Absence Seizures
 

Has anyone had these.....or know anything about them?

I've been having strange "episodes" recently and wonder if it's some type of mild seizure. DS asked me the other night while we were watching TV if I was okay. Apparently I was starring off - not looking directly at the TV - and just sort of seemed lost in thought. I do not remember this.

I've noticed that I can sit and read for a while but at some point I stop reading and just sit and stare. Probably no longer than 30 seconds to a minute but I don't realize I'm doing it until I "come out of it" and find myself just sitting on the couch with my book in my lap. :confused: I'm not confused nor have I found myself wandering around.

I've also noticed that I can be walking through the living room and stop to watch something on the television (I usually lean up against the back of the recliner while doing this) and I'll realize after a little while (seconds or minutes....I don't know) that I'm not even watching the TV but just starring at the wall or the floor but not directly "at" anything in particular.

This is strange and is worrisome to me. I don't feel "out of it" or like I've lost my bearings or anything. I just sort of "check out" momentarily. While I'm at home this seems fairly benign but what concerns me is what if I'm not at home and I do this? What if I'm driving to the store? I hardly ever drive anymore but will go around the corner to the drug store or the grocery store. That's about the extent of my driving and never when my vision is compromised.

Am I just inventing stuff to worry about or if this really a problem for anyone else?

I do this sometimes to Kelly. It's a little bit scary when it happens. I can't recall what I was thinking about or if I was even thinking of anything! It feels like I just "checked out" of my brain for a minute. Very weird :eek:.

I do this too Kitty. It happens quite a bit. I'm like you, I know in not losing my mind or anything, it's just like my brain kinda shifts into auto-pilot! And yes, my kids always ask me what I was thinking. Lol. I just say "nothing". Otherwise it would be too hard trying to explain to them. :)

To tell you the truth, I don't know.:D I have busy noise going on all the time (TV) and noone is here to miss me when I'm gone, so, I don't know, but I suspect yes.:rolleyes::o

I get them every so often Kelly. In fact, I still have a couple of months left before I can drive again. I don't get them often, thank goodness. The 1st one kind of freaked me out a bit.

I also get tired afterward and need to nap.

Talk to you neuro about this as there may be something else going on and/or you may need some meds to help.

I called my Neuro and his nurse called me back. She's going to talk to the other Neuro there (mine is out till next week) and call me once he reviews my chart. She asked me alot of questions and I could hear her typing on the computer keyboard so I hope she took lots of notes.

Tricia, now that you mention it I do the same thing......have to nap more, especially after one of the episodes.

I never black out or lose consciousness......but just sort of go into a trance-like state.

Since I rarely ever go anywhere it's not ever happened anywhere but home. I'm thinking that when I'm out - like at the grocery store - there's too much activity going on around me for me to zone out. That's just my uneducated conclusion. :rolleyes:

I'd definitely tell the neuro about it...it does sound like what you asked about...let us know how you're doing...:hug:

The Neuro's office called me back just a few minutes ago. She said that the Neuro she talked to wants me to come in for an EEG. I have an appointment next Thursday morning. We shall see...............

Good luck, Kelly! Let us know how it goes.:hug:

I too have experienced the "missing for a few seconds" that you are describing. I actually was working the 1st time it happened to me. Based on where I was in transcribing I know I was "gone" for 10 seconds and had a ton of spaces on my computer screen as my hands must have gone limp. I was so tired after that episode and finished my work, called my neuro, and took a long nap. The tiredness lasted the rest of the day and evening.

A couple of months ago when it happened again, I wasn't gone for too long but my left eye felt like the pupil wasn't going back to the right size and light really bothered it. I had several in a row. But afterward, I had some cognitive trouble. It took me a few days to recup from that.

FWIW, whenever I have had them done, I have never been able to get in to a deep enough sleep to get the full results, even after being sleep deprived, which they want you to be.

My dad was diagnosed with MS around 1957? Maybe three to five years later he had his first "black out", and our car went off the road (no serious injuries). My mother said his eyes were open, but he seemed to be unaware and was unresponsive to her hollering. It only lasted a few seconds, and he had no idea what had happened, didn't remember my mother trying to get his attention.

He suffered a few more events like that..maybe a half dozen? I was a kid, so my memory on that is fuzzy. At the time, the doctors at the VA said they were seizures related to MS.

Years after, another doctor told him they had "probably" been TIA's. I questioned that and asked my own PCP how likely it would be to have TIA's and not eventually have a stroke in the next 40 years. He thought unlikely.

We'll probably never know for sure, but when he had these "black outs", they were usually accompanied by other symptoms and were most likely exacerbations.

I'm glad you're getting checked out thoroughly to rule out anything serioius. It sounds as though you are aware that you are "doing it" and kind of snap yourself out of it. Does it feel like a focus issue? Like in school, when you didn't notice that you'd stopped reading your social studies book and started daydreaming?

It's strange......I'm totally awake and conscious throughout the "spell". I don't think they last that long. Just seconds to maybe a couple of minutes. The one time I really noticed it was when I got up to tinkle in the middle of the night and realized later that I was just sitting on the potty staring at the wall! :o

I hope it's nothing serious. The Neuro's office didn't seem to think it was 'cos I'm not scheduled to have my test until next Thursday. I'm anxious to see if there's any activity going on up there in my head! :p

Oh, carp. You guys making me a little nervous. :o. This happened to me once when I was driving with my son in the car! After it happened I had a few seconds of disorientation and wasn't sure where I was. I knew I was in my town but didn't recognize the street I was on :eek:.

I told my son that I wasn't quite sure where I was and he said we were a couple of blocks from home. I always have my gps on to help me. I explained what happened and asked.if I was driving okay. He said to.calm down because I was driving just fine. I was extremely stressed out before this happened.
I think this was about a year ago and it hasn't happened in the car since. I'm terrified of not being able to drive :(.

Good luck, K. :hug:. Please let us know how the eeg goes.

kitty,

i'm glad you called your dr and they're going to to the EEG.
please let us know how it goes.

i've never had that, that i know of.

how many x's a day does it happen?

good luck. i'm with you.

a bit of a timely thread for me. I do not have exactly what you describe but I can relate in that there are times when I just sit for moments. DH always wants to know what I am doing. I do not lose time when I do it.

But...I did have some sort of episode about a week ago. And the neuro is going to order an EEG, both awake and asleep. Then an MRI to see if I have new lesions lighting up in my brain.

I had some sort of fall. I have almost total amnesia on it. Last thing I remember is looking down the hallway and watching DD and DH in conversation. I must have gone into the bathroom. They heard the fall and came in to find me face down on the ground. Slurred speech, no muscle control.

What happened? My guess is that after the EEG and MRI, with my pocket less $500, I will be told it is inconclusive.

Isn't that how it goes?:rolleyes:

I know, Aarcyn.......and it'll just be one more thing for me to worry about! :rolleyes:

One thing I thought of yesterday is the cost of this test. Medicare only pays for part of it.....and I'm responsible for the rest. :eek: I'm calling the Neuro's office this morning to see......in fact, I'm on hold right now while they check.

Okay, she just checked and my portion will be roughly $122 but that is subject to change if Medicare decides to allow more or less (not sure what that means). Ugh.......now I'm wondering whether to get this done right now or wait. :confused: I might just wait to see if our SSDI checks are affected by the government debt problems.

I seem to just 'tune out' as well - I wonder if our brains are so tired trying to input all of the sensory information around us, it just needs a bit of a break. I am often caught out, particularly when I am tired, staring off into space, almost 'trancelike'.

Sometimes when I am driving, I just 'arrive' (without incident) at my destination and even though I have driven past people I know, or missed picking up my husband or kids when they are walking home, I am not aware of them. Just focussing on the road and nothing much else.

Embarrassing admission, but I get home and don't remember specifics about the trip - I just think 'wow, I am here already'.

Lyn

I do it too. sometimes I find myself sitting on the potty at night and wondering how I got there. or I will just leave. I did it a few times while I was driving, and had to pull off the side of the road. I simply felt like I wasnt in my body anymore. like an out of body thing was happening. After a few minutes it passed and I was fine.

I hope you get your answers.

((hugs)) :hug:

Ya know, I don't think that all of this zoning out is MS or seizure related. I can remember short periods of zoning out, as a kid. I see my Grandkids go into translike states, when watching something on TV.

I had short periods of, living in my own little private world and not hearing anything around me, at the time.

Soooo, either I've always been loopy or some of this "zoning out" is not a seizure, but perfectly natural!!!:D

Maybe it's just our body's way of saying "I need a break!". ;)

I think you're probably right Sally - ms is likely not the culprit, sometimes we just get overloaded iwth 'life' and our preoccupation with everyday things causes everyone to run on autopilot from time to time.

Mind you, the 'daydream' thing is happening a lot more lately. Maybe life is getting busier and we are getting slower and that's why it is noticeable.

Lyn

That works for me, Lyn..:D :hug:

That's a good explanation, Lynn. I think I'll use your dx. :D It's a whole lot cheaper than an EEG! :o

Sometimes ignorance is bliss!:D

Well, that should explain why I'm so happy! :o

LMAO!! Not really. I looked and my ***** is as big as ever :D.

You shouldn't have looked!!!

For me, there is a difference between just zoning out and having seizure activity. After they happen, I am really tired and need to lay down or nap. What happens to me physically during them I don't know other than I'll drop what I have in my hands or I stop doing what I am doing. I don't know "where" I go during that time. A few times, my eyes seem sensitive to light and I'm a little confused afterward, even in to the next day.

Zoning out, to me, is just sitting there staring but being fully aware of my surroundings and what is going on and I'm even aware of what I am thinking. A noise or movement or something can always bring me out of the zone. During the weird seizure like things, I'm not fully aware. They are brief moments, lasting a several seconds or so. Sometimes, it only happens once. Other times, it's several times in a day. All in all, I have only had 3 episodes of this with my most recent one happening toward the end of May. With that one, my eye felt like the pupil was so dilated but wouldn't go back to normal size and the light really irritated it. It happened several times during that day and by the next day I was tired and a little confused and/or things that were too complex were confusing me. It's hard to describe but I have never experienced the fatigue and confusion after zoning out.

Then it certainly sounds like there is much more happening for you. I am sorry if it seems like I have made light of this, get it checked out.

Lyn

Me too Trish. Seizures are not like normal zoning out. I hope what I said didn't lead peeps to believe that.

Love you...:hug:

I thought what you guys posted was funny!:D So no harm done. I just was commenting on what I experience to help Kelly out a little. I should have commented on the humorous stuff, like I normally would. Sorry and yeah, I love you guys too.:hug::grouphug:

Wow, Trish you explained exactly what happens to me occasionally, usually during dinner for some reason. My DH will say, "Get your hand out of your plate," and all of a sudden I am awake with my fingers full of spaghetti sauce:( Or I just fall asleep...I wonder if it is some kind of seizure...oh well...:rolleyes:

Anyway, Kitty, you should get it checked out...just wait til the budget crisis is passed so you make sure Medicare will still be paid for;)

well, being a nurse i have to say that if you and your dr really think they're seizures you should try to have it dx'd. for one thing it could get worse. and if it's dx'd you could be on meds that would help...however it affects you.

i don't think ignorance is bliss. i think knowing is wiser.

just me ya know.

Oh, Trish, we know you think we're all hysterical :D! LOL. WE think we're hysterical :o:p, so how could you not?? ;).

MS is funny sometimes too! My MS does some things that are actually quite funny to see. :p

Judy is right. Getting it checked is far better than just ignoring it. There is medication that can help with it. Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

:o Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I rescheduled my appointment. It's storming today and my body just says "no way" to getting out in this hot, humid sauna of an environment.

I've rescheduled so it will be done. Just not today. ;)

we're still behind you.
keep us posted, please.

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yes kitty - i have had these for a very long time --
some last longer than yours --
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nothing thank g-d really bad happens - but i just seem to not be there --
- i told the neuro because i am worried with caring for my grandaughter --
-
she could get herself in a lot of trouble while my mind is off in space --
-
basically he had little to say except extra child proof the house --
we did this to the point where we practically live in a day care center -
-
but than there was the day when she climbed up onto the dining table --- stood up to touch the light --- looked down --- and yelled -
--- oh noooo --- nannaaaa ---
-
that really scared me - and her --
she is eating back in the high chair --
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did you tell your neuro ?
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hope you have a safe and healthy day .................. Dvora

The seizures - if that's what they are/were - have pretty much stopped. I had to postpone the appointment yet again because DS was traveling for work and I didn't have any way to get there. It's not an emergency and I'm sure that if I decided it was he'd rearrange his schedule to help me. I just haven't mentioned any of it to him because I really don't want to bother or worry him. If it comes back I'll be sure to get it seen about. If worse comes to worse I can always rent a car for a couple of days but just the thought of having to coordinate all of that wears me out! :o Plus it's expensive....:(.

Aww, Kelly :hug:. I wish I was there to take you. You know it's ok to bother our sons sometimes! It helps us teach them that we do need help once in a while especially when they don't see it themselves :rolleyes:. Our kids are good boys but they just need a little push on occasion :). In my case it's mostly my one son in particular ;).

Yep....same for me, too, JL. I was probably the same way when I was 24. Was I ever 24?? :o :p