Uncontrolled epilepsy creates a constant source of worry for patients and puts them at a high risk of injury. Identifying recurrent “premonitory” symptoms of seizures and using them to recalibrate seizure prediction algorithms may improve prediction performances. This study aimed to investigate patients’ ability to predict oncoming seizures based on preictal symptoms.

Through an online survey, demographics and clinical characteristics (e.g., seizure frequency, epilepsy duration, and postictal symptom duration) were collected from people with epilepsy and caregivers across Canada. Respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their ability to predict seizures through warning symptoms. A total of 196 patients and 150 caregivers were included and were separated into three groups: those who reported warning symptoms within the 5 minutes preceding a seizure, prodromes (symptoms earlier than 5 minutes before seizure), and no warning symptoms.

Overall, 12.2% of patients and 12.0% of caregivers reported predictive prodromes ranging from 5 minutes to more than 24 hours before the seizures (median of 2 hours). The most common were dizziness/vertigo (28%), mood changes (26%), and cognitive changes (21%). Statistical testing showed that respondents who reported prodromes also reported significantly longer postictal recovery periods compared to those who did not report predictive prodromes (P < 0.05).

Findings suggest that patients who present predictive seizure prodromes may be characterized by longer patient-reported postictal recovery periods. Studying the correlation between seizure severity and predictability and investigating the electrical activity underlying prodromes may improve our understanding of preictal mechanisms and ability to predict seizures.