Depiction of an absence seizure and how to respond. To see an updated version of this video, please visit: • Absence Seizures Visit our website for more information: www.epilepsytoronto.org
This is actually incredibly accurate, my sister has filmed mine before. Only difference is I don't snap right out of mine it takes me about 30 seconds or so to return to baseline
my french teacher confuses my epilepsy with ADHD, while in my absence seizures, I hear tangled voices in my head, and the other students confuse this with schizophrenia. So, for the next school year, I will prepare an oral presentation regarding epilepsy
I lose gaps of time when mine occur when I come out of it It takes about 30 seconds for me to fully return to normal but I'm usually not even aware I had one.
@@astrofrk please have hope…and challenge the narrative of “my brain is really fried”. The power of belief and the self limits imposed can be unbelievable. Neuroplasticity is possible. Hopefully you are getting the best care possible, support, and making sure your environment, diet, sleep hygiene, and all you do is intentional to support the best brain health and neuroplasticity possible. The brain is amazing.
I had these in second grade it was so embarrassing. This teacher was telling me something then I zoned out and he said "you really need to stop doing that" and every time I think about my seizures I used to have that pops up in my mind..I'm in 7th grade now and I'm cured 😊
Throughout the years i had hints of zoning out and forgetting things and i got all the time that i am crazy or a daydreamer. Then one day after my 18th birthday my situation suddenly got worse. I forgot everything than all the information came back. Then forgot again. Suddenly my grades dropped down and i was incapable of learning. I am at home since October aka my birthday and went to 5 psychiatrist. The 5th one diagnosed me with absence epilepsy. Now I'm on my 3rd medicine but my situation rn is worse. This video talks to my heart because right now thanks to my seizures people tell me i should give up on dreaming about being an actress. I am confused but hope that like many of you i get better one day😔😊
Thanks for sharing and best of luck on your epilepsy journey. I hope you find a medication that helps and that you have support around you. Please don't give up dreaming! And check out some of our other videos, they may be useful too! ru-vid.com/group/PL5blmDt6LEewntDGjqCAP-yNo_Bs0rMip
Inn shaaAllah u will b better.nd i want ur prayers for my brother.he is having seizures.i m so worried about him.he is taking medicines too.what is the opinion of ur doctor?
Most of seizures result in confusion but this is somewhat accurate. When I have a seizure my eyes will roll back or go crossed. mine usually only last a 10-15 seconds, and kids would start calling me stupid but I was too afraid of them freaking out to tell them it was a seizure.
I had absence seizures every 30 seconds at night when I was sleeping when I was 3 years old and my mom knew there was something wrong because I would stutter and my mom took me to the doctor and as soon as the doctor heard me talk he knew immediately it was seizures and so I got an EEG and when I got the results back it showed that I was having absent seizures every 30 seconds while I was sleeping and the doctor prescribed me a medication and after a week of being on the medication I was speaking in full sentences and I am so glad that I am cured and I can tell people about my story
I was diagnosed with this type of seizure a few years ago. I remember having these attacks where I would space out and become dizzy and feel like I was goi to get sick. One day my mom took me to the hospital to get to the bottom of the attacks. Doctors ran tests, everything was normal. Before we left I had an attack. I was kept overnight and neurologists did an EEG. The EEG came back that I was having seizures. It was absolutely crazy
If you see this, could I ask- what do they feel like? Can you sometimes still process everything that's happening around you, or does your mind just go blank and silent? I'm going next week to get tested because we suspect I have them- but maybe this could help not to scare me, and let me know a little more before I have the tests done
I don’t remember much about my absence seizures (they occurred only until I was about 3 or 4 and then haven’t happened since) but I do remember how they were described to me later in life wherein I was said to look vacantly ahead, I also was told that I was very lucky that my teachers were familiar with the signs of absence seizures because I apparently had them relatively frequently in daycare and early pre-school and that they would keep the other kids from interacting with me for the duration of those seizures All in all very grateful to have grown up around people who knew what absence seizures were and more importantly what they looked like and how to deal with them
I started having these sort of seizures in my early 20s after a head injury. It was AWFUL and I was scared until I finally got diagnosed properly at age 25. Typically I would sense an odd, unpleasant smell in the time leading up to one, which usually lasted around 10 seconds, so I was told. With time I started to adapt, but it was not easy. Medication did stop them, though when I was taken off after a few years, the absence seizures eventually came back, but with less frequency. I am 41 now and on another medication, Gabapentin (which was tried rather experimentally, as its generally not used for this type of seizure). It half-works, though it often leads to a lot of twitching as I sleep and I am very likely to be given something else....my advice, when you get a good doctor(s) that you trust and they put you on a medication that works, stay with them! You might end up switching medications over the years...not all doctors know as much as they say. A neurologist is really what you need, though a psychiatrist can be a good place to start. DO NOT listen to unsolicited "advice" from non qualified professionsls...even many RNs are not very knowledgeable in this area beyond the basics. You really need a well qualified neurologist and nurses well versed in this area of medicine!
@@laurenvgarcia well it's always an unpleasant type, sort of chemical/sewage like odor. It won't last long, seconds but it's very distinct. Like raw sewage but with an acidic or chemical like tinge to it...best I can describe.
@@jatnarivas8741 before a formal correct diagnosis? I had only started to notice a few things about a year prior (a ringing in the ear of sorts, the smell I mentioned before etc) and was told it was 'just in my head', that sort of usual shit. I had made the mistake of trusting my regular doctor who was not a specialist in neurology, psychiatry and so forth. When I started to have those symptoms more frequently I mentioned it to my psychiatrist (the all in your head thing!) and he said, hold on---and the talk about possible petit mal seizures started. A referral was made to specialists in Boston....I had a car accident a soon after, ironically, a day before the appointment in Boston MGH, which underscored the seriousness as something like around 5 to 10 seconds of lost consciousness after turning onto a side road I found I had hit a parked car and zero explanation....in a nutshell, after the appointment was done and tests done etc the diagnosis was made. I did not drive a car for 3 years after that. I stopped yet again a few years ago. Is till have them occasionally, but enough to make me warry at 42. Medication of course helped a lot but not 100 percent. Its a pretty complex area of medicine. I have a lot of moving parts, one doctor said not too long ago!
Those especially teachers who scolds or beat the childrens especially for 'zoning out'.......10000 punches with iron gloves on their face.... For not even bothering to whether the child is alright or not
This. I would sometimes wake up from a trance with my 2nd grade teacher standing over me angrily because I hadn't followed directions. She would yell and encourage the rest of the students to make fun of me for not paying attention by asking them who wanted to tell me what she said. They got used to it to the point where they teased me for it through the rest of grade school. She would even tell my mom I was "misbehaving" and that I needed more discipline, so I would come home crying and my mom would get really confused and ask me what was going on and if I remembered what I was daydreaming about, but nobody had any idea it was epilepsy.
@@taxationistheft7623 Same here, But no one would tease me about blanking out, but i would get grounded for blanking out when i wasn't doing it on purpose
I know when I'm having mine, I don't just look in one spot I look around a little bit. Im in a fog reaching slowly for things.. Ordinarily she would have to ask "oh.. where were we again?"
Not trying to make fun, but this looks like your body lost connection to the soul. The Body freezes, the task Human.exe was "paused". Then the connection re-established, like your computer was restartet out of Hibernation.
I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2022 at 29 years old after experiencing two grand mal seizures in 2021 and 2022. The second one happened late at night but throughout the day I was having, what I now know, are absence seizures. For me it was either a feeling of dejavú or complete confusion. For example, I’d be in the middle of a conversation either talking or listening and would completely lose my train of thought and wonder whether I’d already said what I was saying or heard what I was hearing. When I asked loved ones if they noticed they all said no. That night I had a grand mal and needed to go to the ER since I fell and hit my head. In the ER they put me on “Keppra” a common anti-seizure drug via IV. Luckily I had a trusted neurologist (which I highly recommend finding) who did all the tests for me (EEG, Cat, etc.) and found no reason why I would be having seizures. To this day we believe it’s likely genetic and mostly triggered by lack of sleep. The Keppra was terrible for me, I was hit with all the negative side affects and my doc put me on Lamotrigine which has worked to stop my grand mals. That said, if I don’t get adequate sleep for multiple days in a row I run the risk of having absence seizures which is a sign to me that I need to take a nap since they have led to a grand mal in the past. Anyone experiencing anything like this, you’re not alone and I know it can be scary but it can be managed. My unsolicited advice is to find a neurologist, get a second opinion to find one you trust and don’t be afraid of trying medication. I was (and still am) hesitant to be on any prescription meds but once I’ve found one without side effects it’s been a game changer. Even simply having the sense of security knowing my chances of having a seizure are low. Hope this helps someone out there!
keep an eye on your side effects. I too switched from Keppra to Lamotrigin, and over the course of 7 years I slowly watched more and more side effects affect my daily life untl I got to a point where I would have rather risk of a seizure than continue taking the medication.
Suffered a lot of these as a child and a teen. I’m almost 20 now and I don’t think I suffer them much anymore. Nothing noticeable enough for people to tell me at least...it’s rather confusing to think about cause it’s never interpreted my life enough to bother me?? I mean sure as a kid adults would always end up waving and yelling in my face but whatever.
I had these seizures until I was 16, diagnosed at age 5. My triggers were panting like a dog, "snow" tv, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners. I was on zarontan. I got off at 16 and haven't had any since (I'm 40). I remember they estimated I had up to 400 per day.
We are very much alike! I was diagnosed at 5 and stopped taking my meds at 14 when they stopped. I could have 200-300 a day. I don’t remember what my triggers were though. Very interesting!
I'm 70 years old and my absences make me very depressed...they only last about 3 seconds and most of the time I don't realize I've even had a seizure....
Hi William, thanks for sharing. I hope you have someone to talk to about this - is there an epilepsy community around you that you are connected to, or could be?
My dad would have petite mal seizures, where he would walk around making a noise, "yeah" was his.. Followed by him thinking he was somewhere else doing something, usually work, and acting out. He once caught the bus for home and ended up getting off 30 minutes away. And he even had burned his hand badly in the oven. He once even lost money out in public, assuming he had a seizure and gave it away. Following the acting out, he would slowly come out of it, not remembering, and needing to rest. I wish there was more talks of this type of seizure. Because honestly people don't realize it's happening and they can put there lives in harms way. Me and my mom witnessed a man of sound and mind, holding a conversation with him, as he had a whole episode.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience Selena. Have you checked out our video on Focal Seizures with impaired awareness (formerly known as Complex Partial seizures) - you might appreciate it as well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IeKOCeennfE.htmlsi=M0FeP33NfV8IkQru
2016 was when mien started. Thankfully be tween family and the amazing crew I worked with watched out for me. Meds have kept them away. So much to unpack with feelings and all that.
There needs to help for those who have them and the people around them. It is so tough to cope and watch others try to cope with what you are going through.
I am an adult, my Dr., told me that just a kids suffer of absence seizure but I have that problem, I having this problem this problem since more the 10years, but before I suffer convulsions. On January 19 I had an absent seizure, but it took me a lot of time to get o.k., and my son told to my husband the he have to take to the hospital, I was at the hospital like 2 or 3hrs., to get ok., I had and EEG, everything was o.k., but after 2 weeks I had another and this one took me more than 0ne hr., to get ok., it makes me feel terrible. I tried my best with my Spanish and Inglish.
I've had this happen throughout my life, but it's becoming more frequent the last few months. Did not know it was a type of seizure. I should probably see a doctor.
Yes, please see a doctor as soon as possible. Often seizures can be treated with medication, but if they go unchecked they can increase in intensity and frequency. If you are experiencing epileptic seizures, the sooner you are diagnosed and treated, the better. 💜
This is what mine look like. As a child I was embarrassed about them because I had a teacher who yelled at me for blanking out and when I tried to explain she said there was no such thing as absent seizures. So I stopped taking my medication then I would start again now I’m 22 and I still have them. I just wish I had taken my medication religious when I was a child so I wouldn’t still have them
I know how this feels, but I took CBD oil for 3 weeks (Charlotte's Web specifically) and I dont have any seizures at all anymore. And I've had them since I was 7. When I reached 15 the doctor told me I would have them all my life because i didn't grow out of them by then. But if you're not against CBD oil then it could help a lot.
I also took long breaks while taking my meds because of the stress. My dad told my doctor he hasn’t noticed a seizure in months so he took me off of my medication. I’ve been off for a year and my seizures are starting to come back slowly.
This happened to a girl in my class. She was walking to the desk and all of sudden she starts staring at the wall blankly for about 10 seconds and the teacher calls her name multiple times. And then all of sudden she regains alertness immediately.
My older sister would have these in highschool. Kids would tease her and hit her in the head with notebooks, teachers did nothing! Told my parents she needed to pay more attention.
i have spells that are very similar to absence seizures. ive had them since i was a baby. When it happens it starts out with a horrible headache usually from low blood sugar and then my spell starts. I feels like im frozen but i can hear people around me and i can rarely see but its very blurry. After i usually throw up and have severe confusion, Doctors still dont know what i have but we just call it spells. They are very scary and it results in me feeling lethargic and confused.
Same here. It's been almost 10 years that I was experiencing this seizures. But it was confused with BPPV. Yesterday only doctor diagonised that i was having absence seizures.
Although Absence Seizures look a lot like daydreams, they are not the same thing as a seizure happens when abnormal electrical activity in the brain causes an involuntary change in the person’s awareness or behaviour. Daydreams, unlike seizures, are not a neurological condition.
Hi, I'm just a random person on the internet, but I'm an EMT and have a degree in human physiology. Has this type of staring episode occurred before? If you haven't mentioned this to your pediatrician, you may want to bring it up. This looks very similar to an absence seizure. I would just get it checked out. It's only a few seconds of a random clip, so obviously I don't know much, but I just wanted to say something just in case.
I was diagnosed ADHD in school but I wonder as I was born with an AVM in the brain that developed an aneurism in 2018. After gamma knife, I have a more serious case of epilepsy.
There is growing evidence to suggest cannabis can be an effective treatment for controlling some forms of seizures, but it is important to talk to your doctor before making any changes to your medication regime. Find out more about this here: epilepsytoronto.org/cannabis-and-epilepsy/
The emotional wave hits me then that strange feeling happens then I go into what feels like a trance or something I hear a voice it gives a speech that is the same every time I have this certain seizure when I come out of it I’m to confused to remember what was said it’s like being two different places in your head the deja vu de realization and more that happens it drives me mad 😡
If someone is talking to me and I go, I just feign boredom, shuts them up and stops the questions...... moving on, what were you saying, lol. I have a brain injury so I'm quirky as hell any way.
I have these and I’m an actor. Expect what is weird is that I still do my lines and I am still apart of the scene. This is different for everyone, but my advice is to train your brain to KNOW your lines. Your brain goes on autopilot and your still acting, but you yourself is not present. It’s hard to explain.
Hey everyone, I’m from South Africa and absence seizure recently started this month (January 2022) and it is frustrating the heck out of me. I zone out for like 5 seconds then after that I I get so confused and ask stupid questions. How can I get help? How can I get them to stop? What medication can I take? Please I need all the help I can get because I am super stressed, people think I’m going crazy 😭
Hi Lethu, thanks for sharing your experience and I'm sorry you are going through all that. Have you made an appointment to talk to your doctor? If not, that should be your first step. There very well may be an epilepsy medication that can prevent or help you manage your seizures, but you will first need to be seen by a neurologist. You may also look around to see if there are any epilepsy service agencies (like ours) in your area that can support you with additional services and access to information. Reaching out here is a great step, but don't stop now. Keep reaching out and you will find that experiencing seizures is far more common than most people realize and that you are not alone. There is help for you. Don't stop looking until you find it!
The first step is to talk to your doctor. You will likely need to be referred to a neurologist who may recommend an EEG (electroencephalogram) test, in order to help diagnose.
Epilepsy and seizures are so diverse and unique, that there are exceptions to pretty much everything. The 10 - 15 seconds is what is most common for absence seizures, but you are right to point out that it is not a hard and fast rule. Thanks for sharing that.
Idk what is this but sometimes when I stand up too quickly I stop in my tracks and just stare and start twitching. Sometimes I fall too. Nobody cares though and its not hurting me outside of some bruises so Ive never seen a doctor. I dont respond to people talking and my dad makes fun of me when I come to cause he thinks Im doing it on purpose
I'm glad to hear you haven't hurt yourself (or anyone else) yet, but perhaps it would be best to see a doctor before you do. For many people diagnosed with epilepsy, their seizures can be controlled with medication. If you are experiencing seizures, and there is a way to control them, wouldn't you like to find it?
Personally it took me a lot of self awareness and practice to be able to hold a thoght throgh a seizure, usally the firs thing i say is "what?" since i am really confuced
Hi Sophiah, absence seizures themselves are not deadly, but if they go untreated, they often increase in frequency and intensity and can lead to other types of seizures, like Tonic Clonic seizures. Many, many people find that their epilepsy is treatable through medication. But epilepsy can be the cause of SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in EPilepsy), so please do talk to a doctor about your seizures. epilepsytoronto.org/about-epilepsy/learn-about-epilepsy/sudep/
Also be sure not to inform the person that they have had a seizure. Instead carry on as if nothing has happened and let them think their medication is working just fine. Also, if the person has not been diagnosed with absence seizure, again just act as if nothing has happened, just brush it off as a weird incident, if they are lucky they will grow out of it by the time they are 20. If they don't they will likely find out about it in their mid 20's anyway as they try to assume the role of a typical young adult. The show must go on.
This is horrible advice. If they had a seizure they should be informed. Their dose, habits, eating, etc could be inadequate and should be diagnosed by a proffesional. You don't "grow" out of seizures, you get treatment and eventually, if all goes well you're done with it.
around Annebel This is a video related to an important topic, why would you be sarcastic? I have seizures, I don't joke about those things because a lot of people don't even know how to react to those situations.
I definitely agree that it is an important topic, but what you just said is not an excuse for not noticing the very obvious sarcasm in the original comment, bro.
Where are all the real videos instead of these stupid videos that they're playing it out. In the comment section of another video and mother was like what happened to all the trace seizures. With the absence seizures. They've like disappeared off of youtube. Do you know why I know the links I'm not allowed to talk about them. I'm ticked
I gotta dislike this because the title is misleading. Being someone who's recently had seizures and curious personally / want to share actual information with others, this is frustrating.
