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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 Trix on Thu, 2009-10-22 - 10:12

Hi, just want to enter the TLE/Deja Vu conversation. Feeling a bit alone until I get a diagnosis (if I get a diagnosis that is conclusive ie.)

Last week I had a day of constant peculiar type of Deja vu where I felt I was wide awake but having strange dream-like peculiar images to sum up what I thought I'd just seen or heard (ie in reality). The images were in minds eye, not hallucinations, and were quite bizarre. I felt a little bit out of it but obviously nothing to bring attention to myself cause I spent the day with my daughter and grandson and they didn't notice anything. (I didn't mention anything at the time.)

That night just before I went to bed, I was sitting on the toilet (sorry about the detail but is important - cause I didn't fall off it when I had my "turn") and suddenly I was in a black void with bizarre sensations and images and a sense there was a presence trying to pull and tug me away somewhere. When I came to I was stiff in the body (had aching teeth and jaw for 24 hrs), but upright. I was very confused and had no idea where I was. Eventually I realised and together enough to take myself to bed. The next day I was tired and out of it. (Normally a high energy positive person) and took myself off to a doctor (I was on holidays so not my own).

The focus has been on seeing if I've had a type of stroke (because of my age & family history) but so far nothing has turned up. I was diagnosed with TLE much earlier in my life but it seemed like a one off thing that neurologists further down the track disputed saying the symptoms (like the day of deja vu last week) were more like panic/anxiety attacks.

No panic or anxiety in my life of late and was having a great family time when it happened. I'm pretty freaked out cause I've never before had a turn like I did that night. I live on my own and have just moved geographically away from my family. I'm not game enough to drive until the experts get to the bottom of it. I have more tests (incl EEG) over the next few days.

I found this website tonight with comments and feel less alone.

 

 

Hi, just want to enter the TLE/Deja Vu conversation. Feeling a bit alone until I get a diagnosis (if I get a diagnosis that is conclusive ie.)

Last week I had a day of constant peculiar type of Deja vu where I felt I was wide awake but having strange dream-like peculiar images to sum up what I thought I'd just seen or heard (ie in reality). The images were in minds eye, not hallucinations, and were quite bizarre. I felt a little bit out of it but obviously nothing to bring attention to myself cause I spent the day with my daughter and grandson and they didn't notice anything. (I didn't mention anything at the time.)

That night just before I went to bed, I was sitting on the toilet (sorry about the detail but is important - cause I didn't fall off it when I had my "turn") and suddenly I was in a black void with bizarre sensations and images and a sense there was a presence trying to pull and tug me away somewhere. When I came to I was stiff in the body (had aching teeth and jaw for 24 hrs), but upright. I was very confused and had no idea where I was. Eventually I realised and together enough to take myself to bed. The next day I was tired and out of it. (Normally a high energy positive person) and took myself off to a doctor (I was on holidays so not my own).

The focus has been on seeing if I've had a type of stroke (because of my age & family history) but so far nothing has turned up. I was diagnosed with TLE much earlier in my life but it seemed like a one off thing that neurologists further down the track disputed saying the symptoms (like the day of deja vu last week) were more like panic/anxiety attacks.

No panic or anxiety in my life of late and was having a great family time when it happened. I'm pretty freaked out cause I've never before had a turn like I did that night. I live on my own and have just moved geographically away from my family. I'm not game enough to drive until the experts get to the bottom of it. I have more tests (incl EEG) over the next few days.

I found this website tonight with comments and feel less alone.

 

 

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by Rix on Fri, 2010-02-26 - 21:32

Shotpu,  wow I like your "hot spot" discription! it is dead on the money. It is confusing trying to figure out if its the area or the thoughts you think when in the area. I have even triggered sezures from thinking about my "Hot Spot"  when I am nowhere near it.

I have woke up a few times in the ambulance myself with a little bladder problem. Always fun when you are on the small town fire department. It seems to come up as a topic of conversation when they visit me in the hospital. I even woke up with painted toenails. Always nice to have friends haul you to the hospital. Hazeing and razzing is one of my side effects.

 My point is, try to relax. You are not alone, you will learn to live with the symptoms and auras . They are part of a epiliptics life. Try to go with the flow. I know its easy to say but as soon as we learn to not stress about it you will understand your not nuts , you brain likes to play jokes on you.

 

Shotpu,  wow I like your "hot spot" discription! it is dead on the money. It is confusing trying to figure out if its the area or the thoughts you think when in the area. I have even triggered sezures from thinking about my "Hot Spot"  when I am nowhere near it.

I have woke up a few times in the ambulance myself with a little bladder problem. Always fun when you are on the small town fire department. It seems to come up as a topic of conversation when they visit me in the hospital. I even woke up with painted toenails. Always nice to have friends haul you to the hospital. Hazeing and razzing is one of my side effects.

 My point is, try to relax. You are not alone, you will learn to live with the symptoms and auras . They are part of a epiliptics life. Try to go with the flow. I know its easy to say but as soon as we learn to not stress about it you will understand your not nuts , you brain likes to play jokes on you.

 

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by momma26 on Wed, 2009-10-07 - 17:45
Ugadude - I have never had anyone describe my auras so perfectly! I began having them when I was about 11 years old, and everyone dismissed them as daydreaming. I tried to describe them, but could never find the right words or ways to describe exactly what I was feeling. When I was 22 I had my first grand mal seizure. These only happen in my sleep, but everyone of my CT scans and MRI's came up clean. It took 4 years and 3 dr's to finally diagnosis me. My night time seizures are gelastic seizures,that sometimes progress to secondary grand mal seizures, but the dr's have still not been unable to diagnosis the seizures I have had the longest. I was hoping when they finally did an video eeg in the hospital that I would have an aura also, so that would be diagnosised also, but of course that did not happen. After confirming the gelastic seizures I was put on Keppra which has reduced my occurences of auras also. It use to be every 3 to 9 months I would experience them many times a day for a couple of days, then they would disappear again for several months. Since I have been on Keppra I am down to one or two days a year instead of 4-8 days a year. As of yet it is still undiagnosised, but I am glad to know that I am not crazy in what I am experiencing. I hate that any of us have to go through what we do, but it is nice to know that others can understand where I am coming from! Good luck to you! And thank you so much for your post!

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