What Are the Symptoms of Epilepsy?
Epilepsy presents differently in each person. The condition has a range of symptoms that varies. Convulsions can be one sign of epilepsy. However, people often experience epilepsy without ever having a convulsion.
Epilepsy patients may experience any of the following common symptoms:
- Convulsions (sudden, irregular body movements you can’t control)
- Blackouts (short periods of time when you don’t remember what happened)
- Staring off into space, feeling dazed, or being unresponsive
- Brain fog
- Sudden falls or other clumsy behavior
- Frequent repetitive movements, such as blinking, lip smacking, or head nodding
Epilepsy Seizure Types: Focal vs. Generalized Seizures
Your epileptologist (epilepsy specialist) will determine what type of seizure you have based on your symptoms and diagnostic test results. Our epileptologists treat all types of epileptic seizures, including the two main types:
- Focal epileptic seizures—These seizures are the result of abnormal activity in a specific part of your brain that can spread to other areas.
- Generalized epileptic seizures—These seizures start everywhere in your brain at the same time. A generalized seizure may include involuntary loss of muscle control or uncontrolled muscle movements (jerking seizures).
Focal Seizure Symptoms & Types
- Seizure with no loss of consciousness—You may experience changes in your emotions, taste, sight, smell, or hearing. These seizures can also lead to jerking in your arm or leg or other uncontrolled movements.
- Seizure with loss of consciousness or impaired awareness—Common symptoms of this seizure include not responding to your surroundings and repetitive movements like lip smacking, head nodding, or walking in circles.
Generalized Seizure Symptoms & Types
- Absence seizures—These seizures often occur in children. Symptoms may include staring into space, brief loss of awareness, and subtle movements like rapid blinking or lip smacking,
- Atonic seizures—This seizure causes you to lose your muscle control. You may fall or collapse during an atonic seizure.
- Clonic seizures—These seizure symptoms include uncontrolled muscle movements, ticks, or jerking in your arms, legs, head, and face area.
- Myoclonic seizures—Symptoms include sudden twitching or jerking in your arms and legs.
- Tonic seizures—You may collapse or fall during this type of seizure due to stiffening in your back, arm, or leg muscles.
- Tonic-clonic seizures—This is the most dramatic and best-known type of seizure. Symptoms include loss of consciousness, stiffening, shaking, and other uncontrolled actions like loss of bladder control or tongue biting.
What Causes Epilepsy?
There are many causes of epilepsy:
- ³Ò±ð²Ô±ð³Ù¾±³¦²õ—An estimated 30%–40% of epilepsy patients have an inherited (genetic) condition that causes epilepsy or a type of epilepsy that runs in their family. A person with genetic epilepsy is most likely to experience symptoms before age 20. However, epilepsy symptoms can start at any age. You can work with our genetic counselor to get screened if epilepsy runs in your family.
- ³§³Ù°ù³Ü³¦³Ù³Ü°ù²¹±ô—Some people have abnormal structures in their brain that can increase their risk of developing seizures. These structural changes may be something you're born with or develop later on in life.
- ±õ²Ô´Ú±ð³¦³Ù¾±´Ç³Ü²õ—Different types of brain infections can cause seizures, such as tuberculosis or bacterial meningitis.
- ²Ñ±ð³Ù²¹²ú´Ç±ô¾±³¦â€”Metabolic disorders are rare, but often show signs early in babies or children. You may have a metabolic disorder if your body's enzymes have trouble breaking down food or making energy to function. People with metabolic epilepsy often have seizures that accompany other symptoms such as delayed development, other organ problems like kidneys or liver, and abnormal movements.
- ´¡³Ü³Ù´Ç¾±³¾³¾³Ü²Ô±ð—Your immune system protects you from illness and other foreign substances that could hurt you. Changes to your immune system's function may cause autoimmune epilepsy. Seizures are typically the main symptom of autoimmune epilepsy.
- ±«²Ô°ì²Ô´Ç·É²Ô—No known cause of epilepsy.
At 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀÖ±²¥, our epilepsy specialists are highly experienced in diagnosing and treating some of the more rare, complicated cases of epilepsy caused by infections, autoimmune disorders, and abnormal brain structures.
Find an Epilepsy Specialist
Make An Appointment With Our Epilepsy Program
Many epilepsy symptoms mirror symptoms of other medical conditions. It’s important to get a proper diagnosis and rule out other potential causes. Talk to your primary care provider if you think that you or your loved one might have epilepsy. Many primary care providers can diagnose epilepsy and prescribe you medication to start.
Patients can call 801-585-7575 or request an appointment online to see an epilepsy program provider. Some insurance plans will ask for a referral from a primary care provider to see a specialist. Our schedulers can request a referral from your primary care provider. You can also contact your insurance carrier for questions about your coverage.
