Epilepsy is a disorder that affects the central nervous system and causes abnormal brain activity. This results in seizures, loss of awareness, unusual behavior, and other symptoms. The condition affects men and women of all races and ethnicities, and it can develop at any age. Many children with the condition will stop experiencing symptoms in their adulthood, and some adults will also become seizure-free after a few years. Others will continue experiencing seizures for their entire lives, though. Fortunately, most symptoms can be managed with medication.
There are many different types of seizures, but doctors usually divide the condition into four main types. Generalized epilepsy causes seizures that affect both sides of the brain, and focal epilepsy causes seizures that affect one particular brain region. The third type, generalized and focal epilepsy, causes both generalized and focal seizures. If your doctor isn’t sure whether the seizures are generalized or focal, you’ll be diagnosed with “unknown if generalized or focal epilepsy.” Doctors usually use an EEG to diagnose the condition and determine which type you have. Sometimes, it’s obvious when someone has epilepsy. However, the condition is often misdiagnosed. Understanding the signs and symptoms will help you notice the condition in yourself or in someone else. Here are 10 of the most common signs of epilepsy:
1. Fainting
Fainting is often one of the first symptoms of epilepsy to develop. However, it’s important to understand the difference between fainting and seizures, the most noticeable sign of the condition. Usually, when someone with epilepsy appears to faint, they’re actually having a seizure. Some people experience seizures and fainting at the same time, but the two are very different events. Fainting, or syncope, occurs when your brain doesn’t get receive enough blood and oxygen. This sometimes happens in response to stress, fear, standing for too long, or being exposed to extreme heat. Your blood vessels in your legs will widen and your blood pressure will drop, which will cause blood to pool in your legs.
If the lack of oxygen to the brain becomes severe enough, you’ll lose consciousness and collapse. Many people experience lightheadedness, confusion, nausea, and blurred vision shortly before they faint. Most people regain consciousness within a few seconds or minutes, but they should lie down for at least 15 minutes to recover. Fainting is very common and is not always a sign of epilepsy, but you should look out for the other symptoms of the condition if you or someone else faints. You should get medical attention right away if you hit your head while collapsing.
2. Fatigue
Most people with the condition experience some degree of fatigue, especially after a seizure. For a few hours after a seizure, you may feel completely drained of energy and unable to move at all. You may always feel tired, though, because the condition can affect your sleeping habits. Some people only have seizures while they sleep, which interrupts their sleep cycle and prevents them from getting a full night of restful sleep. There’s also a connection between epilepsy and sleep apnea, a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while you sleep. Sleep apnea can make you wake up hundreds of times per night, so you may feel excessively tired during the day.
3. Rhythmic Muscle Contractions
Rhythmic muscle contractions are a common symptom known as myoclonus. Some people may only experience this occasionally, but others may have several muscle contractions each minute. A myoclonic seizure is a type of seizure characterized by these muscle contractions. It typically looks like a twitch or a jerking movement in the arms or legs. Usually, people are awake and able to think clearly during these seizures. Myoclonus on its own is not always a sign of epilepsy. There are some types of muscle contractions, like hiccups, that are completely normal. Frequent or repeated muscle contractions may be a sign of epilepsy or another medical condition, though.
4. Muscle Spasms
Muscle spasms occur when a skeletal muscle contracts involuntarily. This can happen during a clonic seizure, which usually causes a repeated, jerking muscle movement. It also is associated with tonic seizures, which cause your muscles to stiffen. Some people with epilepsy only experience muscle spasms during a seizure, but others have spasms at any time. The spasms are the most common in the neck, back, arms, and legs, but any skeletal muscle can be affected. They may be worse in the morning or when you haven’t had enough sleep. If the muscle spasms occur frequently, they may make it difficult to sleep or to complete tasks.
5. Aura
An aura is a feeling or perception that is somehow different from your normal senses. It sometimes is a warning sign before a seizure occurs. Many people with epilepsy see visual auras, which may look like flashing lights, patterns, or shapes. However, auras can affect any of your senses. You may hear a ringing or buzzing sound in your ears, or you may smell an unpleasant odor that no one else can smell. You could also experience physical sensations like tingling or numbness. Different regions of your brain are responsible for different senses, so the type of aura you may experience depends on which brain region is affected by epilepsy.
6. Pins and Needles
Pins and needles may be associated with auras that many people with epilepsy experience. Before a seizure, you may feel pins and needles in your hands and feet as a warning sign. They’re also a common symptom of a sensory seizure, which can affect any one of your senses. If the seizure affects your sense of touch, you may feel pins and needles, tingling, numbness, or other uncomfortable sensations. Sensory seizures are a type of simple partial seizure, which begins in one specific region of your brain. Most people stay awake during the seizure and will remember what happened, although they may not be able to communicate during the episode.
7. Seizures
Seizures are the main symptom of epilepsy, and they are often responsible for the other signs and symptoms of the condition. They’re caused by abnormal brain activity, which may affect just one brain region or the entire brain. There are many types of seizures, and everyone can experience them differently. Some types of seizures will cause you to collapse and have uncontrollable jerking movements. Others are much more subtle and may cause some slight muscle twitches or make you stare blankly into space for a couple seconds. Some people stay conscious during a seizure, and others lose consciousness. Most people have the same type of seizure each time, so their symptoms during each episode will be similar.
8. Amnesia
Your brain functioning is disrupted during a seizure, so you may wake up with no memory or understanding of what happened. Many people forget the moments leading up to their seizure and wake up feeling very confused about what happened. For a few hours after a seizure, you also may experience anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to store new memories. For example, you may read something or watch a TV show a few hours after the seizure but have no recollection of it the next day. In rare cases, people with epilepsy experience retrograde amnesia, which is the loss of old memories that were stored in the brain before a seizure.
9. Anxiety
Feelings of anxiety and panic are very common in people with epilepsy. Seizures can happen anywhere and without warning, so you may feel anxious about having a major seizure in public or when you’re alone. Anxiety isn’t always just related to the fear of having a seizure, though. When epilepsy affects brain regions that are involved with emotion, like the frontal and temporal lobes, it can result in anxiety or other emotional issues. Anxiety may also be a part of your aura, which can warn you when you’re about to have a seizure. Fortunately, anxiety can usually be managed with therapy and medication.
10. Staring Spells
A staring spell is a sign of an absence seizure, which is one of the many types of seizures caused by epilepsy. Absence seizures cause you to stare off into space and lose awareness of your thoughts and surroundings. Staring spells usually last less than 15 seconds, and they’re most common in people under the age of 20. When these seizures occur on their own, they can be very subtle. You probably won’t remember the seizures, and people around you may not notice them. Some people experience these seizures for months before someone notices. However, they can also occur with other seizures that affect muscle movement.
