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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 tcameron on Sun, 2011-07-17 - 03:28

I used to experience deja vu (auras) but don't anymore.  Now I can feel completely fine, and end up on the floor.  It's frightening for me, as well as others who witness it.  I wear a helmet; which has saved my life on several occasions.  Please, be glad you have your deja vu.  They are a real blessing in disguise.  It gives you a chance to keep yourself out of danger when a seizure occurs.  Sometimes deja vu appeared with no seizure afterwards.  (However, they really are simple partial seizures by themselves.)  It is a blessing, in disguise.  Believe me, I wish I still had them.  Take care,  T. Cameron

I used to experience deja vu (auras) but don't anymore.  Now I can feel completely fine, and end up on the floor.  It's frightening for me, as well as others who witness it.  I wear a helmet; which has saved my life on several occasions.  Please, be glad you have your deja vu.  They are a real blessing in disguise.  It gives you a chance to keep yourself out of danger when a seizure occurs.  Sometimes deja vu appeared with no seizure afterwards.  (However, they really are simple partial seizures by themselves.)  It is a blessing, in disguise.  Believe me, I wish I still had them.  Take care,  T. Cameron

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by Jenny Billsborough on Tue, 2011-07-19 - 04:06
Reading these comments I think I might as well be suffering from TLE............I thought I was going crazy!!! Atleast now I have an idea to what may be causing the nausea, tingly feeling, deja vu and weird smells! It only seems to happen right before my period is there a link between PMS and TLE? My Physician has diagnosed me with anxiety but I am thinking he got it wrong. I've been taking anti depressants when i feel the symptoms coming on but they do not seem to help. What would be the best route for me to go doctor wise?

Re: Deja vu and Epilepsy

Submitted by tcameron on Mon, 2011-12-12 - 16:22

This website has most of the answers to your questions.  Yes, there are hormonal links to seizures.  It's almost impossible to know if you have TLE unless you've been diagnosed.  There are plenty of tests for the diagnosis.  However, I think (not sure) this is the most common form of epilepsy.  It looks just like Also, the best doctor to see would be a neurologist, perhaps even an epileptologist.  They know a lot more about this.  Again, this site has answers for finding a physisican.  Good luck! 

Some anti depressants are also anti seizures medications.  There is more about info about it on this very site.   Make sure to look at the video on the bottom right corner, "Understanding Epilepsy."  This world reknowned epileptologist (neurologist that specializes in epilepsy) knows what he's talking about.

This website has most of the answers to your questions.  Yes, there are hormonal links to seizures.  It's almost impossible to know if you have TLE unless you've been diagnosed.  There are plenty of tests for the diagnosis.  However, I think (not sure) this is the most common form of epilepsy.  It looks just like Also, the best doctor to see would be a neurologist, perhaps even an epileptologist.  They know a lot more about this.  Again, this site has answers for finding a physisican.  Good luck! 

Some anti depressants are also anti seizures medications.  There is more about info about it on this very site.   Make sure to look at the video on the bottom right corner, "Understanding Epilepsy."  This world reknowned epileptologist (neurologist that specializes in epilepsy) knows what he's talking about.

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