Seniors and Epilepsy

Have you ever found yourself in the grocery store or church or some other familiar place that suddenly was not so familiar and you didn’t know what you are doing there?

Have you noticed a bump on your head or scraped elbows but have no memory of having fallen?

Does your mother have passing moments when she seems “out of it” and can’t hear or understand what you say?

Have you noticed your father suddenly start doing unusual repetitive acts, like picking at non-existent lint?

We all worry that odd or confused behavior in seniors might be signs of the onset of Alzheimer’s, but there could be another explanation – treatable epilepsy (seizure disorders).

For many people epilepsy is associated with what is known as grand mal seizures where the person goes rigid, falls down, and has muscle spasms. However, there are other forms. Petit mal seizures, for example, are characterized by what is called “absence” - a brief loss of awareness, sometimes followed by confusion. In other types of seizures, the person can experience unusual sensations or movements or be in what appears to be in a dreamlike state performing unusual repetitive actions.

Seizures occur when there is a brief disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain. What causes epilepsy is not always clear, but in older adults, it is often associated with physical changes associated with aging. Strokes, heart attacks, and complications of other diseases can cause damage that results in seizures. In addition, seizures can cause harm that is more serious to seniors than to younger people.

When seniors or their caregivers become aware of unusual behavior or physical sensations, it’s important to identify exactly what happens, how long it lasts and how frequently it occurs. This information will help your physician make the proper diagnosis and design a treatment plan that gets you back on track.

For more information, contact the Wyoming Epilepsy Association in Cheyenne at 634-5329 (or toll free 1-866-634-5329).