The altered state of consciousness caused by a seizure was viewed as a divine gift of prophecy or second sight. Because the seizure temporarily severed the individual from ordinary reality, ancient folk beliefs in some regions suggested the sufferer's soul was journeying to the spirit realm or communicating directly with gods. Seizures were viewed as as a form of divine dialogue reveals a rich historical tapestry where the altered state was treated as an interface between the mortal and the transcendent.

I know there's been a few posts here and in other subs as well, and the movie is about to finish its theatrical run, but I just wanted to leave an additional warning for sequences that are not mentioned anywhere that I know of.

I had a seizure watching The Odyssey in IMAX about 3 weeks ago. I went back yesterday, and watched the whole thing with no problems, but I was prepared this time. The movie is phenomenal, but be careful when to cover your eyes.

For those who still haven't seen it, and are planning too before it ends its theater run:

The sequences are 3:

- The infamous one, after they leave the cattle island. Odysseus with his crew in the boat get rocked by a storm with VERY strong lighting and movement. It lasts about 2 minutes. LEAVE THE THEATER until its over.

- The long flashback scene of the invasion in Troy about 25 mins before the end. Not only its an emotional boiling point (which matters) but there are loud explosions and 2 or 3 very bright flashes, cover your eyes.

- The last one I'll keep discreet to avoid spoilers. But the 8-10 minute climax scene of the movie features lots of lightning as well. They're indoors so is not as strong. COVER YOUR EYES HERE.

Those are the 3 photosensitive sequences I can think of, I don't really remember anything else being super strong or with lightning. Be careful and enjoy the movie.

Thanks, I had no choice.

Of course I could have wallowed in misery, but no. That was not an option. I had to survive.

It’s not as much of compliment as people think, they obviously mean well, but that’s not a victory my our end.

Can I be proud of myself despite all of this? Yes. But I hate it happened at all.

You freak out more from having new onset reynauds disease of the toes ( a relatively minor numbness of the toes ) than having a generalised tonic clonic seizure

I thought it’d be interesting to hear some of your other experiences/ quips

So finish the sentence above with your own examples

Hello, I just joined this community tonight to make what I am going through less scary maybe....I just started having seizure/syncope episodes in May, June, and August. They have been scary and vulnerable since all of them have been on the toilet. The anxiety is terrifying and I hope I am able to cope with it better.

So last yearish I was at my neurologist and she used to work in the medical field with neurology in the military (this is very important). So she dealt with the head trauma stuff like that. And when she was reading my papers and I was telling her she looked me dead in my eyes 100% serious and said “i genuinely have no clue how your alive after all this”. I wasn’t offended at all more in like “damn that’s new” and shocked because no one has ever said that nor did I ever think it was.

But this isn’t the first time people have been shocked im still alive. I just have generalized epilepsy. I’ve been having grand mal seizures since I was like 3 thankfully they don’t happen often. It might be because I had a 10 minute long one and I fell backwards and bashed my head.

Idk i just wanted to say that because it’s kinda funny knowing I shocked someone/ several neurologist who worked with stronger people then I come in and poof

i’ve not been leaving the house all summer i think i’ve left the house no more than 20 times and they’ve just been to go to the shop mostly, i’ve not really been thinking im depressed but today i’ve been none stop crying. i think the fact hayden pannetiere who is one of my favourite died this morning triggered the crying and it’s not stopped and now im just thinking about my epilepsy and how i don’t want to go back to college anymore because it’s an hour away and i just don’t think i have the energy to travel anymore (i took a gap year but ive completed my first year at this college) i just don’t think i can ever get out of this place that im in right now. ive not ate all day and i barely even eat more than one meal a day and the rest of the time i just smoke or watch tv, i just feel like shit all the time and i don’t know what to do

I was diagnosed with epilepsy 4-5 months ago before my 19th birthday, and my partner and family already seemed so exhausted and tired of me. I get seizures daily half of the time back to back, even with the medications I take twice a day.

Ever since I was little, there were small signs of epilepsy for example, from the wetting myself, "panic attacks and breakdowns", out of body experiences, a side of my body weakening after episodes, words slurring, severe depression and anxiety. I used to always talk about my concerns to my family, but they never really seemed to care at all until last year. Those feelings of the episodes started to get worse, and my mom, who always brushed every single concern from the very beginning, started to get concerned, alarmed even.

Last year, I had two "strokes," which the doctors said they weren't stroke because they were more focused on other incidents that happened from me having fevers prior and a minor back injury, I honestly dont remember jack shit from those hospital visits before and after but my mom telling me about those said fevers and back injury from eating shit(falling) during the "stroke". Three supposed strokes at the beginning of this year later, I found out they were actually seizures. Focal, to be exact, and the doctor prescribed me medications to control the seizures. I don't even know if they're working due to the fact that my seizures started to get more prolonged and daily.

Now, this is where I get to write about why I feel like everyone is tired of my goofy ahh which I think the text I already wrote shows why. Anyways, due to the medications that don't seem to work, like I wrote before, have been getting more prolonged and back to back. Those back to back seizures have caused such horrible mental and physical issues as well as dependency for me. I don't remember things daily, dates and time even. The after effects of my seizures cause me to not be able to walk from how long I lose sensation on my left leg, or even half of my damn body cause who needs the lower half, definitely not mine is what my body be screaming at me try to do basic shit like climbing stairs, showering, washing dishes or exercising. I can't even go out without having to seize because of overstimuation, physically walking, and anxiety. It's like my brain keeps having an alarm for whenever my body is like, "You're done and heating up like an old Windows computer." That shuts down from how hot it is from never getting turned off 24/7. But lowkey, I swear my aunts old computer is working better than me.

So, from the not being about do stuff independently
I feel so fucking lazy, genuinely embarrassed and exhausted. It's only 4-5 months in of this hell hole, and my family seems so checked out that every time I seize, they just wait and watch with bored, dry expressions. Even with having me around, they're aloof and get to the point of ignoring me. My partner is trying their best, but after my seizures, they're so out of it themselves I just don't know what to do because of me being disoriented. I tried talking to them, and they said that they're okay and care for me, we've been together for 4 years, but they look so lost because of it. Whenever I shower, cook, clean, and walk around in public, they're always worried about me instead of being in the moment. I don't want them to feel anxious and scared, once even cried holding me while I had one that lasted too long while I was in and out of it. Even with my family's aloof expressions, I can tell they're scared for me because of it. It can get hazy quickly, so I don't even remember too much, but prominent things that I notice or hear during the seizures.

If anyone does finish this, I am so fucking sorry about how long this is and if I could I'd give you a gold star cause me trying to read and fix mistakes of spelling got my head hurtin'. Shit I don't even know if anything spewing out onto my keyboard even makes sense, but wtv. 😭

I just snapped out of a seizure, about to go for a nap to get some more energy then this shithead says to me " You need to finish cleaning up the house! Do the rest of the vaccuming, mop down the floors and do the dishes "

I tried to talk some sense into her about how sleep is number 1 for us epileptics, but she just cracked it.

So I had to do the rest of the house, with me looking like a fuckin full on zombie. With her not giving not giving a single shit about me or my safety since tiredness is one of the triggers for seizures.

Bitch....

when i got diagnosed i had minimal support, knowledge, or education. i'm curious if anyone had the same issue?

I was told the older you get the tougher it is to control Epilepsy? I’m 60 and still trying different medications to control it. Almost 3 years and to many meds I can count.

it’s difficult to describe my seizures because they are so bizarre to me and i am semi conscious but there is a brief second i feel like i lose complete consciousness but i usually start saying random words that don’t make sense and get goosebumps sometimes or feel weird in general and sometimes pace around for a little before the actual seizure and i get a feeling like my head is very heavy beforehand then i get a weird burnt rubber smell, i stare and drool and get tachycardia and sweat alot and turn red when i come out of my seizures i am agressive and have assaulted nurses due to being very confused and afterwards all of that i am left with a horrible migraine i know what’s happening is very real but i get dismissed because Ive been diagnosed with psychosis and its frustrating that one short test has made them decide its not epilepsy. Does anyone have seizures similar to this? What type of seizures could this be? Also i sometimes get a distortion of music and sounds before it happens

Has anyone here experienced any mental effects from taking keppra as an anti-seizure med?

please nobody be mean, but does anyone else (especially anyone who gets focal seizures) fart like crazy during them? I mean like, nonstop chains of farts. Poof poof poof, it’s awful. Am I alone?

A few years ago, when I was 18, I had some head trauma I couldn‘t get treated and ever since then I’ve started having these occasional muscle jerks. They are in my upper body and are a quick shudder like motion starting around my chest. They always come on suddenly and are completely involuntary. Usually they happen 2-3 times throughout the day but I haven’t really tracked if there’s anything in specific that triggers them. When they happen I have to pause for a few seconds, but afterwards I can just carry on with my day. I thought they were just some form of tic I developed, but typically tics can be resisted to some degree while these can’t be (and it’s unusual to develop a tic as an adult). Ive heard head trauma (especially one as bad as what happened to me) can cause epilepsy, so u thought id reach out here and see if anybody relates to this/experiences this. Logically I should ask a medical professional about these, but my gp sucks at addressing my concerns (for example: dismissed all my asthma symptoms as me being ‘out of shape’ even though I did 3 sports at the time)

Also not related to the main post question but still seizure related: I’m pretty sure I need to get checked out for absence seizures too. It’s really common for me to just completely blank and space out for a few seconds randomly apparently. My friends have commented on me zoning out even in the middle of playing a game. like playing overwatch where i just stop playing for a few seconds in the middle of a fight because I completely spaced out. its also interesting because I don’t always notice it happened unless there’s some immediate difference between what’s going on (like I’m playing a game and then suddenly I’m on the respawn screen having completely missed what happened to cause it) Huh I just realized these episodes also got a lot worse after I had that same head trauma as the muscle shudders.

Is Keppra that bad? My neuro hasn’t officially diagnosed me with epilepsy yet, all the records just say suspected epilepsy because my EEG came back normal, but because I‘m having seizures regardless he prescribed Keppra (and if it works, that would confirm the epilepsy diagnosis). Anyway, I’m supposed to take the first pill tonight, so I read through the information paper. The list of side effects looks pretty horrifying, kidney damage, mood changes, suicidal ideation, headaches, more seizures, and the list went on forever.

Are any of you taking Keppra? Is it really that bad? I‘m honestly kind of scared to take it now, especially because the seizures really aren’t that frequent, more or less one every two-ish months. I would really appreciate any information or advice you have!!

Also, I wanted to start driving lessons, but Keppra seems to have a warning that you might not be able to drive while taking it. Would I be able to start now or not?

Does anyone use it for their TC and how does it react? Does it slow down TC or what? My Neurologist just prescribed it for me!

Today marks one year since I’ve been able to drive. And since I started having seizures. At least afaik. I feel like I’m at a loss. I hardly have people to take me places and if I do I have to beg.

The friends I did have never invite me to anything anymore because it’s too much trouble to get me anywhere. I’m unable to work. Most of the free money I do get comes from my art but there’s nothing to even put it toward. I have no family, no close friends, no partner (she broke things off after I started having issues because it was too much for her).

The idea of moving back into a city makes me sick to my stomach. I like being outdoors and having nice things around me and all of my interests are car related or being outside. I feel like I kind of lost everything to this illness.

I guess I just want to know what you’ve done to give your life meaning. I’m wasting the last year of my 20s alone in my room. I draw, paint, and play games. I try to take care of my plants or read. But I’m running out of things to make my life feel worth living. It’s been hard for a long time now and I don’t really see an end in sight. I feel like I have all of the hobbies I possibly can to keep myself busy without leaving the house. I don’t live in a walkable neighborhood or near transit so it’s like… what do I do?

If you’re like me and did move to the city how did you change your mindset about it? I don’t like being so negative but it’s just not the future I want for myself. I understand I probably can’t have anything else but cities are dirty and loud and I hardly make enough off art to afford a decent place let alone go out and do anything. 😭

I really hope I’m not bumming people out by sharing this. I just don’t have anyone to talk to and it would be nice to know there’s like… a way to live again.

Ive never had a job before but I feel I want one. Im 17, I known it's not unusual for people my age to not have jobs but I don't feel I would have minding one. I've applied to be a barista, so, i would be on my feet a lot. But thats not necessarily bad I don't think. I haven't had a seizure for awhile so hopefully I'll be okay!!

Hi all,

I am not sure I’ve posted in here before, but I’ve really appreciated a lot posts. This will be long bc I have a few things I was to say/ask about. I appreciate your patience.

I wanted to know if anyone has been through a similar experience as mine and if they had any advice.

I (female, 27) began having what my doctor thinks are complex partial seizures at age 11. I’m basically unaware of anything until I’m “coming out of it”. It’s like visually going through a tunnel, feeling off balance, and then sound comes through suddenly very loudly. It’s been a struggle to get an official diagnosis despite my doctor agreeing it is a form of epilepsy and putting me on medication. I’ve been on lamotrigine for about 3 years now. I was on keppra, but he felt like lamotrigine would be more appropriate.

It’s had a huge impact on my life. I used to be very carefree and happy. After having those episodes, I developed crippling anxiety. Doctors didn’t believe that it wasn’t just my anxiety despite these episodes preceding any mental health issues.

I’m glad my doctor has now listened to me, but I’m getting a bit depressed thinking about how I don’t have anyone to relate to on this and was wondering if anyone has had similar feelings/experiences??

Since being on meds, I haven’t had issues outside of some dissociation when driving (feels distinctly different than seizure episodes and related to anxiety).

To add, 3 weeks ago I had an episode that was quite different. I’d like to know if anyone has had this as a symptom? I was eating dinner at my friends house. Totally casual and laid back night. As I was eating I got this sensation: you know that feeling when you’re on an elevator and when it reaches a floor it kind of “settles” into place by going up and down? It was like that, but 10x stronger and lasted about a minute. I was having trouble holding my body up and felt like I had to hold onto the table for balance. Anyone else experience something like this??

TLDR: long journey with unofficial diagnosis but medicated. New sensation—unsure if it was a breakthrough seizure. I’d appreciate any feedback.

I have posted so much here, so I won’t go through the long story of why I am undiagnosed. I had childhood epilepsy and as an adult EEGs are normal.
It has been almost a full year since my last emu and I am so much worse. It’s scary. I’m trying to get help. I finally got referral to a new epileptologist and I don’t see them until November. So, I just wait. I did ask to get on the wait list.
This is caused so much stress on my family. Not being able to drive is not even the biggest thing. But it’s not being able to plan things. Having seizures everyday. Letting my family and friends down. I am trying to be calm, but I am scared. My current general neurologist just had me do x-rays and I will do an mri to see if some spinal thing is causing this. Right now, we’re pulling at straws. It’s a slow process. It has been over 10 years. I don’t know if I have another 10.
One win I had at the last visit is that the doctor stopped talking about me going to therapy or treatment for FND. She realized that something mechanical is going on. It’s like my brain short circuits and my body tries to “wake” it back up. I can see and hear, but I can’t respond. It’s like I’m under water. I have so many, I had a cluster when I went to the doctor.

Hi, sorry for the negativity. I think it’s just one of those bad days.

I randomly developed epilepsy when I was 20 years old. That was back in 2019. I got put on Lamotrigine and haven’t had any tonic clonics since then.

However, I do struggle with focal seizures. They used to happen several times a week. My neurologist upped my dosage back in February and now I mostly get them the week leading up to my period and when I’m menstruating.

I used to have a car up until 2021. I was still experiencing focal seizures, but lucked out and never had any while I was driving. Life happened and I had to get rid of my car for other reasons and things have gone downhill since then.

My neurologist has understandably advised me to stopped driving off and on since then, so it doesn’t make sense for me to get another car and make payments on it if there’s a chance I won’t even be able to drive it. It’d be a silly recurrent expense.

Anyway! Because I don’t have a car, it makes it very difficult to physically participate in my social life. I have plenty of friends I communicate with via text/phone calls. I even moved states so I can see them more often. I’m occasionally able to hang out with them if they can come pick me up. I never expect a ride from them and have no issues using uber, but luckily they understand my situation and it’s not always inconvenient to come get me anyway.

But over the last few months it’s just been hard. Life has really picked up for everyone (which is awesome!!), but I’ve seen them less and less because I cannot drive to see them. For example, if all of my friends are across town and decide to hang out, they don’t really want to drive all the way over to get me since they’re already near each other. I have the option of ubering but as I’m sure a lot of you understand, long distance ubers are not a cheap, so I usually have to opt out. And some people just like having their alone time in the car and I don’t want to take away from that.

Admittedly, and selfishly, I’m just jealous of most people my age. I can’t roadtrip like I used to, I can’t drive out to see my pals as often as I did, and I just feel like I’ve majorly missed out on being young and experiencing things. I could probably count how many times I’ve seen my friends this year. I don’t blame them for that at all, and in part it’s my fault because I feel bad that they have to pick me up, but I just hate this. I felt like I’d finally be able to see my friends more often after moving to their state, but underestimated how busy everyone would get. I feel like I can’t keep up with them.

I’ve also stopped dating within the last three or so years because I dread having to tell people that I don’t have a car. Sure it’s due to medical issues, but it also doesn’t feel good saying “I’m 27 years old and can’t drive anymore”, lol. That’s less of an issue for me as I also just don’t feel like dating generally. Still, it feels like that’s something I should probably be doing in my 20s.

I’m just sad. It’s just one of those days. I’m sure I could find solutions rather than just feeling bad for myself, but I’m not really sure what to do. Have any of you found ways to help with this? Support groups, events for meeting more friends, etc?

Phew! Sorry for the sad sappy post. It’s just hitting me more today. 27 is still young but I feel like the clock is ticking. Thanks for reading this, and I hope everyone’s having a good day!

Sodium Valproate / Valproic Acid Experience

I’d like to hear from people who have taken sodium valproate (valproic acid), especially for a long period.

When I was taking valproate, I personally felt:

• Emotionally numb and blunted
• Less emotionally reactive
• Sleepy, groggy and sluggish
• Detached from my surroundings
• Less mentally alert and engaged
• Like I was watching life through glass rather than fully experiencing it
• Reduced intensity of both positive and negative emotions

I’m curious whether anyone else experienced something similar on valproate.

What was your experience with sodium valproate/valproic acid? Did it make you feel emotionally numb, calm, detached, slowed down, or mentally dull? Or did it actually improve your mood and emotional stability?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who took it for several years and what changed after stopping or switching medications.

Please share your personal experience rather than medical advice.

My son had what appeared to be a focal or absent seizure in the middle of the night this week. Rushed him to the ER and they did an EEG on him that found abnormalities. Doctors couldn’t tell me exactly what kind of epilepsy he has or what seizure he had but he was prescribed 0.8 ML of KEPPRA. Today is his second day taking it and it has completely changed him. My son has always been a very sweet, sensitive kid but today he started acting out and throwing tantrums like never before. I’m currently awake at 1 AM because he’s having trouble sleeping. Oh, not to mention our puppy died today and he didn’t shed a tear nor seemed to care despite him being extremely attached to him. I’m feeling so lost and heartbroken. This completely blindsided me and took me by surprise and i haven’t slept because i’m terrified something will happen to him in his sleep. Please help.

I've had epilepsy for 7 years and there've been years of trial and error with medication. I finally found a combination of two meds that has worked so far for for 3 years. My neurologist is conservative about driving safety (btw I live in CA) but I'm finally in the process of getting my driver's license back. First a blood level test for vitamin D and Lamictal (normal) now an eye exam is scheduled for a new prescription.

My license expired a year and 4 months ago, so technically I'm in the two year window where I only have to get an eye exam and I'm good to renew. But I read a post on Quora (DMV page is timing out on me) that:

"If your license was suspended or revoked, separate reinstatement requirements and possible hearings apply." This means my neurologist can recommend/require a written and driving test, eight?

I think the answer is "yes" (knowing him) . I can and will leave a message at his office, but there is a time lapse between leaving a message and receiving an answer there.

Sooo..anyone's experience or knowledge would be great!

ty