Info about absense seizures in Adults

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msald9044@aol.com - 26 Oct 2005 16:55 GMT

I went to a neurologist a few weeks ago and based on his
interview/examination of me, he made a diagnosis that I hadn't heard
about: absence seizures.

I am an adult male who suffers with what I've always thought was severe
ADD. But none of the ADD meds (ritalin, concerta, adderol, etc) have
made even the slightest dent in my symptoms. According to my doc, this
is b/c ADD meds are ineffective in treating epilepsy.

Which is why his diagnosis floored me. I don't think that this
condition has received much publicity and it may provide answers for
people who think they have ADD (and for whom the usual ADD drugs won't
work).

In order to confirm that I indeed have absence seizures, he had me
complete a 24-hour EEG. I am anxiously awaiting the results.

In the meantime, I've done an extensive search on the internet and
there isn't much info available at all on these types of seizures,
especially in adults. What little exists says it usually affects
children and that they tend to outgrow it. That's basically all I've
been able to find out.

Again, what I'm looking for is info specifically for adults.

Thanks
Malcolm

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G.Ross - 26 Oct 2005 17:17 GMT

>I went to a neurologist a few weeks ago and based on his
> interview/examination of me, he made a diagnosis that I hadn't heard
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> Thanks
> Malcolm

Did you do a search for 'absence' (note spelling), vs. subject above? If
not, you might find some other sites with that spelling. If, as is likely,
you did have it spelled correctly, some of the adult types of that seizure
might be grouped under Simple Partial seizures. (I had absence seizures as
part of my Complex Partial types, as I got close to full control with a
medicine specific to me.)
You could look under what any descriptions are for Simple Partial
Seizures and see if some of the symptoms you had might be included under
there. One site that should have information aside from your searching at
Google, is the US Ep. Foundation site at http://efa.org . /G.

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Dave ©¿©¬ - 26 Oct 2005 17:29 GMT

> I went to a neurologist a few weeks ago and based on his
> interview/examination of me, he made a diagnosis that I hadn't heard
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> Thanks
> Malcolm

Howdy Malcolm!

I was first diagnosed with absance seizures.
n.b.: spelled absAnce

When I became changed doctors they changed the name from "absance" to
"complex partials" due to the fact that absance seizures are usually
associated with childhood epilepsy.

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Dave ©¿©
"Ego sum quis Ego sum quod ut est quicumque Ego sum"

http://www.howdydave.com

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G.Ross - 26 Oct 2005 18:35 GMT

>> I went to a neurologist a few weeks ago and based on his
>> interview/examination of me, he made a diagnosis that I hadn't heard
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> I was first diagnosed with absance seizures.
> n.b.: spelled absAnce

*********************

> When I became changed doctors they changed the name from "absance" to
> "complex partials" due to the fact that absance seizures are usually
> associated with childhood epilepsy.

Howdy Howdy. I went back to the http://efa.org site I gave them, and had
it do a search on your spelling (***s above) . It got 3 hits, first a diary
blog by a youngster with seizures, and 2 others not what we were looking for
(at least I wasn't).
The other spelling (absence seizures) pulled in about 300? and some of
the first 20 of those included stuff about it being a type of simple partial
seizure (as I had guessed on my first reply). Must have been a longer spell
of posts... :-< G.

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Darwin - 26 Oct 2005 23:40 GMT

The correct spelling is absence, which properly refers to a specific type of
"staring spell" seizure. Although some partial seizures (involving a
portion of the brain) may appear as a staring spell, these would not be
called absence seizures. Absence seizures have a very characteristic
electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern of 2-3 /second spike-wave discharge that
involves the entire cortex surface of the brain in synchrony. This may also
be accompanied by a fluttering of the eye lids at 3/second. Absence
seizures also have a paradoxical drug response in that many drugs which stop
other seizures tend to make absence seizure worse and vice-versa. I've been
told that the effectiveness of typical anti-absence medication is very good
and that absence seizures are generally thought to be benign.

Here's a little article that talks about the difference between absence and
partial seizure staring spells.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Staring-Spell-Seizures:-Theyre-Not-All-the-Same&id=80683

>I went to a neurologist a few weeks ago and based on his
> interview/examination of me, he made a diagnosis that I hadn't heard
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> Thanks
> Malcolm

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