epilepsy or syncopal?

[Nolee65]

Hi,
I feel that I may have epilepsy.  Here are my symptoms.

Absence seizue type A

before
eyes white flickering
during
white flickering several minutes before, then a pause, no movement, mind blanks, no processing for 10 - 20 seconds. Processing returns.
After
eyes still have white flickering for 3- 5 minutes. Then I develop a low grade headache.
Average duration and frequency
from start to finish is about 10 min. I can have these 2 or 3 times on the given day, and can have a day or two in between.

Absence seizure type B

before
no aura in vision. Just throat fullness and palpitations.
during
Pause in what am doing with no movement for brief time 10 - 20 seconds. Processing returns.
after
feel tired, have low grade headache. when close eyes can see in vision lightening storm or colored patches with black tornado or other patterned movement.
average duration and frequency
sometimes smack my lips, have full awareness. except am not sure during pause. Recognize that I have had something.

Absence type C

is usually a stare.  Loss of focus. Blank mind and uncertain of duration. Have not recorded much information as of yet as have only begun the process of recording for past few months.  Albeit know I have had all these types of absences since childhood. Thought it was ADD. I do feel tired on the days these stare episodes occur.  


Absence Type D

usually feel tired have trouble focussing, ears tingle or head, palpitations, throat pressure, followed by headache, then irritated by noise or stimulation of movement.  

sometimes a chest heaviness accompanies these.  


Fog days

usually wake to these.  do not remember to eat or feed my children, do not have fever, but body feels warm to touch. have throat pressure/fullness, palpitations, ringing in ears, am tired, tingles on head can be cold sensation, hot sensation, tingles, itching, and by early evening alertness returns. Sometimes tingling in arms is present, or weakness in thighs and knees. Does not last all day, usually by evening I feel better.

Seizure Type losing consciousness

this description pertains to the 6 experienced during birth/labor of son. The other episodes I can trace back to age of about 10, are very much the same in description with the exception of bladder-control-loss on one.  

before
ears ringing, intense nausea, and a feeling of consciousness to be impaired.  Ear ringing increases in volume, to peak where I lose consciousness, eyes roll back

during
then I am out for a few minutes, regain hearing first, can hear the ringing slowly decrease, witnesses claim I tremble lightly, and make a funny breathing noise with my mouth like air traps in my mouth and is pushed out thus I make a fbbbb noise. a lot of neck and face tremor.

after
can hear other noises in environment.  Usually can hear people talking to me, then I can slowly begin to speak.  am confused and dazed as well as tired. Often have a mild headache, sometimes a severe headache.


Other symptoms

night time tremors
usually in lower extremities, but has been in whole body.
Husband has witnessed these lasting for min of 3 hours to over 8 hours.  Intensity remains the same as does the time between intervals on the given night. Interval time ranges from 17 counts to in the 90's.

My questions are:
which way would these symptoms potentially lean?  syncope or epilepsy? what would you suggest to do in order to find out the nature of diagnosis? what are the differences in symptoms that rule syncope out?

[Nolee65]

I have seen a Neurologist. This was just after the birth of my son, now 4, and at that consult the only focus was the unconscious seizures with the description I have already disclosed here.  He did not ask questions,nor did he try to have me look into whether I  also had any other symptoms. It was only this spring I began to focus on the details of what I experience by journaling EVERYTHING I see, eat, drink, do, feel etc... that I cocluded these patterns.  I have lived with this for so long I feel like most of the symptoms I experience, my body just did not notice so to speak.  Sort of like living beside a waterfall, after awhile, you just do not hear it unless you listen. (Just with the absences)  
This Neurologist laid a diagnosis of syncope after the EEG was normal.  Just recently, I have learned that even epileptics can have normal EEG's if it is taken when there is no episode occuring at the time.  Also, my daughter has had a normal EEG after her initial one that provided her with a diagnosis of Petit Mal, with symptoms of Partial Complex Temporal Lobe epilepsy, adding she has unusual length to her episodes suggesting a nature of status elepticus.
I have seen this same Neurologist again, recently, and he has ordered an MRI, and another EEG.  My concern is that if these come up normal, despite my symptoms being almost identical to my diagnosed daughter's symptoms, I will remain syncopal.  It is frustrating, as my family physician constantly states I do not have seizures, when I clearly do.  I hate that he makes light of them, and tells me " I internalize too much, and he can't help me".  He treats me like I am a mental case and I am very unhappy with his mannerism.
Are there tests that can prove syncope?  aside from a normal EEG?( When speaking with the children's Pediatrician, he agrees a normal EEG proves nothing other than no activity at the time of testing, and does not "prove anything for differential diagnosis.  
Also, I am very concerned as my oldest son, and youngest son, bear many similarities.... and instinctively, I feel this is not syncope.  I am more concerned that if this is a genetic issue....(knowing it is rare)  what can I do to rule this out? I look at my daughter and her symptoms fit very nicely into ADPEAF or IDPEAF. My family is in a dire need of testing and proper evidence to attain a diagnosis for each of us, that a relatively normal life can be provided to each of us. I just cannot grasp that if we all bear such similarities to the only one in our family that has a diagnosis, why we are  being treated like it is a mental health issue.  If it was an internalizing issue, then would not a seizure happen at the highest levels of stress all the time?  And how is it that for me...this has been going on since I was 10?  Do you have anything to shed any light on this?
I will most certainly let you know what the result of the EEG and MRI are.  Most likely these will be complete within 2 months.  
Thank you again.  It feels nice to hear someone say this situation leans more toward epilepsy. My instincts tell me it is so.
Nolee65

[Avinash R Kakade]

Hello,

I am troubled to see you in pain for so many years. Your symptoms are rather a constellations of symptoms of both syncope and epilepsy.

The difference between syncope and epilepsy is loss of consciousness. Loss of consciousness is definitely seen in syncope but need not be necessarily seen with epilepsy as you are very well aware of.

I fear that your sympotms are leaning towards epielpsy. So I would advise you to see a neuologist who would make you undergo EEG( electroencephalogram) which records electrical activity of brain and thus would help in differentiating between syncope and epilepsy.

May be if it turns out to be epilepsy then you would be started on anti-epileptics and I am sure your symptoms would disappear with them.

Keep me updated.

Regards.