@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member The best way to get the answer is to tell your neurologist exactly what you have told us. BTW, have you been given a portable EEG yet? The second visit that I had with my first neurologist, I was sent home with this. The data obtained from this can be even more useful to the neurologist than the annual EEG because you have this on you day and night for a day or two. When I had mine on me, I use the proper stimulus to ensure that I would trigger at least one seizure while hooked up to it: it was my best man speech at my best friend's wedding. I am a perfectionist (package deal with being left-handed with two right-handed parents and the only left-handed sibling of my six biological siblings is a younger sibling, thus I had to teach myself to tie my shoes, bat and throw a baseball, etc. based on my parents doing things backwards) and shy (do not like speaking in front of groups -- even the in front of just the class when I was in school), thus I felt guilty that I did not get everything in my written toast speech out and muffed in some areas.

The result of triggering this seizure (might have had others that I do not recall) is the neurologist could look right there at a seizure in action in my brain and know that I had Complex Partial Seizures. Of course, at other times I have had full seizures (including this past Sunday and back when I was in high school), my full seizures were not the types of seizures that I was having at this time.

Also, were you told by your neurologist to keep a "diary"/notes with as much detail as possible from your perspective and those of any witnesses of every seizure that you have? This is very important information for the neurologist in treating you and can be critical information if you have any lengthy seizures (because these are the ones that you will most likely need to go to the ER for because they are the potentially directly deadly ones).

And have you made sure that family and friends know what to do (and what not to do) when you are having a seizure?

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A MyEpile...

here's the deal. you will have focal onset aware (known as simple partials) and/or focal onset impaired awareness (complex partials) seizures. i have both.
anyway question... do you have aura seizures? i say this because i have this too. this foggy (mine also gets this tingling feeling in my brain) thing.
i am no dr but ... i think you have auras into simple/complex partials or auras into simple partials.
you need to ask your dr(s) about this because i know a lot (research) but some drs know much, much more then me.

I find it hard to say if what you describe are simple partial seizures (SPS) or complex partial seizures (CPS), which nowadays tend to be called "focal aware" and "focal impaired awareness" seizures respectively. I think that focal impaired ones usually include doing some weird things that you don't remember, for as long as several minutes, and certainly confusion for several minutes afterwards, but then SPS can become CPS. Seizures I've always called SPS (not complex) seem to include several kinds of little ones that have specific names. These are all described on this:

file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Health%20&%...

I've had all different kinds of seizures, my seizures mainly occur when I'm sleeping. But when I do have seizures when I'm awake people have said I just have a blank look in my eyes and tap my fingers for a couple minutes, then I gasp for air and make a weird noise then fall over and start seizing.
Two of the pieces of advice I can give you is do NOT take a shower or cook unless someone else is home. And even when you take a shower when someone else is home let them know when you get in and out. I'm 27 and still let my mother know when I get in and out of the shower. The reason why I say don't cook unless someone is home, is ,6 years ago I was cutting up chicken, luckily my brother was home and heard the strange noise I make, he ran to the kitchen, I fell backwards and he said the knife was less than an inch from my face when he grabbed it out of my hands.
But maybe talk to your neurologist about doing a 72 hour at home EEG so he/she can "see" what your usual day is like and help figure out what is causing your seizures. And see where that takes you.

I think it's normal for confusion to come with the majority of the types of seizures even the focal aware. Have you ever tried getting some one you trust to videorecord them, to see what they looked like?that can be a huge help in figuring out what type they are.