How exactly do aura's feel

Topic:

How exactly do aura's feel? Can you have aura's and not have an actual seizure? I think I had some this weekend. I went off into like a "spacy" feeling. Like I was tingling and I couldn't make myself snap out of it for a few seconds. I have had a headache since I has these feelings. I have had E a long time, but I am new to all the terminology and so forth. Thanks.

Comments

my epilepsy is pretty well controlled right now, but I do still have simple partials. For me its hard to really accurately describe other than to just say a feeling of doom and weirdness creeps up me. When it feels like it hits my head, I often get strange sensory perceptions, mostly visual. Like... space and dimension won't seem to be real, or the room will bounce and shake a little bit as if I were in a boat.
I usually can't or won't speak, except to blurt out "I need to go lie down now". I sometimes get the strong deja vu or jamais vu feelings, which is very strongly accompanied by heavy anxienty.

Mostly.. in a nutshell.. everything in my world will all the sudden feel so terribly wrong and distorted. And then... its over.
Or in the worst case, a grand mal follows, and I lose all my memory of the entire event.

This is the first time i have heard someone put their aura explanation in a way that makes any sense for me as well. The word jumais vu is exactly what i feel when my aura takes place. This may sound somewhat strange but i will explain what happens to me as best i can. As my aura begins I will become anxious, and thoughts will start running through my mind that seem to contain specific words that I certainly know the meaning to and then remember from the last aura. Everytime a thought with one of these words passes in my head, it's like blood rushes to my head and I start feeling closer to having a seizure. Now if i try to remember after the seizure what these words were i just draw a blank.

If I could just make that connection before hand and do like some of these other epileptics I could sit or lay down and put myself in a situation where i will not harm myself or others. I seem to keep trying to just somehow stop it from happening. Like i could make it just go away before it happens. If there is a way anyone got through this and made this connection so when the aura begins they are able to put themselves in a less harmful situation, please tell me how you accomplished this if possible.

I'm 20 years old and I just had my third grand mal seizure a few weeks ago. I get these auras all the time and reading about other people having them makes me feel really good about myself now. My aura always have a procedure to them. Like, first I'll get racing thoughts, they repeat over and over and over, then the tunnel vision will set in. It hits me like a brick. Things that are normally a little far away look extremely close up when I know they're not, I know something is definitely not right with my vision. Then my head feels like it's floating and eventually my whole body. Most of the time I don't have a seizure when that happens but I get those auras all the time and they suck, it's the scariest feeling in the world because of the paranoya of having a seizure.

Then lately I'm getting different auras while I'm driving even scarier. I feel extremely strung out, aggravated and then I'll turn my head to check my blind spots or something and when I jerk my head and vision back to the road, I go about cross-eyed and it takes about all the energy in the world to concentrate on driving "normal". It's as if someone grabbed me by the head and started shaking it back and forth while I was trying not to get dizzy from it. I don't think I'm gonna be driving much longer. I also see these black spots all the time. It's like they're are flies in my brain or something and a black spot will just appear and fly off out of my vision.

None of that stuff seemed to happen before this last seizure.

Do you think it's possible to have a seizure that can cause you're medicine not to work the same way anymore? I feel side effects from it I've never felt before.

I too have auras. At least I think they are auras. It's a tingling sensation in my chin and lips. and I then have alot of saliva in my mouth. My hands are usually shaking too. But I do the same thing as others here, think positive thoughts and breathe, breathe, breathe... I make sure I'm somewhere safe in case I happen to have a seizure but I usually don't. The first auras I remember were when I was about 20 years old, and a seizure followed right after that. But otherwise I'm lucky. I have grand mal and petit mal seizures but luckily they're under control. But are the auras actually seizures?? I'm not sure.

I've had a hard time calling my auras 'seizures' just because when you say seizure to someone, they instantly picture a grand mal seizure. However, I have a lot of auras (have had grand mal seizures before, but I think my meds tend to stop them mostly), and my EEG showed that there is definitely seizure activity going on.

An aura is basically what they call a simple partial seizure before it generalizes into a bigger one. A generalized seizure (such as a grand mal) begins in one part of the brain and spreads all over. For some folks, I guess this happens slow enough for us to really notice and feel when its happening - and thats the aura.

So for my understanding, an aura is basically the same thing as a simple partial seizure, at least in my case (TLE).

The auras that I experience seem to encompass a lot of the same characteristics that those already described do. There's the tingling, the olefactory hallucination I can't identify and can only describe as smelling the color orange, a tightness in my chest with a difficulty breathing and moving, the sense that the air has somehow become thicker than it should be, and the disconnect from reality--- as if I am observing the world rather than living in it. I also feel an intense and overpowering emotion of grief, like someone dear to me has died. This might be something like the feeling of doom already described, except I feel it physically taking hold of me. Add to this a general feeling of nausea and a slight headache, and what's there next leads up to the point at which I feel the intense dread described. It is here that I make my peace with my Maker, understanding that something has got hold of me that I can't shake and won't turn loose. The next thing I feel is the incapacity to breathe at all coming over me and the world going black. The experience I can only describe as what I envision it would be like to drown is what I feel as I lose consciousness, if I DO lose consciousness; and, that does not always happen.

I know once I feel these things starting that either they will pass, or I will wake up with a mouth full of blood and a huge knot somewhere on my head. Fortunately, that has not happened in many years.

And, I have been advised by neurologists both ways as to the classification of an aura. The best I can gather is that an aura is, indeed, a sign that something is wrong; and, since they are linked to seizures, and often involve the same areas of the brain that the seizures do which follow them, they can be thought of as a part of the seizure itself. My understanding is that where the aura constitutes something not experienced by people having "normal" brain function, it can be classified as a seizure in and of itself. The new literature does, indeed, make this determination. The aura is not, however, seen to be the equivalent of a grand-mal seizure--- and is not treated as aggressively as that is. Hope it helps. jb

It sounds like everybodys perception of an aura is a little different. Mine feel like a seizure is starting then stops. I find them annoying. I have had seizures for 30 years now and am pleased to just have auras now.
tweetty1

I think it's like the deepest blackness melting up my limbs, up my neck and I'm out. Sometimes it starts like the feeling of a hand in a glove, but I can fight it off by staying relaxed ad concentrating. I think that some people think that's silly, but I know that if I ignored the warning and just started hopping about my merry way, I would be on the floor in no time.

I wish I heard a happy little jig right before I lost consciousness. That would be peachy keen for sure.

Auras are good to have - I skipped the warning once and ended up breaking my sternum in the shower.

Wow! Isn't the fear so gut-wrenching?! I have that horrible mega deja vu, then feel like a vacuum is sucking out my insides through my navel! Talk about over-stimulation: try the televisions sales area of an electronics or department store. So many different programs/sound/pictures going on at the same time. If I can't avoid it, I end up clutching my shopping cart, 'til my knuckles go white. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm drunk! Gotta get myself a bracelet, one of these days... Anyway, I know the fear. It is almost worth having a seizure, just to get rid of it!

When I get aura's my stomach gets this automatic sinking feeling like I am going down a roller coaster. I usually freeze whatever I am doing and wait to see if it goes away. My heart starts beating really fast. I tend to grab on to the person next to me, giving them the hint a seizure may be coming. If someone asks if I am OK I wont really talk back. From there I either get a seizure or finally get out of it. It is the strangest feeling that is indescribeable, but I hope that helps with a little what it feels like in my body.

So glad to hear someone else has the stomache ache aura. Like you I have to determine which direction my aura will go, although my options are seizure or throwing up. Usually it's a seizure and the closer my body gets to going into one I'm begging for the medication to stop it (never happens unfortunately). My brain/body does feel a sense of relief after it's over, however, I've noticed as I get older that recovery is longer. I wish I didn't have epilepsy, but am grateful for the aura b/c it allows me to drive.

I have been on tegretol for several years, I was having grand mal seizures in my sleep. I have been seizure free for several years, but for the past year I was having what I thought to be panic attacks. I now know they are these auras. I will suddenly feel this horrible feeling of terror, followed by a feeling of deja-vu. My fingers will tingle & I get a metal like taste/sensation in my mouth. It passes quickly, but nothing tastes right the remainder of the day. I also have been getting these in the middle of the night, they wake me up. The seizures never woke me, my husband would. I'll be seeing my neurologist next week, but it's nice to come on here and see I'm not crazy!!

I have similar seizures. I awaken, then have a tingling sensation or a feeling like water is running down my legs, then have a strange feeling in my stomach and finally a horrible metal taste in my mouth that passes quickly, but is very powerful. You are not going crazy! I would definitely discuss with your neuro-know that you are not alone.

Thank you! Does anyone know if there are medications to aleviate the symptoms from these auras? After I have one I feel awful all day, and like I mentioned, nothing tastes right, not even water. Whenever this happens I wish I had something I could take for anxiety, to help me feel 'normal' again. I'll be seeing my doc next week but was just wondering if anyone knows, or if anyone takes something when this happens.

Well for me the auras (simp. part.) which ever you want to call it I am glad I have them. They are my warning, they prepare me. I have focused on so many different reasons for them & different types of feelings/sensations the last 25 yrs & in the last 10 have noticed that my 2 primary notices of the "possible" seizure to come are the feelings of panic. I think that one is mostly due to allowing someone to see me have one. So as others have said, I try to find a quiet, dark place & take slow deep breaths to keep the panic at a minimum. The other warning is due to my hearing, since my left ear is only about 30%, when the aura hits all the sounds are changed. It's like i'm in a bubble & all the voices I hear are echoing outside that bubble. I have learned that with the different hearing levels in each ear, if I plug my good ear it helps to balance out any incoming sounds. Then I focus on the single sound of my breathing (like meditation). When I was young (20+) yrs ago if the meditation didn't help by the time my right leg went numb I was going to have a GM, no matter what. As years have gone by I can even go thru numbness to normal 2 or 3 times & still come out of it without going GM. In the past I wouold have the seizure while I was still concious. But now a days I can hold it back until I am out cold.

Thou I wish I didn't have Epilepsy at all, I'm glad I have the warning signs so that i can get to a safe place. Or if I am driving, it allows me to take the time to decide if its going to pass ok or if i should pull over & put the keys in the glove box & get in the backseat. Why do so much? For safety reasons of hitting head on stearing wheel, or shifting car into gear. The seizures (when they do go beyond the simp. part.) usually only last a couple minutes. Then after 5 or 10 minutes I'm back to normal.

Auras can leave me worn out. But when they are quick ones that pass within a matter of 10 or 20 seconds, I"m back to my old self & continue my day as usual.

I started having mine when i was about 12.. i never knew what they where up untell a month or two ago. Id have the deja vue feeling, it was always something with sight, the way something looked at a certain angle would trigger a vision of a old neigbours house. after that i would just get really tired and feel out of it. After i took a knock to the back the head while horse back riding they changed. Now they last longer and come more often. I never got the feeling of fear from them before cause i had no idea what they where. But when i got back from ireland a week and half ago, i had 5 in three days. The last two made me feel very strange sort of like an out of body exp. I hear people talking but what they said didnt make sense. I couldnt tell you what i saw only remeber i heard someone screaming at me, only no one in he house was screaming. It took me nearly a week to feel back to normal, last night when i was laying in bed my whole body started to tense up and twitch, i felt trapped and panicing i was able to roll onto my back and opened my eyes focusing on the ceiling and after about 15 mins i was calm enough to go to sleep without a problem.

I feel like I can't focus my eyes like im intoxicated from alcohol and not in a fun way . Its like your drunk and trying to gain control of your body and vision but nothing works. Things seem dream like and I'm not really there or I only remember parts of whats happening so I maybe already having a partial at that point . I start to panic and cry cause I can't stop whats happening which is weird in public places cause I want to run away from a room full of people crying . Sometimes I feel like my head is vibrating inside little light headed Blurry eyes vision changes , anxiety .....then the headaches comes in the end.
Its hard to pin point the aura part to when it moves into a partial seizure but I think it starts with the vision changes then progresses .

wow, after reading aboutthe auras everyone eles has i feel kinda left out and very ripped off. everyone seems to get some type of sign something happens right befor the seizure....
not me i get nothing. i just wake up in the hospital
they say(hubby and kids)that i fisrt yell then my eyes roll in the back of my head,i froth. loose my blatter then i fall to the floor or off the bed or couch... and seiz. then after the seiz is over i am confused dont know anyone, scared and i fight anyone around me.. i try to run out of the house away from ppl....they have to hold me down........

Im glad i heard that as i have nothing in common with any one else that i have read about, untill i read this. I had a Grand Mal, my 1st seizure, and i didnt know what was going on, but remember fighting every one so i didnt go to hospital, even the ambo's, which now id like to appoligise to as they were trying to help me, I just wasnt with it, i just went from bed to bed to the couch any where i could lay down, thats what i was told as like i said i was out of it, but since then i thought i had'nt had ne more, but twice now in my sleep, when im half knowing what is going on i have frothed at the mouth, and just shacken down the left side of my body, but then go back to sleep. But in the morning i can remember what happened. I know that sounds wierd, but thats just me~!

Don't feel ripped off, Tammy. You have tonic clonic seizures, and afterward you're confused and frightened and fighting, (a fight or flight thing) but the good news is, those kinds of seizures are the most responsive when being treated with medication. Absence or complex partial seizures are much more difficult to control.
How are you now? Are your seizures under control? What medications are you taking?

I don't really like getting auras, my heart starts beating fast and I feel nothing but terror. I have been able to breathe my way out of them at times but they are usually followed by my normal grand mal(tonic clonic)seizure. I have so much anxiety after a seizure, I just don't like not being in control of my body. It really sucks. I'm always depressed for at least a week or 2 after I have one. It seems everything is different for awhile too. For example, my house seems like someone elses house. I know that must sound dumb but its the only way I can think to explain it. Does anyone else ever feel different for awhile?

Don't feel ripped off, Tammy. You have tonic clonic seizures, and afterward you're confused and frightened and fighting, (a fight or flight thing) but the good news is, those kinds of seizures are the most responsive when being treated with medication. Absence or complex partial seizures are much more difficult to control.
How are you now? Are your seizures under control? What medications are you taking?

Hello all, My auras start with lights flashing, intense panic, sometimes objects seem to "melt", for 10 years that was all I had we always thought is was an ocular or A-typical complex migraine. Then I started losing speech and being real out of it afterward, numbness and "stroke like" symptoms. After 4 neuros and a million tests, I've found out that for me it depends on the length of the "aura" if I have the lights etc. and it last for more than a few minutes than that is the seizure. If there is a short duration of the former than I know that there is more to come, the slurred speech, the worsening of vision, the feeling of being totally out of it. They still haven't given me an E catagory though, because my E.E.G. was normal. I guess I would like to know the "type", but since I'm responding to meds I guess that's all that matters. One thing I've learned from this forum is just how different everyones seizures really are. I never knew how diverse it was until I received a dx and started educating myself.

I've had a couple of different kinds of auras in my life. As a child I'd see Buckwheat of the Little Rascals in a gambling casino getting ready to put money in to a slot machine. As he let the money go and the machine started spinning...so did I. (aura) Now it's just a strange feeling that seems to originate in the abdominal region. I'm usually sitting and I'll sit and try to fight it off but it's hard to win over what your electrical impulses are sending out. I see the people around me at work, know something is wrong and try to go off so they won't know/see. When I come to I don't know how I got to where I am or remember anything for about 5-10 min. even what my name is. SCARY.

Auras are nothing to laugh at, but I got a chuckle out of your description of the aura you used to have of seeing Buckwheat putting money into a slot machine. It reminded me of an aura I'd have when I was a tot. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie would start talking in my ears, then the sound would speed up and turn into a humming noise. I was having an aura, though I had no understanding of it.

Those of us that have auras before a seizure, even if unpleasant, should probably be grateful for them. At least we have some warning that a seizure will be coming shortly. We can make preparations, even if it's just telling someone or sitting down so we won't fall.

Wow, after reading these responses it brings back memories (not deja vu :) of childhood experiences. I've always remembered these weird 'dreams' from childhood. They were so vivid and stick out in my memory because I felt awake during them. They happened when I was napping on the couch and was around 6 years old. One of them was where I could hear this strange sound, like a voice calling me in a sing song way. I remember trying to see where it was coming from but not getting up. I would look at the closet door and either see or know that there were just coats in there. It left me with the same feeling I have now after a simple seizure which entails extreme deja vu. It is that pleasant but disturbed feeling. I also remember waking up and smelling a burnt tire smell and thinking my pillow must have gone bad! It makes me laugh now. Each time the smell would be gone after awhile so I never bothered telling my mom that something was wrong with my pillow. Now that I think about it, the majority of my auras/simples start with a sound. For instance, recently one was triggered when I heard a name.... Interesting........

It seems as though my auras were a bit different than most people that have posted. I don't have them anymore as my medication (lamictal) seems to be working. I would actually hear a sentence over & over - like a song that gets stuck in your head. To this day, I could still not tell you what the sentence was. It wasn't anything scary, just a simple long sentence. I felt like I was going crazy because I was hearing things! My abnormal seizure activity comes from my left temporal lobe (if I remember correctly) - the same area where auditory/sounds are processed, hence my auditory hallucintations.

I have grand-mals and my Auras are dejuvu, Headaches and Nausea. Sometimes I get this overwhelming feeling of being in one for about 5 mins or less and it is a horrible feeling. I have been getting them often.

i have grand mals also
I am also effected by dejuvu alot.
this seems really strange but i also have dreams that come true. Sometimes i feel as if i have lived in another lifetime. let me know if you have this also
ps i am not strange but i know it sounds weird......but growing up with e I'v been called weird my whole life......

I have Grand mals, and dejavue's, I also have the feeling of sickness, tingling, light headedness. I don't know that the dreams have anything to do with seizures, but I too have dreams that come true, I have had them since I was 8 years old.

My auras are always that I lived in another lifetime...way back in the 15th century. It was the feeling of being behind bars, and a crowd of people were laughing at me from the inside. They kept saying, "I'll be you thought....didn't you? Didn't you? Ha! Ha! Ha!

I'd gasp for air, and call out to my sister, "Help me, help me!" Her response was always, "Help you do what?" By then it was over. I'd answer, "I don't know." It wasn't unti l was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 16 , that I realized that same de ja vu feeling was my aura just before a seizure.

It began when I was between 5 - 8. I knew nothing about seizures, epilepsy or how
people with epilepsy were often put imprisoned and burned for being
witches in the middle ages! Seems almost like reincarnation, doesn't it?

Your symptoms sound the most like mine. I was just diagnosed with epilepsy a little more than a year ago and I get grand-mals and complex partial seizures. I actually have a few videos of me having fits that my boyfriend caught and thought to record. My aura's are also terrible headaches, nausea, and these intense feelings of dejavu. I'll get a familiar smell, random memory of something, or see bright spots sometimes too.

I'm on Divalproex (generic Depakote) and Lyrica. It seems to be keeping the grand-mals away but I still get the complex partials and auras. Sucks but could be worse.

Hey all you crash and burn folks (lol) hows it going? Well about the Auras, well with me I always get a scared feeling but I think its cause I know what is coming next. Other things that happen are that I stop and start walking, and I drop things, (I only use paper plates and plastic cups). All my neighbors think that I'm on drugs or that I drink a lot. I don't get that smell of oranges thing but, I guess its just as well seeing as I live in FL. (lol). I don't know....., the one thing I do know its a MAJOR DRAG. I hope that this helps. Later, Eric

I totally understand you Eric! It scares me to death yet, and I've had Epilepsy for a very long time. I have to quickly find a chair and sit down before the seizure hits. I mean an over stuffed chair so I won't fall on the floor. I use paper cups and plates and plastic utensils also. Don't trust myself with the glass and sharp tines on forks. Pretty bad! Have a good day everyone. Talk later! Birdie

I have something similar re the scary thing. I get like a premonition type of thing where I can actually sense that I am about to fit - and they use to last anywhere between 10 - 30 seconds. Just of late though I've actually had the sense of fitting - but they never realise which is a weird feeling. I actually get like a tingly feeling all through my left (I have complex partial) when I have my auras...

I have a question... Last year someone in my family died at the age of 14 of a grand mal seizure in the bathtub, which is why I'm here on this site. But I just remembered something and wanted an opinion. First of all, I pass out a lot. :-) No seizures that I know of. But one night, I woke up with my hands on my throat, like I was strangling myself or something. In the morning, there was a little blood on my pillow, which turned out to be from my fingernails on my throat. Maybe it was a bad dream, i don't know, but that's never happened before. Could it possibly be a type of seizure? Just curious... thanks!

WENDY,
WHEN I HAVE AURAS, I GET A METALLIC TASTE IN MY MOUTH, I SMELL THE SAME KIND OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE A MENâ€™S COLOGNE, ANOTHER SMELL I CANNOT REMEMBER, FOOD TASTES DIFFERENT, LIKE WATERMELON MAY TASTE LIKE CHICKEN, I SEE FLASHING LIGHTS AND SPLASHES OF COLOR. I GET THAT TIGHTENING IN MY STOMACH, WHICH IS SEIZURE ACTIVITY. I SMELL CAT URINE, YET I DONâ€™T HAVE CATS. THERE ARE MORE VERY OBVIOUS THINGS THAT HAPPEN, BUT I CANNOT REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE RIGHT NOW.

SOMETIMES I FEELS LIKE I AM NOT GETTING ENOUGH OXYGEN TO MY BRAIN, BECAUSE I GET VERY CONFUSED.

WHEN I READ THE THINGS OTHERS HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU , I ALSO GET THIS OVER-WHELMING FEELING OF FEAR, AND HAVE WONDERED WHY I WAS FEELING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE IT COMES FROM NOWHERE. I DIDNâ€™T REALIZE THAT IT COULD BE SEIZURE ACTIVITY.

I ALSO THINK STRANGE THOUGHTS, WHICH JUST POP INTO MY HEAD, AND THEY ARE NOT THINGS THAT I WOULD EVER THINK. I AM WONDERING IF THAT IS SOME KIND OF SEIZURE ACTIVITY.

SOMETIMES, I CANNOT PRONOUNCE MY WORDS CORRECTLY, OR CANâ€™T SEEM TALK AT ALL OR TO BE ABLE TO CLEAR MY HEAD. OTHER TIMES, I CANâ€™T UNDERSTAND WHAT SOMEONE IS SAYING, LIKE THEY ARE SPEAKING A LANGUAGE I DONâ€™T KNOW. I DONâ€™T KNOW IF THAT IS A SEIZURE OR AN AURA.

THEN THERE ARE TIMES I HEAR THIS SCREAMING INSIDE MY HEAD, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE I AM TERRIFIED OF SOMETHING, BUT I WILL BE PERFECTLY CALM WHEN IT HAPPENS.

THEN THERE ARE TIMES, OUT OF NOWHERE, FOR NO REASON I FEEL LIKE I AM NOT QUITE ALL HERE. SOMETIMES OUT OF NOWHERE I HAVE THIS INTENSE ANGER, AND AGAIN, HAVE HAD A GREAT DAY, AND AM NOT FEELING ANGRY ABOUT ANYTHING. THESE THINGS ALL COME AND GO QUICKLY.

IT WAS UNTIL LATELY THAT I HAVE WONDERED IF THAT THESE NOT SO OBVIOUS TO ME THINGS HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH CPS OR FRONTAL LOBE SEIZURES. I HAVE BEGUN TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ME, BECAUSE SO MANY WEIRD, INEXPLICABLE THINGS HAPPEN, AND HAVE BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS, AND I HAVE NEVER KNOWN WHY.

I KNOW YOUR QUESTION WAS ABOUT AURAS FEEL, AND THE REASON I AM ADDING THESE THINGS THAT ARENâ€™T SO OBVIOUS TO ME, LIKE TASTE, SMELL, AND SEEING IS BECAUSE I DONâ€™T KNOW IF THEY ARE AURAS, OR SEIZURE ACTIVITY. BUT IT SEEMS FROM WHAT I AM READING ON THIS SIGHT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, THAT THESE ARE ALL RELATED TO SEIZURE ACTIVITY.

I DID NOT KNOW THAT AURAS WERE SEIZURES. I THOUGHT THEY WERE AN INDICATION THAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE A SEIZURE. I WILL HAVE TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE ANDY MENTIONED AND READ HIS INFO.

THE THINGS I HAVE WRITTEN ARE THE ONLY THINGS I REMEMBER. THERE ARE MORE OBVIOUS THINGS THAT HAPPEN.

I WAS TOLD THAT TEMPERATURE CHANGES CAN CAUSE SEIZURES. I SPENT THE NIGHT AT SOMEONEâ€™S HOME SOME MONTHS AGO, AND IT WAS A COLD NIGHT. THEY DO NOT USE THEIR FURNACE. I REMEMBER IT CLEARLY, BECAUSE I WAS VERY COLD, AND MY HEAD FELT LIKE A ROCK, AND THE PILLOW FELT LIKE A ROCK ALSO. I COULDNâ€™T SLEEP, AND THE NEXT DAY, I HAD MULTIPLE SEIZURES.

I ALSO GET RINGING IN MY EARS. IT IS SO LOUD AT TIMES, I CAN'T STAND IT. IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERY CRICKET IN THIS CITY IS IN MY EARS. I HAVE READ ABOUT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT RINGING IN THEIR EARS, I AM ALSO WONDERING ABOUT THAT. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY JAW, BUT I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY JAW FOR 30 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD RINGING LIKE THIS. IT IS REALLY AWFUL. I DON'T THINK I EVER HAD RINGING IN MY EARS ANY TIME UNTIL THIS PAST YEAR.

I HOPE THAT HELPS. I DIDN'T READ ALL THE RE:COMMENTS, TOO MUCH TO READ AT ONCE. I WILL HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT SOME OTHER TIME. JAN

Toni Munson
That sounds like a seizure. I get Aura's all the time. I start Feeling really wierd from the tip of my head to the tip of my toes. I stare off, then I groan, and then I will grab my mouth. It will always start with an Aura. It is wierd to explain one. Only way is that I feel wierd and that something bad is going to happen. My last one was at work and my co-worker caught it and said that I had one of my moments. Luckily he understood. Then I went home and slept for hours.

The aura I was getting was a strong feeling of fear or anxiety, followed by a"spaced out" feeling, a feeling of warmth, and weakness - I've collapsed three or four times. These attacks came on every few weeks and I'd get two or three a day for a couple of days. Since I've been taking carbamazepine I no longer get the aura and attacks are less severe, but the frequency is about the same (I had six attacks yesterday. I've had a brain scan and I'm seeing a neurologist next week.

Peoples Aura can differ. When I get mine, I feel this impending doom type of feeling, then I get this weird pain in my esophagial area, and I feel nauceous, dizzy and spacy, I feel like I cant breathe but of course I am breathing, then I get tingly feelings that run up one arm across to the other. I sit down when these happen because usually it leads to me dropping. When I come out of it I feel extremely tired like I got hit by a bus and i need to sleep alot and I also crave something fatty. Sometimes I wake up with the insides of my lips bit or cramps in my mucsles like I ran a marathon in my sleep, I even once bent my finger back in a seizure because I grabbed my hand and just locked up. Prior to all these I get phantom smells. Mind you I dont really have a sense of smell in my "normal" daily life. It seems for me, I smell pastries.. yes, weird I know.. Once I was smelling Blueberry muffins for days, another time it was distinctly Krispy Kreme glazed donuts. Ask me why I have no idea, weird I know. Once in a while I do smell flowers, but lately it's been the baked goods LOL..

My neurologist thinks im weird. I actually love the feeling of my auras. A very strong familiar feeling , The very intense euphoric deja vu feeling flows through me like a jolt of electricity which lasts for about 10 seconds. I try to stay as still as possible to make it last longer. But what goes up must come down, I feel like crap after, I get depressed and just dont care about anything, nothing could bother me.

I get alot of auras, and they all feel the same. However trying to explain them to a doc is like watching paint dry. Mine start at the top of my head and work their way down my back. I think of something or someone from the past, then I get a strange smell. When I get to the smell, thats when I worry because that is usually when I will have a seizure at anytime, or will wake up not knowing what is going on, be it where I was or in the back of an EMS truck. My auras vary in length, from 5 or 10 seconds to as long as about a minute or so. And then again, sometimes I don't have an aura before a seizure. After the aura, depending on the length, I am a little dazed and depressed. I don't like the feeling because of how I feel afterwards. My head also spins for a bit. I think I also have them when I am sleeping because sometimes when I wake up, that strange smell is right there, just as strong. It's not an easy thing to live with. Back when I was on Dilantin, I was having as many as 5 or 6 auras an hour. I guess my body had gotten used to it and to put it simply, it wasn't working. I'm on tegretol and keppra now and I've had 13 seizures so far this year, and I can't even remember how many auras. At first it worked wonders, and now it's just something I'm taking. I'm getting to the point of being afraid to go anywhere, and I just feel so alone. I'm just hoping there is some help out there, be it medication or otherwise.

So I believe you are asking what an aura feels like and if it is/or leads to a seizure.

My auras felt like this....I start to get a weird feeling in my tummy, like butterflies and then it starts to feel like a bubble of energy is coming over you. When I used to have complex partial seizures when I was a kid, my seizures always started with that and went into a complex partial or petit mal or absance. I don't have those kinds anymore because I had brain surgery when I was 12 where they removed most of my right hipocampus and temporal lobe:-) Now I have simple partial ones.

Anyways, to get back to the subject. I have learned how to prevent myself from getting a seizure if I start to feel an aura. If I am doing something such as sitting down in a book store and reading a magaine and I start to feel like I might have a seizure/aura, I would, for instance close the magazine and move away my coffee and just get out of my seat like I am going to go look for another magazine of a different subject. I do something completely opposite of what I am currently doing to not allow my body to continue to feel like I'm going to have a seizure. If you stay in the moment where you are getting the aura, you may be more likely to have a seizure. So next time you feel an aura and you are at home watching TV, change the chanel...get up for a glass of water. Do something to take your mind off of the feeling. See how that works over time. Hope that helps! :-) Oh, by the way, since I started doing that it always stops me from having one if I get the aura.

I don't really understand the term aura in relation to seizures. The way I know I'm about to have one is I start to feel really weird. Like the pressure around my head is getting greater. Then it becomes really difficult for my to keep my eyes from rolling back. I always get really scared because I feel like if I let me eyes roll back it's over. The seizures won. But if I can keep looking forward I won't have a full blown seizure. But I feel like gravity has doubled and like someone is tugging at my eye balls from the back of my head.

flashbakx, it's nice to read someone else has that euphoric feeling like i do before my seizures. in the late 1990's i used to get that feeling but no seizures would occur. in 2003 i had my first seizure where i passed out, usually for one to two minutes, then take around an hour before i was myself again, often depressed and many times, if people were there i often argued with them believing it didn't happen. now i take the drug Kepra which has helped a little but i still have seizures around every two months.

I am new to this thread and hoping to find some answers as to why I get these auras.

This is my little story and I would love for any feedback.

It all started when I was around 14 years old and I was hanging out with friends playing tuggy rope. I slipt, fell back and hit my head on the pavement sharpley resulting in what felt like an electric shock running up my spine and into the back of my head. The very day after I started getting these weird turns which I have always called (Deja Vu) its the only descriptive word I can think of. I get these sensations that wash over me and make me feel nauseous, incredibly hot and sweaty no matter if it is freezing around me. I feel like I need to go to the loo badly my heart pounds and I get a weird blank taste in my mouth which makes me feel a little sick. Thats whats happening to my body whilst this little episode is happening. What happening to my brain starts off by me feeling like I have seen and done the things I am doing right then in a recent dream or something, very deja vu feeling and very familar. I even run to the loo or put down my lap top in slow motion when its happening like I have done so in a dream or before lots of times. I havent. I always feel when its coming and will deliberatly look around and say to who ever is there, Im getting Deja vu and i always feel like I know how they are going to turn around,look at me and say "Oh dear I know...just relax" Its so odd and all of the above happens together and can last maybe up to 2 minutes only. After the bash to my head I got these Deja vu's each day maybe up to 6 a day. Then it dwindled to around 1 a month which I then thought was something to do with my menstrual cycle but the more I think about it and have the deja vu's I realise its not even close to them. I am 27 now and feel as though I know the inside outs of them. During the day I can handle them because I am aware of them washing over me, however I dont like the ones I get in my sleep as I wake up startled at first until it dawns on me whats happening..its slightly confusing at first and makes me get up and break the pattern by drinking some water or running to the loo feeling nauseous.

On these nights I wake up properly in the morning feeling tired and as if my brain feels fried, thats the best way I can describe having a hand full of these on and off leaves me feeling. I suffer head aches all of the time, but these ones feel different.

They can be triggered in me by lots of different things, like watching TV something Ive never seen before. Il be sat there and it will wash over me like this big fear and it makes me feel as if I know what they are going to do and say next. I dont believe in physcics so I am confused as to why thats happening. When I am out and about and meet people or friends it can come over me in an instant and makes me feel like ive sat there, the same place, feeling the lot but vaguely in a dream..its so weird. I even start remembering faces to my dreams and things I felt in my dreams that I had forgotten about when I woke up. All these things only happen on those days that I get the Deja vu once a month.

For a few days after the Deja vu's, I feel almost scared, deffinitley depressed and just generally at a low. I also feel like I cant be bothered to do anything even though on a normal day I know its important. Im lucky enough now because I have had them for so long, to understand that the few days after are going to pass because if I didnt, It would be awful and I dont know what I would do.These few days always fill me with dread too and i can never put my finger on why. i dont feel safe and feel so aloneeven though I am not.

I have a lot going on in my life right now with TV and traveling and when I get these two down days after the Deaj vu days it worries me because at them times I feel like just giving it all up and hiding under my bed sheets.

All the other days in the month minus these three, I am so happy and normal..maybe a little stressed but never feel down or anything so i know its just a brain blip that I need to keep check on.

I never have seizures though after my (auras/deja vu's) which scares me because does that mean I havent had that pleasure yet? I only have auras, never felt as though Im having a seizure. What do seizures feel like? am I having mild ones which dont feel too bad that I am just not understanding them or will they come to me further down the line?

I dont want to go on medication because I hear so many bad stories and as long as I can keep a check on these myself then I will try my best.

Just after each of the Deja vu's happen, it makes me feel giggly
like Ive taken drugs or something. I get a massive brain high and
smirk... I never smirk normally so dont understand why its happening
after these.

Sometimes when I know one is coming I will try and
focus on it or stare at something which will trigger a more powerful
one.. I know completely in sane way of thinking but I dont feel myself
when these are happening so who knows why?

My partner is also starting to get similar things happen to him. Are we syncronising or are we both eating bad diets? its all so strange and its really getting him down so i gave him links to this page so he could read through all of your posts which may help him too.

Would love to know your thoughts on this and its very comforting to finally find out that I am not alone.

I get stressed out - do weird stuff like wander - incessantly wander and wander. I get sore arms and legs from panic. My thoughts are confused - sometimes going back in time - I figure i lose my short term memory and all I get is long term memories. At this point I must take the emergency meds. I tend to have comprehension that I am having a seizure. I will feel sick but I wont vomit. I will get extreme panic attack and aloneness. I know I am not far off of it, and I take the meds. I can last until I am closing doors and wanting to "protect things".

If I dont take med at this point - protecting things is possibly too far gone. I will start to wander and hullicanate. At this point it is beyond my comprehension to get to the med because I cannot find it or I am stuck staring at nothing or doing weird stuff. I am screaming, or seeing hullicanation rather than going for med. The med will mostly take it away.

THe other day I took med and it took a while to work. I was thinking 1 hr to work and put me to sleep. Normally it takes 10 mins and I am asleep.

At the point I take meds. I have wandered onto roads and such and made weird calls and sent weird emails said and done weird things. Mostly centered around religion and God or doomsday, natural disasters, death and dying. Wish they were centered around nice things.

I then blank out and wake up elsewhere generally. However I dont let it get to this stage now - I have meds that take it away and as long as I can get to the meds and be safe (you cannot just fall asleep in public) I am ok.

\r\n Hi! My name is Vivian and I have been dealing with seizures for over an year now. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about five years ago and that's a whole other subject, my question is just something that's been on my my mind for a week after my last seizure. I could feel myself shaking, slipping into a seizure and I couldn't do anything, after I had the seizure I couldn't talk but I'm not in my body, I'm looking at myself, laughing at myself sit in the room and look dumb. It confuses me because I can still think clearly just can't talk, I had to go to bed before I can communicate again. My question is has anyone had this happen to them?\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

Katy Saathoff

\r\n

9 months ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n My son is 6, and diagnosed with E 18 months ago. Lately, I have noticed that he gets into really bad temper tantrums, & then has a seizure about 5-10 min later. I don't have E, & there is no family history of it, so I don't know what an aura would feel like. From the sound of how auras are described here, I am thinking that maybe he has an aura, and doesn't like it, doesn't know what to make of it, & maybe he thinks I am causing it?

I am a single mom, so it's just the 2 of us. He is in a class for special needs, due to his behavior. (it's pretty bad.) If it's possible that his behavior could be caused (at least I part, he is a 6 year old boy) by auras, can I stop them? If not, any ideas to help him cope?

Thanks.

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

Epilepsy Foundation Communications

\r\n

9 months ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n An aura is actually the first symptom of a seizure. Are you keeping a log on his seizures and what happens before and after? This information may help you figure out if there is a pattern of auras. It might also be helpful to his health care team for finding the best treatment to control his seizures. Find tools for keeping track of his seizures here: http://www.epilepsy.com/get-help/toolbox/seizure-information-forms. As for helping him cope, talking and asking him about how he's feeling may help. Also let him know you love him and he's not alone when he feels bad and has a seizure. It may be helpful to talk with after he has a seizure and has recovered about what happened before.\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

LarryM

\r\n

11 months ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n I am 62 and began having auras about 10 years ago. Just auras. No headache. No loss of consciousness. I have them on average once a year. When I do, I'll have 2-4 that day. Every one is basically the same. Some a little weaker, some stronger. I have had a full work up with mri, eeg including strobe lights to try to induce a seizure, and blood work. All they found was a small layer of fat lying underneath my corpus collosum that is not entirely uncommon.

My auras come on with with a very strong deja vu sensation, sometimes i feel flushed and hot. No lights. No smells. I then am confused for about 10-20 minutes where i can't remember certain things. The first tme i had one it scared the be-jesus out of me. Mine are mild enough to where I actually think they're cool. I've never used illegal drugs, but it's kind of a trip for me.

\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

E. Williams

\r\n

12 months ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n For me they feel like déjà vu multiplied by a million. So powerful it makes me weak and over heated. Sometimes it can also feel like when you get water up your nose times a million. \r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

MacKenzie Smith

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n The auras I have experienced have changed but some things have stayed the same throughout. At first, I would start yawning & not be able to stop. It felt like my jaws were going to pop off. My face, according to those who have seen me during an aura/seizure, changes dramatically & I feel it in my eyes. My eyes felt like they were in a clamp & my vision was 'underwater' or 'dreamy'. I also got the 'going down a roller-coaster' feeling in the pit of my stomach that traveled down both legs, dizziness & nausea. I still have everything but the yawning. Instead, now, I begin to clear my throat & my throat feels 'full' or 'thick'. I have complex-partial seizures which appear to be a 'souvenir' from a previous car accident. I can just have a seizure but I also have a manual trigger in my back. At first, I was quite devastated because I couldn't do housework, drive, or anything really & the doctors kept saying I should be able to do it. That's when a physical therapist discovered I had the manual trigger in my back...the action that set off the trigger was slightly lowering my head forward & slightly lifting my arms up--the motion to wash dishes, or do laundry, read a book or hold a steering wheel. After a few years of physical therapy, I was able to get past that but I still contend with the condition when I push boundaries. In any case, I thank Jesus for His healing touch, for my meds (Keppra) and for Young Living Essential Oils. \r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

maxwell88

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n I did forget to say that I normally seize when when I have a aura but one time when I had one I went to the break room and turned the lights off, Plus it was winter and I beat it. I did feel poor but I did not seize~The only time, But I won. If you have a aura you might try cool temp. and not light because it can't hurt. God BLESS \r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

maxwell88

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n I don't always seize when I have Aura's, But Iv'e had a few types from's that are not being able to respond to any questions or ask one for that matter. Quick shallow breath with strong eye closer and memory is a huge one also. Now this is me and we are all different as is our triggers and aura's,It would be nice if they were uniform but (no such luck) Good luck and God Bless to all~~~\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

Jessica McAuliffe

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n I have two types of auras that have never lead to seizures and then there are my typical auras right before my tonic clonic seizures. I have a loud ringing or buzzing sound in my left ear, for 30 to 120 seconds at least once a week. My dr. said that was an auditory aura. Then I can be sitting and reading and recognize the words on the page but not be able to say them. It is so aggravating especially at work. The ones prior to a seizure last maybe, 45 seconds if I am lucky. My perhperial vision goes first and my hearing gets fuzzy. I lose my speech and my whole body slowly freezes. If I don't move quick to a sitting position it's problematic and embarassing. My eyes roll back and I'm in the seizure. Severe headaches afterwards.

I had two brain surgeries this summer- off my meds 17 days, never had a seizure. Couldn't have a resection bc they couldn't find my focal point.

Had lots of odd things come up after surgery, like more frequent headaches on one side of head and frequent metal taste in mouth. Anyone else have strange occurances after surgery?

\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

Chris Arceneaux

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n An \"Aura\" is a seizure. They are simple partial seizures that are only affecting your senses.

My auras were always a feeling of Deja Vu followed by my stomach dropping like going down in a fast elevator.

I had a right temporal resection surgery in February and have been seizure free since the surgery.

\r\n\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n

Binkii70

\r\n

More than 1 year ago

\r\n

\r\n \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n I know something's wrong when my hearing starts to slowly go until I can't hear anything and my speech starts to slur..there are a few times it's with vertigo..sometimes the warning gives me just long enough to get some where safe but when it doesn't I know I'm really in trouble\r\n\r\n