There are many forms of seizures, I experience some of them but not all. Today I’d like to go over the different kinds of seizures one can experience.
Lets start with the word “ictal”; it’s a fancy name for a seizure. There is both pre-ictal & post ictal behavior. For me, the pre-ictal phase can be minutes or hours or even days. Nervousness, hyperactivity, mad hunger & a look of panic are all symptoms of the pre-ictal stage that I experience. Post-ictal finds me pacing, disoriented & sometimes temporarily blind & with no sense of smell. I’m also very hungry.
Focal Seizures are Partial seizures that affect a part of the brain & thus just a part of the body — like the flicking of an ear or fluttering of the eyelids. I experience these often, I get twitchy.
A Grand Mal seizure, also called Tonic-Clonic is a generalized seizure. This is the type of seizure that most people associate with epilepsy & the type I experience. My whole body becomes stiff & contorted. I tremble under the strain. I may also appear to be paddling the air. There is a lot of drooling & sometimes I can lose control of my bladder & bowels. Fortunately, this has not happened in the last couple of years. For me a Grand Mal usually only lasts for a minute or less but others are less fortunate.
A Psychomotor seizure or Complex Partial seizure involves strange behavior that only lasts a couple of minutes. Your dog may suddenly start attacking an imaginary object or chasing his tail. It can be tricky to tell psychomotor seizures from odd behavior, but a dog that has them will always do the same thing every time he has a seizure.
Absense seizures or Petit Mal seizure are lapses of awareness or unconsciousness, sometimes with staring upward turned eyes. They begin & end abruptly, lasting only a few seconds.
Cluster seizures which I do sadly experience are seizures experienced one after another or within a 24 hour period. Cluster seizures can be confused status epilepticus.
Status Epilepticus is one continuous seizure lasting 30 minutes or more, or a series of multiple seizures in a short time with no periods of normal consciousness.
I’m happy to report that at the time of this post I’v gone 42 days without a Grand Mal seizure. Generally they come every 28 to 30 days, often on or near the full moon but extreme weather shifts seem to play a part as well.
Stay Strong & Seizure Free!
CEO Olivia ❤
Further Reading:
Dog Seizure Disorders: Types, Causes, Symptom…
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