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Deja vu and Epilepsy

Sat, 09/06/2008 - 19:09

Ok I'm going to give a short version and a long version, as the long one might be too long for many...

SHORT:

-I'm 23, have had 5-6 deja vu episodes in 3-4 weeks. Daydream alot and have fleeting thoughts of normal things seeming weird or funny (but not necessarily unfamiliar). No family history, no grand mal, no head trauma. What's the likelihood of TLE? What else might it be?

LONG:

I'm 23 and have experienced five or six very strong feelings of deja vu in the last 3-4 weeks or so, which was enough to tip me off to possible temporal lobe epilepsy after searching around a bit. They generally last about 10-20 seconds and are not accompanied by the same dread, or stomach discomfort, or fear, or happiness that seems to be common with many TLE patients, but they're also momentarily quite strong (and frustrating!) for me.

I also have been having these thoughts every once in a while that ordinary things, objects, words, concepts, etc. (could be anything depending on the concept) seem somewhat silly or different than they normally would feel. In a way, I feel like I'm processing the world differently, almost a bit, yet not entirely, detached from it for just a few seconds or so. I'm not quite sure it's jamais vu since it's never had any sort of emotion or gut-type "feeling" that deja vu has, and I know what I'm looking at/touching/hearing/etc fine and not actually forgetting anything about it. As an example, it could be as trivial as say looking at a phone or hearing the word phone (or whatever else) and thinking "hm, what a funny thing with a funny name. never thought of a phone that way, i know it's a phone, but it seems kinda silly. kind of weird we use them" and then snap back into it and realize a phone is a phone and i've been using it and familiar with it my whole life. It feels like I'm a permanent stoner or something. Sorry if that sounds a bit nuts, just a quirky thing that I'm wondering if it's related to possible TLE or something else.

I also tend to have some issues fairly regularly with daydreaming or forgetting for a second what it was I was doing or wanted to do (momentary memory, basically), but I've always attributed that to lack of sleep, being a space cadet, or whatever else might cause it, and I'm not too sure if it's symptomatic of TLE.

In any case, I have never had head trauma, have no family history of epilepsy, and obviously never had a grand mal or anything like it. I saw a neuro who took history and notes before referring me to a specialist who's going to take a month to schedule an appointment and for an MRI in the meantime. He mentioned that there are psychological theories but no other neurological explanations aside from TLE to explain having 6 deja vus along with the other quirkiness. Obviously then, it would be frustrating if the MRIs and EEGs, etc all come back fine with no diagnosis made as I could be stuck with these spells (which are affecting my work right now).

That said, I'm wondering a few things:

1) What is the likelihood of TLE (given age, no family history or trauma, symptoms)? Also, what is the likelihood that someone non-TLE has 6 dejavu episodes in a 3-4 weeks timeframe?

2) What are potential alternative explanations if not TLE?

3) What can/will be done if everything comes back okay but I'm still having symptoms?

4) Would stress/lack of sleep cause the symptoms, or do they actually trigger the epilepsy which in turn triggers the symptoms?

Obviously any answers to any of the questions are much appreicated. Thanks and look forward to the discussion!

-Mikey

Comments

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by Seditionaire on Fri, 2010-02-26 - 18:40
Thank you, thank you so much for your comment!! Thanks to all of you, actually. I have been suffering from these "episodes" for about 8 years now. At their worst I was having 5-6 of these déjà vu/Spacing out episodes a day!! I have had an MRI that came up clean, and am currently waiting for the results of my second EEG... I have been told that it's in my head, that it's anxiety or panic attacks... I try to explain to people that this is something physical, try to describe what it is these feel like and only now, through all of your words and advice am I able to express it, and to know I'm not alone (and not crazy) means a lot... It means more to hear about temporal lobe epilepsy for the first time and hear all my symptoms described... Down to the cause as I suffered a bad concussion after a hit and run about 8 years ago. Again, all I can say is THANK YOU!!

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by SupportiveGfofAdam on Fri, 2009-02-06 - 20:43
So, I'm talking to my boyfriend on gmail messenger right now, who has epilepsy, but hasn't had an MRI yet (damn the UK). From his symptoms and the seizures I've seen, which have been quite a few, I told him it was his temporal lobe. He gets these deja vu moments as he' still "asleep" after a seizure where he talks to whoever he was talking to like a week or more ago, usually his sister, and has a full conversation out loud. It is rather amusing I must say b/c he is usually telling her how he's going to marry me. Anyway, I digress... I asked him if he regularly gets deja vue and he was like , yea, why? Funny I came across your postings tonight.

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by lizdak21 on Mon, 2009-06-22 - 13:26

hi mikey im lindsay :) i read your message and your not alone in feeling dejavu its really weird and uncomfortable.. i was diagnosed in 2005 i had just turned 18 i have tonic/clonic grand mal seizures i have no family history or nothing tramatic has happened to me they just came out of no where i know what your talking about you feel like your not there it does feel like being stoned 24/7 thats a good way to describe it .it gives me bad anxiety . but im learning to live with it and its helps alot  talking to people who feel the same . im trying to find ways to cope  message me some time good luck

 

lindsay

hi mikey im lindsay :) i read your message and your not alone in feeling dejavu its really weird and uncomfortable.. i was diagnosed in 2005 i had just turned 18 i have tonic/clonic grand mal seizures i have no family history or nothing tramatic has happened to me they just came out of no where i know what your talking about you feel like your not there it does feel like being stoned 24/7 thats a good way to describe it .it gives me bad anxiety . but im learning to live with it and its helps alot  talking to people who feel the same . im trying to find ways to cope  message me some time good luck

 

lindsay

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