Do you remember what happens during a seizure?

Sometimes people may look awake during a seizure, but they really are not aware of part or all of what is going on around them. They may not remember what happens during the seizure or have difficulty talking about it during or after it.

Are you aware of what's happening during a seizure?

Focal aware seizures (also called focal onset aware or simple partial seizures) is a seizure that happens while a person is awake and alert and aware of what is going on. During the seizure, the person may have movements, feelings, or sensations that are out of their control. They usually last less than 2 minutes.

Can you remember anything from a seizure?

You may have difficulty remembering information straight after a seizure. This is sometimes called post-ictal confusion and it usually goes away once you have recovered. The length of time it takes for memory to return to normal can vary from person to person.

Can you have a seizure and not remember it?

An unusual sensation (aura) may precede a temporal lobe seizure, acting as a warning. Not everyone who has temporal lobe seizures has auras, and not everyone who has auras remembers them. The aura is actually the first part of a focal seizure before consciousness is impaired.

Do people have memory of a seizure?

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Many people with epilepsy also experience memory problems. Patients often experience retrograde amnesia, where they cannot remember what happened immediately before their seizure.

What Happens in Your Brain During a Seizure | WebMD

Why don't people remember when they have a seizure?

During a seizure: loss of consciousness can stop the brain from recording and storing memories. After a seizure: confusion can stop memory from working correctly. Between seizures: Some people with epilepsy may have unusual electrical activity in the brain between seizures. This can affect attention and memory function.

Can you talk during a seizure?

Patients with simple partial seizures remain aware and awake throughout the seizure, and some patients can even talk during the episode.

What can be mistaken for a seizure?

Movement disorders such as Tourette's syndrome or other uncontrolled tics are sometimes mistaken for partial seizures. People with Tourette's syndrome may grunt, clear their throats or even curse involuntarily.

Can a doctor tell if you've had a seizure?

Tests for diagnosing seizures

If this is your first seizure, your doctor may want to do some scans to look at the structures in your brain. A common form of imaging is MRI. Your doctor may also want to assess how the naturally occurring activity in your brain is functioning. To do this, an EEG is performed.

What does a mini seizure feel like?

A simple partial seizure can cause: a general strange feeling that's hard to describe. a "rising" feeling in your tummy – like the sensation in your stomach when on a fairground ride. a feeling that events have happened before (déjà vu)

How do I know if I've had a seizure?

Some people have nausea or unusual feelings that are hard to describe. These seizures may result in trouble speaking and involuntary jerking of a body part such as an arm or a leg. They also may cause sudden sensory symptoms such as tingling, dizziness and seeing flashing lights.

Are you always confused after a seizure?

Unconsciousness may persist for several minutes after the convulsion has ended. Confusion. A period of disorientation often follows a grand mal seizure. This is referred to as postictal confusion.

Do seizures reset your brain?

Epileptic seizures reset the excessive pathological entrainment occurring minutes prior to their onset and appear to play a homeostatic role of restoring the balance between synchronization and desynchronization of brain dynamics [9].

How does a person feel after a seizure?

During the postictal period, you may be sleepy. You may have problems with vision or speech, and may have a bad headache, fatigue, or body aches. Not all of these phases occur in everyone with this type of seizure.

Can people hear you while having a seizure?

The person's consciousness is affected and they may be confused. They might be able to hear you, but not fully understand what you say or be able to respond to you.

Will an EEG show past seizures?

An EEG can usually show if you are having a seizure at the time of the test, but it can't show what happens to your brain at any other time. So even though your test results might not show any unusual activity it does not rule out having epilepsy.

Do seizures show on MRI?

MRI is clearly superior to CT in detection of epileptogenic abnormalities in patients with first-ever unprovoked seizure, in particular mesial temporal sclerosis and malformations of cortical development.

Can seizures be faked?

We now understand that there is nothing false or insincere about most non-epileptic seizures. It is quite rare to find someone who is deliberately faking a seizure just as it is rare to find people who fake having other medical conditions.

What strange behavior happens before a seizure?

Some patients may have a feeling of having lived a certain experience in the past, known as “déjà vu.” Other warning signs preceding seizures include daydreaming, jerking movements of an arm, leg, or body, feeling fuzzy or confused, having periods of forgetfulness, feeling tingling or numbness in a part of the body, ...

What is like a seizure but not a seizure?

PNES are attacks that may look like epileptic seizures but are not epileptic and instead are cause by psychological factors. Sometimes a specific traumatic event can be identified. PNES are sometimes referred to as psychogenic events, psychological events, or nonepileptic seizures (NES).

What would cause a seizure all of a sudden?

Seizures in adults with no seizure history can be caused by a number of factors ranging from high blood pressure, drug abuse and toxic exposures to brain injury, brain infection (encephalitis) and heart disease.

Do you always urinate during a seizure?

Generalized Seizures

Your body becomes stiff during what's called the "tonic" phase. During the "clonic" phase, muscle contractions cause your body to jerk. Your jaws clamp shut and you may bite your tongue. Your bladder may contract and cause you to urinate.

Does having a seizure damage the brain?

Prolonged seizures are clearly capable of injuring the brain. Isolated, brief seizures are likely to cause negative changes in brain function and possibly loss of specific brain cells.