Adults with absence seizures

@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.

@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

@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

@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

@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.

@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

@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

I am a 79 year old female. This past week I had a weird feeling and zoned out. My coworker said I did not move or blink. She kept calling my name until I turned around toward her. Then I felt weak and nauseated. I went to ER. They said it sounded like an absence seizure. My head CT was normal.

Past History: In the past I did get "this feeling". I can't describe it, but it left me weak and nauseated. I remember I would stare into space every time got "the feeling". I honestly don't know if the feeling came while I was staring into space or before. Whatever this was, happened several times a month. I just thought it was anxiety related even though I was not consciously anxious.

Maybe around 15 years ago, I had this feeling while in subway. I got in the car to drive home. The last thing I remember was looking in my rearview mirror before pulling out. I ended up driving on the sidewalk, wrong side of street and hit a truck head on. I lost my driver's license for 3 months. The doctors never knew what happened but knew it was something medical.

Could the other episodes have been absence seizures? I will be going to a neurologist.

@bliberty1946 Hi
Thank you for sharing your story, and welcome to our group!
Absence seizures can sometimes be confused with focal impaired awareness seizures. I wrote a bit more about this earlier in the discussion if you'd like to take a look:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1426337/
In the meantime, it might be really helpful to start keeping a simple journal of your episodes. Just jot down things like what you were doing when it happened, how you felt before, during, and after, and roughly how long each episode lasted. This information can be really valuable for your coming neurologist appointment.
I'm curious, when you have these episodes, how long does it typically take before you feel completely back to normal? And do you notice any confusion afterward, or do you feel pretty clear once it's over?
You're absolutely doing the right thing by getting in to see a neurologist. Wishing you the best with your appointment!
Chris

@santosha Thank you for your reply. It took quite a while to feel normal again. I'm experiencing headaches every day. Still trying to get an appointment with a neurologist.