The Simple Partial event can usually be reeled back in because the patient can consciously realize that the seizure is starting and then the brain has a chance to do something about it. It is more than a deja vu because there is a factor of panic. It gives one the feeling of body temperature going up and there is a tingling in the brain. The Simple Partial, if left unchecked, can turn into a generalized seizure. This is especially true during sleep when the mind doesn't catch the spark that leads into the large seizure.
Complex Partial seizures can be different intensities and the epileptic displays short-term memory problems and a "blanking out" of the conscious mind. The person walks around going through a daily routine, but without realizing it; the zombie-like state of mind can be hazardous. For example, if a person having the Complex Partial goes to the kitchen to make breakfast and turns all four burners of the stove on high and then pours milk onto them, he is performing the routine of taking water out of the fridge, pouring in into a kettle, and then turning one burner on to make coffee. There is no realization that anything is occurring out of the ordinary. Smaller Complex seizures will cause the victim to lose things in transit. Groceries and shopping bags are left on subway trains and buses, and money is lost.
Tonic-Clonic seizures can do much greater harm, since it causes unconsciousness. Being knocked out by an out-of-control electrical storm in the brain puts the entire nervous system at risk. Long periods of violent shaking can stop the breathing or cause a heart attack to someone prone to heart problems. The patient loses control of bodily functions, and so urinates and bleeds from the nose. There is the risk of amnesia if breathing is halted for a long period. The brain is deprived of oxygen, and structural changes in areas of the brain can delete the neuro-chemical software that stores memory.
In one case of Frontal Lobe Epilepsy, the first seizure of a forty-five year old patient resulted in total amnesia. He didn't recognize his wife, had never seen the city he had lived in for thirty years, and didn't remember his own name; his entire past was gone. An amnesiac must deal with the unfamiliar terrain of identity loss and learn to get by on what others tell him. The distraction of all the confused thoughts slows down the thinking process, causing great difficulty in decision-making. Getting from point A to point B is challenging without any familiar landmarks or any idea of how the city is laid out.
One of the answers to this situation is buried deep within the brain. Computers are designed to mimic the human brain and, although human brains are biological, memory storage works in a similar fashion. There is recoverable data on both systems when a crash occurs. Cross-indexing early learning, education, and language ties can start a recovery process. Trivia, T.V. game shows, and crossword puzzles can awaken bits of memory. The amnesiac should work on a puzzle book that gets increasingly difficult as it goes along, but not beyond the point of frustration. Staying calm will increase concentration and give time for reflection. Rather than being given constant reminders from others, the patient can begin the thought process from inside so that personality returns in roughly the same shape as it left. Only then can the person remember the special circumstances of happy events in his life. Care should be taken to take necessary medications to prevent further seizures. Not all epileptics are controlled by their prescriptions; as better drugs are developed Neurologists will try to determine the correct dosage or combination of doses if two drugs are used to maintain a stable state. The resilient nature of the mind can never be underestimated, and it's fortunate that not every amnesiac loses his memory forever.
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
The author is a musician and an epileptic who works to prevent the unnecessary prejudice against those with epilepsy. The phenomenon of a lost amnesiac is described vividly in his novel The Golden Blues, which tells of how he found himself unable to think of his name, but could walk down the street conjugating verbs in Latin. If he could access that much memory, the rest of it must be in there too. Within one year, he brought his identity around once more.
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