Diagnosing Epilepsy Symptoms on the Central Coast
If you repeatedly experience seizures over a period of time, your doctor may diagnose you with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a movement disorder, and seizures are the most recognized sign of epilepsy.
Dignity Health Central Coast’s team of neurologists provide personal care for epilepsy. Our compassionate experts are able to diagnose the signs of epilepsy, including epilepsy symptoms in adults, then recommend the right treatment for you.
Find a Doctor today to learn more about seizures and other epilepsy symptoms on the Central Coast of California.
Recognizing Epilepsy Symptoms & Signs at Dignity Health Central Coast
Interruptions to normal nerve activity in the brain can trigger seizures. Symptoms of seizures can depend on the part of the brain involved and can differ from one person to the next. If you experience epilepsy symptoms, they may be debilitating, mild, or in between.
Seizures fall into one of three types: absence, focal, or tonic-clonic. Typically, seizure symptoms for any of these types may include the following:
- Muscle rigidity
- Facial flushing
- Inability to speak as the seizure is happening
- Auditory or visual hallucinations
- Periods of staring into space
- Feeling as if your skin is tingling
- Head movements that are abnormal
- Feeling weird or strange just before a seizure take place
- Change in emotions or mood immediately prior to a seizure
- Smelling odors that aren’t there
Diagnosing Signs of Epilepsy
If you believe you may have epilepsy, your Dignity Health Central Coast doctor will have you describe what you believe to be previous seizure episodes, including what you experience, how frequently they happen, and whether you think anything tends to bring them on. Your doctor also will perform a physical exam and talk to you about your medical history.
Your doctor may recommend tests to help diagnose epilepsy, including:
- Blood tests
- Imaging tests, such as a neurological computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- Lumbar puncture to examine your cerebrospinal fluid
- Electroencephalogram (EEG), which records your brain’s electrical activity
- Portable EEG to record your brain activity for several days
Early intervention may be able to improve your quality of life by reducing the severity and frequency of your seizures. Get in touch with Dignity Health Central Coast to begin working with one of our trusted doctors to better understand epilepsy signs and symptoms on the Central Coast.
Our expert Dignity Health doctors are ready to help you diagnose a neurological condition, such as epilepsy, throughout the Central Coast.