweating,which i figured was just being scared-I hate these things-but I had the hardest time keeping my eyes closed!Its as if the eyeballs were vibrating so fast,they wer trying to escape and I was trying to hold them back-PERFECT DESCRIPTION-anybody else?i also had this sensation of being trapped and forced to look straight ahead at these lights while my mind just kept saying "look away"-I figure this whole thing was just like a panic attack cuz that stuff is scary for me,but that escaping eyeballs was kind of weird

 

[Chel]

I had the hardest time keeping my eyes closed!Its as if the eyeballs were vibrating so fast,they wer trying to escape

I was perfectly relaxed during my EEG, but couldn't keep my eyes still. The tech kept telling me to keep them still! (She could see from my EEG even though my eyes were closed).

Nystagmus (spelling?) has a connection to E, but I'm not sure what that connection is. I was diagnosed with Nystagmus (or however it's spelled) 20+ years ago - it's where one or both eyes never stop moving. You can imagine the effect it would have on a photosensitive epileptic, for whom moving colour and light/dark set off seizures.

 

[Nakamova]

Nystagmus can be a sign of seizure activity, and it can also be a side effect of some of the meds. (I had it when I was overmedicated with Dilantin).

 

[elizzza811]

I have big troubles with the fluorescents lights at Walmart. Never knew it was seizure-related.

And this isn't really photosensitivity related, but tonight when I was laying on the futon, I noticed a jaggedy flashing 'arc' peripherally in my right eye's field of vision...actually half an arc. The half arc ran along the top edge of my right eye's field of vision, bending down around the outer edge of my right eye. I blinked a bunch of times, covered each eye to see if my left eye was also affected (it wasn't), and nothing I did seemed to get rid of it, and it persisted for maybe half an hour. And then when it finally went away, I had a left frontal headache. Could this have been a seizure?

As strange as it sounds, I suspect this magnetic filament on the sun was to blame...

http://spaceweather.com/

TORMENTED FILAMENT: A filament of magnetism and hot plasma is twisting and turning around the sun's southeastern limb today. Click on the image to launch a 2-day movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The filament's magnetic backbone stretches more than 300,000 km from end to end. As suggested by events in the movie, this vast tormented structure is unstable and could erupt at any moment. Any such blast would probably not be Earth-directed because of the filament's location on the limb. Stay tuned.

Why can I sense these though? And why do they affect me so much? I wish I could find somebody interested in studying me so that I could prove I can indeed sense these. This magnetic filament was there yesterday, too, and I felt it then, too.

 

[Nakamova]

What you describe sounds lie a migraine aura (though it could also be a simple partial seizure/aura). Migraine auras often have visual field disturbances like that.

 

[mel239]

Thanks,I googled it but I couldnt really find anything that only occurred with the strobe pattern on eeg-its never happened before or bothered me-i still think it was just a slight panic reaction.Kind of like the fight or flight.

 

[kostareyna]

Im mild photosensetive but my epilepsy seizures are also very mild.

Sun flickering between trees might annoy me or broken flurocent lights but they never caused me a seizure.

flashing lights affect me only if i close my eyes but i have an aura so i can open them in time usually and stop the seizure from happening.
the only wierd thing is that i used to get seizures from lcd monitors after working for couple of hours and i think its related to photosensetivity and fatigue combination (there waren't any flashes in the screen,just high contrast of white color)

flashing lights in dance clubs do affect me a little but even if i drink 1 shot of something it will be enough to make me unsensetive to those strobe flashes.

 

[Chel]

the only wierd thing is that i used to get seizures from lcd monitors after working for couple of hours and i think its related to photosensetivity and fatigue combination (there waren't any flashes in the screen,just high contrast of white color)

Hi Kostareyna

This thread has some good advice about working with computers, if they are setting off your seizures (and remember that "auras" are seizures, too):

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f20/hiya-hoping-some-advice-11663/

Most of my problems have calmed, and now even further, as my workplace has changed the overhead fluorescent lighting from bright white to warm white (it's a pinker tone of white). I could feel my brain relax.

 

[elizzza811]

Thanks, Nakamova...I did experience a slight frontal headache afterwards. It wasn't a major, major one though. Could it still have been a migraine?

 

[Nakamova]

Yes, it's possible to have a migraine aura without it being followed by the nasty headache. I used to have those -- I would get jaggedy stuff you describe, but no headache. I would just lie down for an hour or so until it stopped. If you're interested, a good reference book about all the different kinds of migraines is "Migraine" by Oliver Sacks.

 

[Willie333]

Wal-Mart and Costco store lighting seems to agitate my senses too much. It seems to be the transition from natural sunlight (especially cloudy days) through their skylighting and the halogens which are on again off again to compensate for the amount of lighting through the skylights. Lots of weird shadows makes me feel disoriented. And if it's crowded I feel like it's difficult to manuever with constantly changing light information. Almost like a panic attack or hypoglycemia going on. I went back to my car and got my sunglasses one day and it helped a bit. I'm thinking of buying some blue blocking glasses just for shopping like the Uvex S1933X Skyper Safety Eyewear.

 

[CathyAnn31]

For sure! I was seriously bothered by a small classroom that had a solid red wall with white polka dots. The dots were about the size of the bottom of a soda can. It really messed with me - headaches, messed with my equilibrium. I couldn't work in that room.

Also, I went to a Mexican resteraunt that had silver tensil aling the ceiling and was blowing around slightly from the air vents. I couldn't sit in there.

I'm not super photosensitive but those two things really affected me and I had to leave both times.

 

[Vale]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I have experienced all of the triggers mentioned and was surprised when I looked at a piece of jewelry on Overstock.com, a sun with squiggly rays, which sent me into a partial seizure. I have had to bag up many blouses because their pattern. I put them in an airtight bag, hoping I can wear them again some day. Any quick movement, such as car acceleration, sends my head and/or body shaking and unfortunately, I love to drive and cannot...