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Tonic and Atonic seizures

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Last updated 29 Jul 2009, review date due 29 Jan 2010

Tonic seizures

Tonic seizures result in all your muscles tightening. Your body stiffens and you will fall over unless you are supported. Tonic seizures usually last less than 20 seconds and most often happen during sleep.

Atonic seizures (also called drop attacks or akinetic seizures)

In an atonic seizure, all your muscle tone is lost and you drop heavily to the ground. The seizure is very brief. You are not confused afterwards and are usually able to get up again straight away. However, because your body usually falls forward in an atonic seizure, you are at risk of banging your head on furniture or other hard objects. If you have frequent atonic seizures, extra safety precautions – like wearing protective headgear - make sense.

You can find details of companies that supply protective headgear on our Daily Living Aids factsheet.

 

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We can provide references and information on the source material we use to write our epilepsy advice and information pages. Please contact our Epilepsy Helpline by email at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk.
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Comments

This is actually the type that I do have.
I have had these for nearly 12 years. I have only discovered that it is a form of epilepsy this March gone. I had most tests done and nothing was coming up. I drop at no notice whatsoever or I can get a warning best warning is a few days in advance but you don't know when your going to drop. Its just that your feeling funny. With it now I try and just calm my system down. Happy thoughts. But over the years I have found when I know one is there I am better off letting it go. If I had a bad week or day I could drop a good few times.
Thankfully I have only every hurt myself really bad a few times. As by now after 12 years nearly of these my body knows what to do. My head lands last I always go back, I go like a domino I don't buckle at the knees. If its a very fast drop I will hurt my neck and it will be sore for a few days.
If you are pre-menstral and someone is around and don't know what is going on. They might pick you up right away thinking you have just fainted. That is never good as you might just go again quicker and feel worse afterwards. The more you have in one day the worse you will feel. I am use to dropping by now.
However I am not so use to saying I have epilepsy.
I hope you feel better and know there is someone out there.

Submitted by Louise Murphy on 2 June, 2010 - 01:18.

I have had epilepsy for over 20 years and yet never had this type of seizure until the last three weeks. My back is covered in scrabes and grazes and (rather than scars) and my head - the crown - in some really bad scars. My own Atonic seisures only seem to have come along since my Vagal Nerve Stimulation has been increased; obviously this is just a perosnal thing. I would rather have a grand-mal or a petit mal than these; there horrible and I'm oblvious to them (prior to them and during them) Mind you, recovery time is immediate, but also I am quite oblious immedaitely afterwards, except that I am lying in the ground(!) - "Oh b*gger, it's happened again". I hope no one else gets these

Submitted by Zac on 21 April, 2010 - 13:10.