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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Epilepsy / May 2004Red sign on a traffic light but I kept on walking? Is that seizure or is that what we call stupid?
Hello gurus, I know, I may sometimes ask a "so called stupid question" but I am not sure if the following is really worthwhile telling my neurologist. I have to go meet her at the end of June this year. Here is the story. Since three weeks approximately I have been taking 1000 mg of Depakine Chrono per day. I am aproximately 1.92 meter in length/92KG in weight which means that 1000 mg is a not a high dose. Last week I had to cross a busy road in the middle of a huge city in The Netherlands with two traffic lights with loads of cars waiting. From a distance I saw both traffic lights and both lights were green. So far so good. When I passed the first one, I simply kept on walking while I was thinking (deeply => not paying attention to anyone). Meanwhile the second traffic light went to red which I was about to pass as well. Other passengers already stopped walking. At that point, cars were about to accelerate. When I was halfway the road, the first cars were accelerating already: I then stopped thinking. I first looked at the traffic light: and noticed the red sign, then I looked in a "not so happy" car driver because she wanted to move on as well and I ignored the red light, then finally I took three or four steps backwards so that the car could continue accelerating, etc. The same weekend, I visited my parents. They were telling me a story -maybe it was not that interesting I do not know, but my mother asked me if I was actually listening to her which I thought I was. Question: is this something I need to tell my neurologist. I am reading about epilepsy now and the so called "absences" should not really happen at my age anymore. I read that these always happen during childhood if one is sensitive for epilepsy and I am not a child anymore (29 years old). If this is a seizure, how does one call this then? It may also be a fact that since I suffered a grand mall seizure in February this year, I changed personality a bit which means I am thinking more deeply (we have a Dutch expression for that process when one does not pay attention to anything besides him/her...what the English expression for that? Thinking deeply -I guess not). Reason of asking: when there is no real need to (no seizures happening -I just need to focus a little bit more), I do not want to ask for an increase of dose of my medicins as I now on a low dose with no side effects at all which is great. Bye,  SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco > Hello gurus, > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > Bye, > Marco Hi Marco, I personally have no experience with absence seizures, so I'll probably be no help at all :) But from a logical point of view, it would seem that if you are deep in thought, these occurences could quite easily be nothing more than lack of concentration. Especially if this has been happening since your grand mal in February and as you say, it is an effect from that seizure. Perhaps it might help to make a conscious effort to continually take notice of your surroundings and what is happening around you. But please try not to walk into traffic any more at least. :) Cheers. Darryl. Below might not be an Absence seizure, but if it is, it might appear described on some websites under Simple Partial Seizure (one where Awareness might be lost for seconds to minutes, but where we don't become Unconscious -- i.e. lying on the Ground). There might be some descriptions under that latter name. If it's that type it's not often something you can 'snap out of' by trying harder, but could be an indication that blood levels of a medication might be either too high or too low for complete control. (If levels get too high, some of them will make us drowsy so give a lack of attention that could produce the same symptoms as you described below.) G./ > Hello gurus, > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > Bye, > Marco > Below might not be an Absence seizure, but if it is, it might > appear described on some websites under Simple Partial Seizure (one [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > of attention that could produce the same symptoms as you described > below.) G./ Hello Darryl/Gaross, It may indeed be true that medicines levels are too low. I used to have 900 mg of Depakine when I was 10 years old and now I am 29 and the neurologist gave me a prescription of 1000 mg (actually I asked her to start with a low level). Fact is with or without medicines, I will have to pay close attention to the environment. If something then happens, then I know for sure. The problem with epilepsy of all kinds is that you cannot tell for sure what happens or what will happen -you cannot be wired whole day doing a fulltime EEG all the time, that is for sure :-) SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco Howdy Marco! I have 2 very simple rules that have worked quite well for me. 1. Tell the doctor EVERYTHING and let the doctor decide for himself what is or is not important. 2. When in doubt, see rule 1. Very often I will mention something that I am SURE is of no importance and will get a: "Hmmm -- that is VERY interesting! You know, that could indicate..." or "I'm glad you told me! That is one of the early signs of toxic drug levels" or "That is insignificant, don't worry about it." Even the last response is a good thing because it puts any doubts to rest!!! SignatureDave ???? http://www.howdydave.com > Howdy Marco! > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Even the last response is a good thing because it puts any doubts to > rest!!! Hello Dave, Sir, yes Sir! :-) I will follow your rule then. I just wanted to know if there is anyone out there that is asking for a higher level of medicines when one is not certain proactively. The neurologist gave me 8 weeks to monitor myself a little bit. I however live alone so no one is really monitoring me during the times of the day I am about to take the next pill. During my day job, my colleagues do not monitor me all the time and they say they do not see anythng which is good of course but if we are talking about seconds, then they might not see anything during the day. It is good that you guys answer my questions all the time -thank you. SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco Howdy Marco! I live alone too! I have absolutely NO idea of how many (if any) complex partials I have unless I end up hurting myself in the process. A complex partial screws up my sleep schedule but, since it's ALWAYS screwed up these days I really have no way of knowing what's going on. Is the doc doing any bloodwork? If the drug levels are at theraputic levels and they aren't working there are really only two options: change drugs or take something else in addition to what you are currently taking. (Well... actually there's a third: "Let's make any changes just yet.") SignatureDave ???? http://www.howdydave.com > Hello Dave, > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > It is good that you guys answer my questions all the time -thank you. > Howdy Marco! > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Is the doc doing any bloodwork? An appointment is scheduled on June 4 as well as an CT-scan to rule out any other cause except then the well known triggers. As said, I take Depakine which is actually valproic. The brand-name form of valproic acid in the United States and Canada is Depakene -you may have heard about that already of course. In the UK, it is Convulex. Brand names used in other countries include Depakine, Orfiril, Valporal, and Valprosid. This medicine has one disadvantage and one of them is that you cannot determine the real level of the medicine by looking at the blood as it goes directly to the brains (that is what I read about it -as you can see, I learn a lot which is good). > If the drug levels are at theraputic levels and they aren't working > there are really only two options: change drugs or take something > else in addition to what you are currently taking. (Well... actually > there's a third: "Let's make any changes just yet.") I have the feeling that the drug is indeed working as I used to feel "dizzy" without loosing consciousness (if we are not talking about seconds of course) and without a small shaking of limbs all the times during the day. Maybe it is the uncertainty that a great seizure could happen again that I felt dizzy and that the awareness of "we are doing something about it" gave me a good feeling again and at this point I do think the neurologist should just only need to increase the levels based on my first feedback (and the blood levels as well because that is what she is going to analyse also). SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially here! Your experience could have been a type of seizure, or a side effect of your meds - or maybe just being absent-minded, as we say in English. That happens to plenty of people who don't have epilepsy. You should definitely mention it to your doctor. I find it strange that the neuros say absences are very rare in adults, yet I get them quite often. Just yesterday I was discussing it with him and he claimed that what I call absences are really minor complex partials. Oh well, as Dave says, "a rose by any other name..." > Hello gurus, > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > Bye, > Marco > There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially here! Oh yeah? Is that a challenge? :) No really, there's not. This is an extremely valuable place. I feel so lucky to have found it. >> There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially here! > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > No really, there's not. This is an extremely valuable place. I feel > so lucky to have found it. That is so true (related to: extremely valuable place) -however there are people in this newsgroup that have 15 seizures per day or more and have been treated for years now without having full control over their epilepsy (related to: stupid question). There is an official local support group of persons dealing with epilepsy in The Netherlands, but that is not that active as this support group. You sometimes won't get an answer at all and when you get one it is days later. Take care. SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco > There's no such thing as a stupid question, especially here! > Your experience could have been a type of seizure, or a side effect [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > it with him and he claimed that what I call absences are really minor > complex partials. Oh well, as Dave says, "a rose by any other name..." Hello Turbinado, My neurologist did not tell me that -I found that in the books all by myself (so that could be wrong I guess?) When I was ten years old I had absences type of seizures. Not a very big deal -at that time when I rode my bike, I sometimes crashed to a shed (I never fall of my bike so it was not a real big deal and my mother was with me all the time), my arm/shoulder sometimes shaked a bit and that was it. I was treated with 900 mg of Depakine per day which I now consider as a high level of medicines. My neurologist now told me I now have another type of epilepsy -actually, I never spoke to a neuroligst, maybe 5 or 10 minutes in the couple of appointments I already fulfilled by now. As I am under control in an academic hospital, I always spoke to a medical student in residency or junior doctor (what the heck is the difference between them?). She may have told me or as we say in Dutch: the message went into the right ear and it went out from the left ear (Dutch expression) :-) I now want to know a little bit more of the seizures that exists -on June 28, I will certainly ask what type of epilepsy I am dealing with and I will cover my left ear all the time :-) SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco [...] > ... She may have > told me or as we say in Dutch: the message went into the right ear and it > went out from the left ear (Dutch expression) :-) I now want to know a > little bit more of the seizures that exists -on June 28, I will certainly > ask what type of epilepsy I am dealing with and I will cover my left ear all > the time :-) "In one ear and out the other", is the apolitical form of this expression used in the US...;-) Sorry, couldn't resist...;-) --David Ruether > "In one ear and out the other", is the apolitical form > of this expression used in the US...;-) > Sorry, couldn't resist...;-) > --David Ruether Hehe...okay, I just bought myself an English book about epilepsy. Now I perhaps know what you guys are talking about all the time :-) SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco hey marco, i agree with dave - tell the neuro what you've noticed. he will decide for himslf, if it is important or if it isn't. as for the absences: they may be most common with childs. that doesn't mean it's impossible for adults to get them. prob is, you rarely really notice them at all. but: many people are just lost in thoughts. so, if you didn't have no proplems with absences before, there may be a chance you're having such now. but it's more likely it is something different. anyway, check it with your neuro. absences are hard to realize for the person having them. i had about 20 absences per day, thinking they were just lack of concentration, until somebody realized what was going on. if you really think you're dealing with absences, check for some signs (there's a bit time till you see your doc, maybe you can give him additional information) you won't really notice them when you're alone, so, check for unusual behaiviour interacting with other persons. you mentioned not listening to your parents, e.g. there is a difference between not listening because of being bored and not listening because "somebody dimmed the lights". (absences are more like the latter). are you famous for stopping to talk in the middle of a sentence and finish it after a pause of 10 sec to one min? etc. i have a guess - that these things might go together with the change in behaviour, that "thinking more deeply" you mentioned. but, i'm not an expert, so just ask one ;-) yours Raist > hey marco, > > i agree with dave - tell the neuro what you've noticed. he will > decide for himslf, if it is important or if it isn't. Thanks Raist. I will do that for sure when I visit my neurologist at the end of June. Actually, I also saw your other posting about being bored and then having the seizures. Quite interesting stuff you wrote there. Anyone else in this group observing the same behaviors? > as for the absences: they may be most common with childs. that doesn't > mean it's impossible for adults to get them. prob is, you rarely [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > were just lack of concentration, until somebody realized what was > going on. Yes, and that part scares me a bit that you do not know what has happened or even when it starts happening or if it's actually happened. > if you really think you're dealing with absences, check for some signs > (there's a bit time till you see your doc, maybe you can give him > additional information) Exactly. > you won't really notice them when you're alone, so, check for unusual > behaiviour interacting with other persons. you mentioned not [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > are you famous for stopping to talk in the middle of a sentence and > finish it after a pause of 10 sec to one min? etc. No, I can't recall that happened but I only know that my mother was talking. > i have a guess - that these things might go together with the change > in behaviour, that "thinking more deeply" you mentioned. but, i'm not > an expert, so just ask one ;-) Thanks Raist (and all the others replying to my question). > yours > Raist SignatureThanks for responding. Bye, Marco Marco wrote in a reply to Raist: Actually, I also saw your other posting about being bored and then > having the seizures. Quite interesting stuff you wrote there. Anyone else in > this group observing the same behaviors? I did. I was home with my young daughter when my seizures were most active. That was almost five years ago. I had a brain tumor removed and am now seizure-free. But I made the same observation. If my mind wasn't active, I had a lot of simple partials. Liz |
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