can Simple Partial Seizures (SPS) be a part of childhood absence epilepsy?

Question

I used to have very weird deja vu type of hallucinations when I was in 8th and 9th grade. I am trying to figure out what they were and why they happend. I think SPS is the best explaination but can SPS occure with childhood absence epilepsy? I believe I had them the most during 7th, 8th, and 9th grade but they stopped and I hope they stop b/c they were rather obtrusive, annoying, and scary.

Answer 1

Have you had absence epilepsy? This was once known as petit mal, but that's a confusing term, because most little seizures are not absence. Absence is a particular type of staring spell that children start having between about age 4 and age 12. They are very brief, and the person having one may not notice anything.

The electrical abnormality that causes these is all across the brain. Sometimes people who have absence also have generalized seizures, convulsions. If they have focal seizures as well then they have two kinds of epilepsy, not common, but possible if someone with absence has a head injury or some other localized problem.

When deja vu is from temporal lobe seizures, then it is a simple partial seizure if nothing else happens. It would be unusual to have temporal lobe seizures that never go on to interfere with consciousness, but it's possible.

Someone who only has deja vu, though, probably has something other than seizures. It may be a symptom of anxiety. It presumably still comes from the same place in the temporal lobes where epileptics experience deja vu, but not because cells are firing as chaotically as they do in epilepsy.

So to answer your specific question, deja vu is not related to absence epilepsy, nor are simple partial seizures related to absence epilepsy.

A neurologist can evaluate you now, even though your symptoms have stopped. If these were seizures and you're at risk for more, there could be abnormalities on an MRI and EEG you'd want to know about.

Answer 2

Yes, it's very possible that they could be but the only way to find out for sure is to consult a neurologist or check with your primary care physician if you don't have a neurologist if you still think these kind of seizures are going on. The way a neurologist would find this out is to run an EEG to check the brain activity.

Answer 3

You should see your Dr and explain to him/her your tell tale signs. Then if required they can refer you to a specialist.