Different types of epilepsy

When epilepsy is talked about, most people think of Tonic-Clonic seizures, formerly known as grand-mal, where the person suffers stiffness and jerking.

Very few people think of Absence seizures, formerly known as petit-mal. I suffer from this but only have a seizure once every couple of years. I totally lose all awareness of anything and go in to some sort of trance. For many people they snap out of it automatically. I almost snap out of it but then have to ask somebody where I am and what I was doing. Once I have that anchor I can get myself back on track.

This is fine if I'm with friends or in a building where it is obvious what I was doing (eg in a library reading a book) but I've had it happen in a street where, from what I can ascertain from the policeman who came over to help having been alerted by CCTV operators, it took 5 minutes of asking people to help before somebody realised I wasn't a crazy lady but REALLY needed somebody just to tell me what street I was in and what direction I had been walking in.

I haven't let this effect my life but it would be easy to hide at home 'just in case'.
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You are right. There are many different types of epilepsy that many people do not know about and should be aware of. It truly is sad that many people are uneducated about epilepsy since at least 1 in 100 people have it.

Very right. My boyfriend just had his first Tonic-clonic seizure and hasn't been able to drive for three months due to doctor's orders. He is so depressed by it. I wish there were more information out there.

My friend has this, he suffers from epilepsy. He rarely has a full on seizure but he often has what his Dad calls a 'funny turn' where he feels dizzy, nauseous and disorientated. When I first got to know him I didn't understand what was wrong, I thought he was nervous or something.