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3 Rare Types Of Epileptic Seizures

14 May 2015 by Clifford Ramos

Many people think of grand mal seizures when they think of epilepsy, but the truth is there are many different types they may not know about. Below are three types of rare epileptic seizures.

Primary Reading Epilepsy

There are two types of primary reading epilepsy: myoclonic reading epilepsy and focal reading epilepsy with alexia.

Myoclonic reading epilepsy typically shows up in late adolescence. This type of seizure can be brought on my reading, as well as talking very fast, and writing.

Focal reading epilepsy is brought on only by reading, whether that is a book, something on a computer screen, and reading words that may be on the television screen. A person would have to stop reading anything to prevent this seizure unless they get on seizure medication to control it.

The main symptom of reading epilepsy is jaw twitching that may or may not be noticeable. These seizures usually last only seconds, so they may go unnoticed to anyone around the person.

Abdominal Epilepsy

Abdominal epilepsy typically shows up in childhood. The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fatigue. The person having the seizure may appear to be unresponsive and confused. In some cases, the person will fall asleep for a short time after the seizure is over.

Seizure medication can control abdominal epilepsy, and the most common drug used is Dilantin. To determine if someone has this type of seizure a CT scan of the brain and abdomen may be done, as well as, ultrasound of the abdomen, blood tests, and an EEG (electroencephalogram).

Gelastic Seizures

If someone has this type of epileptic seizure, they may have a sudden outburst crying and laughing. When the seizure is over, the person may display lip smacking, mumbling, twitching, and weird eye movements. The laugh usually does not sound like a normal laugh, but more like a forced laughter or giggling. The person may also have facial contractions that look more like a smile. If the person starts crying instead of laughing, there is a usually facial contraction that looks more like a grimace.

Most people that have gelastic seizures have hypothalamic hamartomas (HH). This is a brain lesion or tumor that is located in the hypothalamus, which is located at the base of the brain. This area of brain is responsible for things like passion, temperature, thirsty, hormone regulation, and hunger. The person may show signs of lip smacking, mumbling, and fidgeting at the end of the seizure.

The symptoms for epileptic seizures are different from person to person. For example, one person may show signs of jerking, while another may only show signs of rapid eye movement. The best thing to do is to make an appointment with a neurologist (such as Hamza; Mohsen MD) if you even think you have epilepsy.

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