Western New York Teacher Center

 

Events such as injury, illness, surgery, anxiety or trauma can be the source of a seizure. Signs and symptoms include involuntary episodes of movement, sounds, sensations and behavior that lasts anywhere from less than minute to a few minutes or longer and that may or may not be followed by exhaustion, confusion, disorientation, weakness and moodiness. 

 

Seizures can be caused by epilepsy which is a sudden abnormal electrical discharge in the brain. Epilepsy is a medical condition that is treated by anti-seizure medication and/or other options in an effort to stop the seizures. Proper diagnosis is important because strong medications with serious side effects are often the only way to treat the seizure disorder. 

Another type of seizure is a psychogenic seizure (PNES), sometimes referred to as pseudo-seizures, stress seizures or false seizures because the brain shows no evidence of a seizure even though the person is having a seizure. Correct diagnosis is is not a simple process and cannot be based on observing the symptoms though there are characteristics that hint at the different types of seizures. An accurate diagnosis often requires a minimum of several days of in-patient hospitalization with the use of equipment that monitors both the brain activity and the physical manifestation of the seizure. Diagnosis becomes an issue because of the cost of testing. 

 

Panic/anxiety attacks

Some panic or anxiety attacks can manifest like a seizure. Some individuals have been diagnosed and treated for years for a seizure disorder when they were actually having panic attacks. A panic attack could also be an undiagnosed seizure disorder though that mistake seems to be much less likely to happen. 

    

 

Brain Injuries can be life-altering, both for those who are injured and those around them. The Brain Injury Resource Center offers detailed information about different types of brain injuries as well as a number of articles and resources. Brain injuries can change or diminish a person's intellectual capacity or their emotional stamina and even change the entire personality. Recovery often takes years rather than months, and sometimes the changes from a brain injury are permanent. Support for family members and friends is often overlooked because the person with the brain injury has overwhelming needs. Care-takers can become exhausted and "burn out" if their needs are set aside for too long.    

 

Traumatic brain injuries are the result of an event that causes brain injury or brain damage. Basic background on TBI (traumatic brain injury) with additional resources is found at this website. The injury may be mild or more severe. Go to the neurology channel and scroll down for more detailed information on brain injuries.