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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 tonialpha on Sat, 2010-01-16 - 10:12

 Deja- vu symptomology is an aura for seizures which occured when I was attending college a new stress in my life.  I was already diagnosed w/ left temporal epilepsy when I was younger. I had brain surgery and I had new auras, this was one of them and it happened while I was in college.   This was in the 70's. 

 When under stress a counsellor has helped me deal w./ seizures along w/ my Neurologist.  Medication and relaxation exercising  helped.  Simply slow down the rhythm of your pace of breathing, breathing from the chest, walking outside doing it easily.  Has helped me along w/ a balanced diet.  Stress causes alot of disorder!  Learning to relax sure helps seizures not be so intense. 

 Deja- vu symptomology is an aura for seizures which occured when I was attending college a new stress in my life.  I was already diagnosed w/ left temporal epilepsy when I was younger. I had brain surgery and I had new auras, this was one of them and it happened while I was in college.   This was in the 70's. 

 When under stress a counsellor has helped me deal w./ seizures along w/ my Neurologist.  Medication and relaxation exercising  helped.  Simply slow down the rhythm of your pace of breathing, breathing from the chest, walking outside doing it easily.  Has helped me along w/ a balanced diet.  Stress causes alot of disorder!  Learning to relax sure helps seizures not be so intense. 

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by jttt32 on Sat, 2010-01-16 - 09:31
dude i know exactly what you are going through except everytime i have had deja vu i end up having a seizure,and i have had the mri theeeg all the test and they cant tell me anything.the neurologist told me that on the test he sees nothing wrong.but what bothers me if its not epilepsy what the hell is it..so anyway i am treated like i have i take dilantin and ativan i have never had head trauma that i know of and im not a drug abuser.but it seems everytime i have a seizure i am stressed or havent slept enough.i know i went off your topic but i am just confused as you are.can seizures be brought on by mental emotional problem i suffer from depression and social anxiety disorder.but only one of my seizures happened around a crowd which i hate being in,but i was wondering if anyone can give me any answers

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by surgegirls on Fri, 2010-02-26 - 20:17
yes, they can be brought on by mental issues. your anxiety is key. and i cant remember the technical term, but there is seizure disorder that is not 'epilepsy'. i want to say psychosocial  or psychogenic. they can be triggered by stress, anxiety, depression, panic disorders, schizophrenia...even migraines. so don't worry TOO much. i've been dealing with mine since i was 12. as i've said to others, educate yourself. carry a notebook around. sometimes a question just pops into your head. write it all down. when you go to see your doctor, ask. if you don't, you will never know the answer. good luck! :-)

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