Seizure Info

After our appointment with Dr. Pearl and the news that Callie's next seizure type will probably be a partial seizure as opposed to IS, I started doing some research so that I will know how to better recognize the symptoms.  Here is a good, simple explanation of partial seizures:

An epileptic seizure is the body and brain's response to sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity in the brain.  A partial seizure is an epileptic seizure that begins in a distinct part of the brain.  There are three types:

• Simple partial seizures briefly disrupt a person's speech, movement, vision, or sense of smell or taste but do not affect a person's level of consciousness.
• Complex partial seizures alter a person's level of consciousness and make the person stare into space.  The person may notice a strange smell, taste, or feeling (aura) at the beginning of a seizure.
• Partial seizures with secondary generalization begin like simple and complex partial seizures but then spread (generalize) to the rest of the brain, leading to the more familiar type of epileptic seizures (tonic-clonic seizures) in which the person's muscles stiffen and jerk.

There seem to be a wide range of possible symptoms and I worry about being able to recognize Callie is having a seizure.  I am a part of the PMG yahoo group and there are often "is this a seizure?" posts... Parents are always posting their child's symptoms to get everyone's opinion.  Hopefully, like Dr. Pearl said, I will know.

In the meantime, I have to say it has been disturbing to learn how many different types of seizures there are and how the symptoms vary so widely.  Did you know there are absence, myoclonic, atonic, tonic, clonic, simple partial, complex partial, and grand mal (generalized tonic-clonic) seizures?  Epilepsy is a horrible condition.  :-(