Adults with absence seizures

@dolphfan
If your seizures are definitively classified as absence, seizures, and the Depakote isn't affective, although I would think it would, that's a great drug for multiple types of seizures.
But if you continue to have absence seizures, although personally I'm with Chris @santosha and believe it sounds more like you're having focal seizures, but Zarontin is a very good drug if not the best for absence seizures so you might ask the neurologist about that.
i've had absent seizures now and then, and my last one was when I was pulling out of my dentist office and nearly crashed into a car. Thank goodness mine just lasted a very, very short time. I went straight to my neurologist and he increased my phenobarbital, and I haven't had one since.
i'm not sure why he increased it since phenobarbital isn't usually used for absence seizures, unless he might've thought it was a focal seizure but why ever he did it it seemed to work for me.
Take care,
Jake

@dolphfan
Good Morning
I was on Oxcarbazepine for a while in 2019, which was replaced by another AED after a big seizure I had while taking it. Oxcarbazepine was causing me hyponatremia (low sodium in the blood), a trigger for seizures. At the hospital, it was verified that my sodium levels very extremely low. But for many, this AED works pretty well!
It's completely normal to feel tired and need extra sleep and rest after a seizure. Giving my body that rest after such seizures helps me much in my recovery.
I'm curious—what reasons did your doctor give for switching you from Oxcarbazepine to Depakote?
Chris

@jakedduck1
Sorry my phone sent my response before I was finished. I just usually feel really out of it and tired and confused like I'm missing time. That's what really confuses me is the missing time like minutes. But I'll definitely do my research on those type of seizures so I understand them a little better.

@jakedduck1
I am taking oxcarbazepine i have been on this for a couple of years. My prescriber just added depakote because her coll is to take me completely off the oxcarbazepine. Usually when I have these episodes I'm tired like I could take a nap

@dolphfan
Would you mind sharing what seizure medication you are taking as a mood stabilizer?
I used to take Zarontin for my absences. It was quite effective for me but that was back in the days of first-generation drugs.
Take care,
Jake

@dolphfan
Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.
I agree with Chris that the episodes you are experiencing may be focal seizures.
People with absent seizures normally don't have post-ictal confusion if they do experience any confusion it generally lasts for an extremely short period of time And definitely not affect you for an entire day. Are you tired after these episodes? Do you sleep afterwards? Generally people with absent seizures don't remember anything about the episode?
i've had epilepsy for 60 years and have had absences and it can be difficult trying to distinguish between focal and absence seizures.
Take care,
Jake

@santosha
I have a mood disorder that I needs to stay on mood stabilizers just to get through my day. One of my meds that I am on is even a seizure medication but I'm not on it for that. I'm just keeping notes foe when I go to the neurologist so hopefully they can shed some light on what's going on.

My pleasure @dolphfan!
Thank you for sharing that information about your sister. An epilepsy diagnosis typically requires two or more unprovoked seizures, so it's wonderful that she hasn't experienced any since.
After my diagnosis, I discovered that certain mood stabilizers can actually increase seizure activity. A psychiatrist prescribed me a mood stabilizer about a year before I was diagnosed with epilepsy, and it made my seizures worse.
Have you reported to this doctor who prescribed this mood stabilizer to you?
Chris

@santosha
thank you for explaining the difference of those seizures I didn't even think about the o e you mentioned. I am definitely going to do some more research on that seizure before my appointment in December. As far as I know with my sister she only had the two seizures they said it was from when she bumped her head when she was younger because they really didn't know why she suddenly had two seizures within 6 months. The meds I just started one was a mood stabilizer and the other was a pain med. I know it wasn't the pain med only because I felt completely out of it for the one day my eyes were squinted like the light bothered them.. However the next day I was fine totally normal no problem.

@dolphfan
Welcome to our community at Connect.
It's great that you're starting to learn more about epilepsy and seizures. Learning about epilepsy and my seizures has been extremely helpful in my journey, which started in 2019 when I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy at age 48.
The symptom of non-immediate recovery that you mentioned after your seizures seem more similar to that one of complex partial seizures, also known as focal impaired awareness seizures. Complex partial seizures are often confused with absence seizures.
Absence seizures are generally generalized seizures, meaning they begin in both sides of the brain simultaneously. These seizures cause brief "blanking out" or staring into space episodes. They are very brief and have an immediate recovery.
Complex partial seizures are focal seizures, meaning they start in one specific area of the brain. The symptoms are varied depending on where the seizures start in the brain (temporal, frontal, occipital lobes), and may include staring, chewing, making odd movements, mumbling, running, screaming, or seeing things. The seizure duration is also longer, up to 2 minutes. Awareness in these seizures is impaired, leaving the person very confused afterwards.
I'm sharing here some links with more details on both types of seizures:
Absence Seizures - Epilepsy Foundation
https://www.epilepsy.com/what-is-epilepsy/seizure-types/absence-seizures
Focal Impaired Awareness Seizures - Epilepsy Foundation
https://www.epilepsy.com/what-is-epilepsy/seizure-types/focal-onset-impaired-awareness-seizures
If I were in your place, I would first try to understand with your neurologist what kind of seizures you're having and get a full diagnosis of your epilepsy. If possible, you could ask a family member to video you during a seizure. This could be extremely helpful for the diagnosis.
You mentioned you are on new meds. Are these meds anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)?
Did your sister continue to have seizures after those two episodes you mentioned?
Chris