Hello everyone! I appreciate your engagement with this video. I wanted to clarify a point I mentioned in the video regarding absence seizures (05:30). I mentioned that generalized onset seizures, including absence seizures, typically present in childhood or early adulthood. I apologize for the oversight in not explicitly stating that absence seizures are indeed a type of generalized onset seizure disorder. To provide further context, I discussed why I don't believe Senator McConnell's events are consistent with absence epilepsy. The reason for this is that absence epilepsy primarily presents in childhood and early adolescence, and Senator McConnell is in the elderly age group. Thank you for your understanding, and feel free to ask any further questions or share your thoughts below.
I appreciate the videos! Can you tell me what the side effects of seizure meds? I assume someone can go back to work while taking them, right? Can the eeg test to look for brain activity/seizure be done with a an untethered/wireless device? I guess you still would need to have the things on your head, so you may not want to be out and about. lol.
NeuroGal... Thank you for the link to your second video on this topic... I did a reply to your first video as a general comment so it may be hard to find, but now I'm trying to link this one specifically for your attention. While I agree with your medical summation wholeheartedly... I am quite concerned that you are acting on misinformation. I have had the opportunity to review more than 10 separate videos of these events from interested parties. I am also unofficially aware that the information provided to the public of a thorough and negative workup may be a complete falsehood. In my experience both as an expert witness in court and a consultant more and more two people involved in these high-stakes games, I can tell you that lies and deceit are the norm and should be considered the baseline. We don't even know if he's been evaluated by neurologist, do we? As part of investigation, some of the group I have assigned to go check his DMV records that are available to the public to some degree in all states. A doctor's note would give us a name that allow determining whether or not we the people are once again about to be subjected to a gas light operation. Quick thought analysis. If his first event heard behind the podium a few weeks ago, they let him go home right afterwards? If anyting would have gone wrong and that would have been mallpractice throughout the land. Or... Would you have let him go home? I think that any prudent physician would have hospitalized for a stack CAT scan, considered a lumbar puncture for any sign of hemorrhage, and at the very least observe overnight while cardiology was also do a consult to determine if he's perhaps shedding from a valve or other source that could produce sudden death. Don't you find that initial timeline at least suspect at the very least? So in this politically-charged environment... I would caution you to accept any medical information provided by politicians with suspicion until an actual neurologist comments on the screen. But even then physicians with political agendas are easy to find if you happen to be in that line of work... And those doctors lie and some lie more convincingly than others. And my unconfirmed sources back in Washington tell me that we the people have not been provided with the truth.
Why not set up a simulation of the events when he had the incident. Have a presentation in front of hospital staff who might be genuinely interested in his political views. Assure him that whatever happens or whatever he says, is protected under HIPPA and his patient rights, as it should be. At the same time, tell him that not all the staff is well disposed to his policies and ideas, but to present as though he is on TV and to expect some challenges to his thoughts. Hook him up to an EEG before all this. Make the entire experience as similar to a press conference as possible. That might include photography, flashing lights, people moving etc. etc.
Hahaha 🤔😂🤣! Although I truly believe that your recommendation here are honest, you realize you're asking for Moscow Mitch and Republican party to be honest, transparent, and truthful. Right? 😱
@@JamesFHaasHi James. Your comment is well founded. This video is filled with edits. This is a clear sign of troubled information. Spreading of false information continues and Google will not stop it in light of the Artificial General Intelligence model they are building. Thanks for your observation!
I'm a monitor tech in an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, and I watch patients hooked up for continuous video EEG studies. Many of those patients are there emergently, but we also regularly watch people there for phase 1 elective studies, to determine if the patient is a candidate for surgical intervention. Oftentimes, these patients are already confirmed to have a seizure disorder, but the doctor is trying to get a more concrete picture of where exactly the activity is originating from. So these are patients we KNOW have seizures, who are there for a 7 to 10 day study, and have been weaned off of their seizure meds. And even then, we don't always capture seizure activity in the study. Sometimes they are asked to stay longer if possible, and other times they have to schedule another vEEG study. So if they only did a routine EEG on Senator McConnell, it's definitely believable they didn't find anything, but also believable that seizure disorder could still be involved. This definitely looks consistent with a focal onset seizure of the temporal lobe. I'm not an EEG tech, so I don't read the EEGs, I only have been trained to look for seizure-like activity, such as loss of/diminished awareness, staring off, gaze deviation, automatisms, clonus, tonic stiffening, etc. So that's my two cents. Unfortunately, when the subject has an entire PR team, you can't necessarily be confident that you're getting all the information, so in this case it seems like we're just going to have to wait and see.
my daughter spent 21 days in a vEEG unit trying to figure out her focal points. Conclusion: Too many to qualify for surgery with the exception of a VNS implant.
Person with seizure disorder here. Can confirm, have had multiple, obvious seizures (I.e. the type preciously referred to as, “Grand Mal”) and have had multiple EEGs. Never had seizure activity captured on them. Definitely have seizure disorder (aka, epilepsy), though.
@@sanguinesoulful It's like when you try to show your mom that cool thing you just learned to do, and it never works when someone's watching, lol. Once we had a guy on video for a study that had generalized tonic-clonic breakthrough seizures. He was there for 10 days, with nothing. They asked if he could stay an extra week, so he did. Still nothing. So they ended the study, took off the electrodes and said they'd schedule another study. He had a seizure while still in the room before he could leave, but the video was already turned off and of course the leads were removed. It was a bummer.
@@cubbanceHis meds weren't restarted before he went home? I've never seen someone with a known seizure disorder taken off their meds for an EMU & not restarted before they were released!
Thank you for the thoughtful and expert neurological opinion. I am also a neurologist and had the exact same thoughts and reasoning. It is somewhat difficult to witness these events, see his staff seem to take them in stride, and then have no further statements or resolution about the etiology. I felt like the staff and fellow senators seemed to show no surprise when these occurred making me think that they have been more frequent than reported. I hope that he has someone treating him as you pointed out. I also agree 100% that seizures can be treatable and certainly focal complex seizures should not prevent him from holding office.
Excellent! I've noticed that he has physically changed/aged significantly in the last 12 months or so... he appears thinner, his gait has changed, moves slower and now these episodes. I also noticed his mouth 'purse' a little, which really made me think of seizure activity. You could use McConnell's 'episodes' to teach students what Focal Onset Seizures look like... textbook. Definitely not lightheadedness. With pre syncope he would have gotten weaker, unsteady, etc. He was rigid/'frozen', upright and at no time did anyone go to physically support him/hold him up, in anyway. - As far as scans coming back normal. This is how doctors can mislead people into thinking everything is 'completely fine' with a patient/athlete. It has happened in Pro Football and often happens in boxing. I was trying to explain to some boxing fans that a popular boxer, one of the best fighters in the word (who recently took a really bad beating in the ring and who had suffered a severe brain injury two years ago in a car accident that left him in a coma) has signs of brain damage/CTE. His coaches said his scans were normal. Everyone/fans thought that was the end of the discussion, but I explained that you can have severe brain damage, and nothing shows up on scans. (I use to Lecture on Traumatic Brain & Spinal Cord Injuries and currently work with CTE clients). PS... Your channel is amazing! I found your page after watching you react to Harry Mack. Lol!
It's nice to hear an educated opinion on things going on with our elected officials. Especially since we know the media doesn't seem to want to go into much detail. Thanks
I am no neurologist. But as a physician, I still agree that he needs further work up or treatment. Obviously, something happened. Here, we have a video, which is more than you usually get in a clinical setting. I hope his treatment and diagnosis are not affected by political considerations.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I thought it was likely a seizure from the beginning, having seen seizures in seniors a number of times when I worked with elderly patients in a senior day program. It is tragic politics might be keeping McConnell from appropriately addressing & potentially treating his illness. There is a lot one can criticize him for, but he doesn't deserve to be a pawn.
Thanks for the excellent analysis (your first vid on him was great too!). As an NP, I've been looking for someone to breakdown what they thought was happening from a medical standpoint (to help me in my neuro learning). Thanks for clarifying absence seizures. Great channel!
I learned this from watching "House". You're not going to catch a seizure with an EEG unless you're having a seizure while you're hooked up. House finally induced a seizure in House's way (unprofessionally) but it got the results he was looking for in order to make his diagnosis. When it was announced that McConnell's test results were unremarkable, I told my husband that that only means he wasn't having a seizure while the tests were being done. My adult nephew had a large benign mass removed from his brain. A couple years after, he started having seizures. I did a lot of research to understand what was happening to him. The tumor, the surgery, his brain slowly expanding to fill in the big depression left after the tumor removal is the same thing as a TBI. And I think (in my non-medical opinion) that what is causing my nephew's seizures. Will he ever not have seizures?? Who knows, but they were bad when he had them so he'll never stop taking his meds on time/every day. The first episode McConnell had I suspected it was a seizure or a stroke. After the second episode and his tests came back clean, I was 99% sure he was having seizures....and I'm not even a MD. Seizures are no big deal unless they aren't being treated and he continues to have them. The seizures themselves aren't necessarily dangerous, but the physical injuries that could occur if he's alone (in the bathroom for instance) and falls because of them is what is dangerous.....especially in the elderly.
"What may be going on in cases similar to this one" is a good phrase I hear around MDYT. The TV people keep ignoring the eye diversion - but I expect spin and lies there by default. Great channel BTW!
I am not an MD but am curious is it possible that this is at all related to the polio he suffered in his youth? I realize that polio survivors are now extremely rare but Mcconnell is one.
Here in Australia, my wife has shared my absentee seizures. These are caused by my dysphagia, very predictably. Epilepsy was ruled out, after many tests of many kinds, over several months. In my age group, 70 years old plus, our Australian medical care is generally cost free. The seizures are extremely easy for my to replicate, almost on command. My lips are usually pursed, like Mitch McConnell. If not kept this way consciously, my mouth would be open, and breathing using my mouth, instead of my nose, would result. My seizures would last only a few seconds. Generally these Grey-Outs do not turn into complete blackouts. During these episodes, my locked in syndrome speed complete consciousness of everything around me. My wife waits patiently for the seizure to finish. Then she waits for my hand signal to indicate further what should be done. Often these seizures are undetected to outsiders. If my wife is in sight, my hand signal would indicate to her that the seizure had happened. All my car, truck, bus and other driving licenses were stopped, since the seizures started about ten years ago. Politics has been a family involvement, including my father, who received the Order of Australia award twice, before his state (Northern Territory) funeral, etc. So there is still time for myself to try to become the first colored Prime Minister (head of state) of Australia.
I am so glad you provided such a thorough review of this situation and that you addressed the other YT physician's misinformation about generalized vs focal seizures.
Thank you for this video! It's so nice to see an educated person in the field give general clinical information. I do not trust his team when it comes to reporting truth. I hope his team and family are taking care of him even though I'm not a fan of him.
This isn't in the category of the frailties we've seen in other lawmakers. This is different: The public has never EVER seen Mitch do this (not in decades of national politics), he showed no prior signs hinting this specific situation was developing, he had two episodes in fairly rapid succession, the episodes were dramatic, and the emergent medical reports are unsatisfying. Closer look(s) at this specific case are definitely warranted.
One of the things I'm curious about is whether Sen.McConnell's "freezing" bouts, where he seems to be lost as well as frozen, are accompanied by *total* loss of awareness, or whether they are restricted to movement alone. For instance, does he have any recollection of what was said to him while freezing up? I imagine that could be useful diagnostic information.
Thanks for sharing your opinion based on the evidence at hand. I suffer from temporal focal impaired awareness seizures and have seen videos of myself having these seizures. It looks quite similar. Sometimes, I am aware of what's going on but usually am unaware. I also have clearly delineated periods of seizure with postictal confusion. My specific diagnosis is temporal lobe epilepsy secondary to a traumatic brain injury (I was hit by a drunk driver and my car spun on the freeway causing it to flip and role multiple times, smashing left side of my head into and through my window and against pavement). What I see that really gets me is the lip - I commonly chew on mine during a seizure. Whatever his situation, I hope that he is being honest with himself and his medical team to get the care he needs.
Awesome breakdown, way more information, specifics, than former clinician, not seeing patients anymore, Sanyay Gupta had to say a few weeks back. Gupta has zero gumption, felt like he is constrained by CNN or has lost diagnostic edge being out of practice. Thank you, we want details. Petite mal seizure s/p head injury seven months ago. Makes sense to me, brain is delicate.
Thank you. I thought it was an absence seizure because I am not a medical professional and I only see these things when I watch medical dramas and I've seen a couple which were called that. So okay it's not. (I haven't heard the term in a while, either, But it's still in my head) I floated in from a reaction video to Dr Glacomflecken. I have recently given my RU-vid algorithm a swift kick and it has gone back to showing me some medical video and not just Russia and Ukraine. And those little ducklings with their pet dog... Which reminds me I need to go look something up I don't think I'm going to find it but I'm going to try
Very informative! Thank you! Could you PLEASE speak on the memory lapses, slurred/jumbled nonsensical words, falling and general confusion of Joe Biden?
I've been dealing with Epilepsy for over 20 years, unless a person is hooked up to monitor for Seizure when one actually happens, it's totally useless. 4 times I've been on a portable device monitoring my brain for a week, Small seizures while I was asleep, we obviously would not even know they had happened if I wasn't hooked up to it.
I has an incident of seizures -one event about 3. They were believed to be due to a hemangioma on the frontal lobe of my brain. I had a prolonged study in the hospital. Not a doctor but it looked to me he had a seizure. I was put on lomotrigine to prevent this situation from happening again. I’ve been seizure free for 7 years.
As an epilepsy doctor, please don’t forget the ketogenic diet. I have JME and after several medications failed to fully control it, I tried the ketogenic diet against my doctor’s wishes and it has been a God send. I just don’t want any patients to be left without the information of therapeutic Ketosis. Keep up the great work.
I think you may have described something that happened to me many years ago. I was talking in a business meeting and mid-way through a sentence I experienced what felt like a zap of electricity that ran from the front of my skull over to the back of my skull. At the same time, I stopped speaking and couldn’t continue my sentence, as I had no idea what I had been saying or what I had been about to say. Does that sound like a focal seizure to you? I’ve never experienced it again, though, but I’ve always wondered what could have caused it to happen. I was in my early 30s at the time. It was very embarrassing!
My son had epilepsy as a kid with the frontal lobe area being affected and what was then referred to as “petit mal” seizures. He had multiple long EEG tests done over the years, with some clearly reflecting seizure activity. Thankfully he outgrew the seizures, but I have a bit of a fear that they’ll come back when he’s much older. By the way, they started very suddenly. He did not have an accident of any kind, but he had received his 3yr old vaccines (1993) just before it started.
I would be interested into hearing the neurolgoical issues of president biden. It seems like there's a lot going on there that people would benefit from knowing.
Techniques to induce a spell.... So, a physician might attempt to recreate the problem by, say, asking McConnell the sort of questions a reporter might ask?
Mitch is remotely controlled by electronic implants. The problem is probably a burned out mini capacitor. That causes a temporary freeze up on the main board when too much data is downloaded. it takes a few seconds to reset. He'll be fine if they replace the capacitor or just slow down the data transmissions.
Naa mate he's got a stuffed battery that's all.....back in the old days he could swap it out no problem. But poor 'ol Mitch has let his AppleCare plan lapse, his fate now lies in our Apple overlords..... In aussie speak....he's stuffed, knackered, buggered hopefully his minders park him on his couch to see out his days.
hello doctor; can one type of seizure predispose him to another type (e.g absense-->--> grand mal)? Because short of a grand mal on the floor of the senate, gop will continue to say "he's fine". thank you
I am a retired Internist/ Cardiologist who appreciated the non- neurologist s on You Tube and thought they did a pretty good job , but I made comments I wish we got an opinion from an academic Neurologist . I was going to Google Absence Seizures otherwise known as “ Petite Mal” or little seizures , as I recalled it occurred in Pediatric population and had a specific EEG pattern. These pundits probably meant non- generalized seizures without stereotyped automaton movements like lip smacking or blinking, and they assumed it was the adult form of Petit Mal which is exceedingly rare. They should have taken the time to Google it. It is surprising to me you would treat for seizures first BEFORE doing 72 hour EEGs , sleep deprived EEGs or EEGs with nasopharyngeal leads first. Is it because of third party reluctance to pay for these tests?On another site there was a comment from a Nurse whose son had a MVA who had a negative initial work up . She had to do doctor shopping and appeal to the insurance company for a 72 hour EEG which made the diagnosis.
From behavior alone something is going on. More than once. Also, there are people with a stake in the claim that he is "ok" who may be influencing the reports on his health status, like one quite nonsensical one I read stating that he was "dehydrated".
I think your channel and the way you discuss the case (without passing judgement on anyone) are very good. It is about medicine, and not politics. However, the part that is missing is that you don't give your full name in the videos or in the description. It is fine to have a channel name, but as a practicing professional your opinion doesn't carry much weight if it is just anonymous, especially if you indicate that you're "double board certified." People need to know who is talking, when they are listening to someone who purports to be an authority on a subject. I hope you'll consider adding your name to the channel.
For a seizure specialist with a hammer every nail is a seizure. But who better to diagnose seizures. The question is not so much what is wrong but rather is whatever is wrong a sign of developing impairment that would compromise decision making in high office, or is it just an inconvenience of age that McConnell can live with and carry on as usual. So, "what does it mean" not "what is it".
Sorry can you explain your pronunciation of 'absence seizures' at 5:41? It's describing a patient having absences, as in absent. Their mind is absent. Like a child who is absent from school? Ab-sent. Ab-sence? Petit mal would be the french term, so not sure what that pronunciation is.
Have you ever had a patient with RCVS? I have it and I'm told it's rare. I had a stroke 2 years ago and that's how I found out. I was 34 years old at the time.
The looking to the right is interesting. I know a man who has autism. He paces while speaking on the phone. He discovered that when he looks up and to the right, he can stop pacing.
I do question the reported results of testing. I fear it could be more serious than the public reporting and his handlers believe that honest reporting would be bad for his/their political career. There is the perceived necessity to keep him in his political position because they can control his seat this way, in the same way democrats are controlling Feinstein.
What seems remarkable to me is people around him can 'wake him up'. Is that normal for a seizure or a tia ? In all due respect, he looks like a baby pooping in his diaper. Their brain floats off, and they clinch, like he does.
Two days ago you did a video on mitch mcconnell. now you are doing another. Please in all fairness do videos on biden,feinstein and pelosi. otherwise all you are doing is spuing democrat rhetoric. This is a serious problem across all parties.
@@TheLisaGate Mitch McConnel, Joe Biden, John Fetterman and Nancy Pelosi are moral, upstanding individuals, who i'm sure keep up to date with their Covid boosters. Slackers.
I’m not writing with a challenge to your credentials. However, I don’t think it’s professionally appropriate for you to comment on line especially in a non - medical setting- on physical or mental observations of an identified person. You have a highly limited amount of history on this man and no physical examination. The internet is intrusive enough without this violation of privacy.
I find it a little odd as I went back through all your videos, that you’re doing his on McConnell and have never done one on Biden. It would take 10 videos of this length to scratch the surface of Biden’s obvious mental decline and inability to perform his duties as President.
I have absent seizures and this is what i look like when i have them. (My daughters have recorded me so i could see how i behave) They tested me for Parkinsons. It was neg but my thought right away was that looked like what he could be going through
It reminded me of a friend who has sezures. She will sit like she's staring into space. Her husband holds her up until its over. She isn't rigid though. She says that she cant see very well, but she can hear everything going on. She said when she had a stroke she was aware of everything happening. I had a stroke and was aware. It was helpful to have had that conversation. An interesting and informative assessment from a professional.
Yes! I used to have seizures just like that as well so when I saw this happening to him I immediately said, he's having a seizure. When I had seizures I would freeze in place, whether sitting or standing, but I was still aware of everything going on around me but I could not respond until it stopped. Then I could speak but I was very weak and drained feeling and had to sit down or lay down for awhile.
If I recall my history correctly Winston Churchill had some pretty severe strokes that were kept quiet. It's been a long practice for politicians, rulers to hide their health conditions. With the amount of scrutiny in today's tech society I don't think it's quite the best move anymore.
I'm not going to lie, I am a democrat who has lived in Kentucky, and worked with the party to elect a democrat in his place. Even with my political beliefs, watching these 'episodes' Mr. McConnell is going through, is worrisome. It is unsettling to see someone having these 'episodes' live on television. It is rare that the public as accessibility to see this type of event. It is scary, for the lack of a better term, to witness this happen to another person. Even being a democrat, I hope a solution can be found for him. Having knowledge of the 'episodes ' are bad enough, psychologically, then to see them repeated over and over in public must be traumatic. I do wish the best for him.
Same with me. When I see him having these episodes, I think of my grandparents and older relatives when they started to get sick, develop Dementia etc. It makes you see him as a human being ...not a Democrat or Republican.
Normal workups are the most common kind of workup. In the ER I always try and reinforce to patients that just because we didn't find something immediately emergent that that does not mean I am telling them everything is "ok", or "fine". They still need further work up and reevaluation.
Could medication cause these spells he is having ??? At his age he is probably on many different meds. My father was on many meds that caused spells like this. And we did call them 'Spells' years ago. After taking him off all medication while hospitalized the spells ended. Then they slowly put him back on meds but not nearly as many as before. Smacking of the lips was very frequent for my father. Mitch needs to be evaluated in a hospital not trying to go to work.
Excellent! Now go through the rest of the gerontocracy. Starting with Dianne Feinstein. :) I'm pretty sure this "series" would get you a hole new audience. :D
This RU-vidr is specifically a neurologist. She only deals with neurology. Also, *whole, not hole. A hole is something you get in your jeans when they’re worn out, or in your back yard when you have snakes/armadillos/gophers. Whole is an entirety of something. I don’t disagree that Dianne Feinstein needs to go. She does. But the doctor on this channel is a neurologist, specifically. You want someone to focus on the old folks home we call the house and senate? Find a gerontologist on RU-vid.
@@sevenandthelittlestmew and bidens problem is not neurological? How do you know? We all know the MSM won't touch him or his problem. I'd like to see this dr speculate on what he could have because I bet there is some neurological problem with him. But she won't because no one will talk about the elephant in the room.
@@sevenandthelittlestmew You're right. My English is fare from perfect. :) And what about this guy, maybe you heard of him, I believe his name is Joe Biden? Shouldn't he visit a neurologist? :) I'm pretty sure, with 100 senators and over 700 Congress women and men, there are plenty patients with serious neurological issues. :)
Doc, at 7:15, you mention the oral automatisms. Could you make a video on this topic? When its dangerous for example. If I see this type of behaviour on elderly people, what other signs might indicate they need to run to a neurologist?
Serious infections, such as urinary tract infections or pneumonia, can cause confusion and cognitive impairment in older individuals as well. But I'm sure his physicians have ruled out such rudimental diagnosis?
yeah, i would think so, but i think those types of infections would also come with more prominent physiological symptoms that would've likely had him at home on bedrest with flu-like symptoms rather than speaking in front of cameras.
@@jicalzad Are you informing me that my internet diagnosis on a thirty second clip of a gentleman that I haven’t examined in person may be wrong😱😂😂 Just remember folks, people like McConnell have access to some of the best physicians in the world. Concentrate your attention on things you can influence and not something on the internet.
As the parent of a child with post infectious Autoimmune encephalopathy, I would love to hear your take on the subject of why sero negative autoimmune encephalitis is so often ignored, and how we can better change the culture of medicine to accept treatment protocols for these people that are so deeply suffering.
Why do doctors keep pronouncing it "ab-sonce" instead of "ab-sense"? No sarcasm, genuine question. Are they named after a person or something instead of how the person's consciousness seems to be temporarily absent?
How much recovery could you possibly expect from an 85 year old with clear brain injury from SEVERAL falling incidents? People need to stop making excuses for this and get these 70 80 & 90 year olds in office to step down. I don’t feel safe with them behind the wheel in the middle of a crisis and neither should anyone else.
I’ve been lightheaded (too much BP med)-I’ve never been unable to speak, confused or lock my eyes to the side. You close your eyes and hold onto something to stabilize yourself.
