Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Seizures: My Personal Experience

Seizures: My Personal Experience

Sometimes a seizure may be so slight that no visible signs are seen in spite of the fact that the nerve endings in the elbow and arm are producing feelings of violent tingling, extreme heaviness and feels awful. Sometimes this ''focal sensory seizure'' moves into a more severe seizure, known as a “focal motor seizure'' with the visible results of jerking fingers. These same sensations may slowly ''march'' upwards until the whole hand, wrist, arm and shoulder are involved. If the seizure worsened it might run on up the muscle in the back of the neck and might even make the head jerk back and forth.....maybe even causing breathing difficulties. It's scary and no fun to have one! A light seizure may last only a few seconds but a really bad one lasts several minutes......which seems like an eternity. Then it ends naturally as special chemicals in the brain bring cell activity back to normal.

I have found that having seizures definitely has a stigma to it, but please don't be afraid to be around me. If I should have one of the very few seizures I have, you can't do anything for me nor are you expected to. I have some pills to do the trick.

Brain cells, unlike other cells, will not regenerate or replace themselves when destroyed, but by some unexplained yet marvelous process, other parts of the brain can establish circuits to take over the functions of the damaged area. Over time, injured cells can sprout new branches and connections and help the brain shift important functions, such as control of movement, from the damaged part of the brain to undamaged regions. As a patient recovers even small amounts initially, over a period of time it will add up to a significant functional improvement.

No comments: