During grande mal seizures so much of the brain is firing that things
just don't register, so if tehre is physical pain -- for instance at
spasming muscles -- it doesn't process in the brain so isn't felt.
Now, there can be soreness and strong unease afterward but not when
the brain is firing so much. That has been repeatedly documented in
humans,and having once had grande mal convulsions the day after a
surgery as part of an allergic reaction which threw off my heart rhythm
for a short while I can tell you that things just didn't register
during. I have a recollection of someone telling me the coolness was
just from the gel to monitor my heart when I was between seizures but
otherwise that day for the most part never registered. (Luckily, it
didn't do any lasting damage, either; I just have to have special
precautions taken with general anesthesia and in the days following
its use.)

I recall a lecture by a neurologist who was asked about "using more of
the brain". He looked startled and then succinctly replied that no, a
person would not want to use more of the brain at once because that is
what we call a seizure and rather than be more effective from using the
brain that way the person would not be able to process information of
any type.

Never-the-less -- Twilight Zone plots with "more brain used" aside -- a
major seizure is a frightening thing to witness and something which can
leave a person who is not prepared feeling helpless and panicked, and
leave a prepared person feeling that way if the approaches which had
worked in the past then fail to work. The aftermath can be hard on the
one who has gone through it if it happens in the wrong setting, and the
damage which can sometimes result certainly is a very real concern. No
matter what the cause it is a serious crisis.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5670]