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Deja vu

Tue, 04/05/2005 - 08:00

Hi, my name is Lisa and this is my first time posting.  I am 39 years and a mother of two daughters.  About 18 months ago, I had two experiences of deja vu.  After the deju vu feeling passed, I had a strange feeling in my stomach (like being on a rollercoaster).  These deja vu experiences were about a week apart and I believe only lasted a second or two.  About two weeks after these deja vu experiences and had a "doom" feeling.  I was in the bathroom and this intense feeling of dread happenned followed by that strange feeling in my stomach.  After these incidents I feel very "foggy" and tired.  I called my family practioner and he ordered an MRI which was "normal" and showed no lesions.  He asked if I wanted to see a neurologist but I declined because I thought it would never happen again.  Well it did--last Friday I had two more episodes of Deja Vu, once when I was laying in  bed and again about an hour later.  I know they were deja vu and at the time intense, however I cannot remember what the particular dream sequence was.  I called my family practioner and he has referred me to a neurolgist that specializes in seizure disorders.  I cannot get into the neurologist until late May? Am I on the right track here?  should I request certain tests?  does an EEG only show irregularities while having a seizure?  Also, I am afraid to drive in case one of these episodes occur.  Thanks!

 

 

 

Comments

RE: Deja vu

Submitted by flashbakx on Mon, 2005-04-04 - 04:44

Hi Lisa. Your situation is exactly the same as mine. yes your on the right track. Your experiencing simple partial seizures. I had no idea what they were . They normally turn into complex partial seizures however. Which means you will fully go unconscious. Un like other forms of epilepsy this type you could find yourself talking or in my state I went violient and attacked people.

A word of warning though is please get another mri as the first 2 scans I had done nothing was found. I went to another hospital and a tumor was found on my right temporal lobe. The hospital that didnt find it was shocked saying how sensitive there equipment normally is.  You may not need surgery like I had. It may be controlled from medication. Any questions feel free to ask. pete

Hi Lisa. Your situation is exactly the same as mine. yes your on the right track. Your experiencing simple partial seizures. I had no idea what they were . They normally turn into complex partial seizures however. Which means you will fully go unconscious. Un like other forms of epilepsy this type you could find yourself talking or in my state I went violient and attacked people.

A word of warning though is please get another mri as the first 2 scans I had done nothing was found. I went to another hospital and a tumor was found on my right temporal lobe. The hospital that didnt find it was shocked saying how sensitive there equipment normally is.  You may not need surgery like I had. It may be controlled from medication. Any questions feel free to ask. pete

RE: RE: Deja vu

Submitted by zilla on Tue, 2005-04-05 - 08:00

Pete,

The same thing happened to my son!  2 MRI's done, and one of those was extra sensitive "just to be sure we haven't missed something".

Well, 2.5 yrs later, after 6 meds and no control, we pursued brain surgery.  It wasn't until these previous tests were sent to the new hospital that Jordan's brain tumor was found on the right temp lobe on those SAME mri's done by his previous hospital.

He's scheduled for surgery June 7th :)

Get another opinion, EVERYONE.

Pete,

The same thing happened to my son!  2 MRI's done, and one of those was extra sensitive "just to be sure we haven't missed something".

Well, 2.5 yrs later, after 6 meds and no control, we pursued brain surgery.  It wasn't until these previous tests were sent to the new hospital that Jordan's brain tumor was found on the right temp lobe on those SAME mri's done by his previous hospital.

He's scheduled for surgery June 7th :)

Get another opinion, EVERYONE.

RE: Deja vu

Submitted by KRDiamond on Mon, 2005-04-04 - 10:55

Hi, Lisa--

I'm 37 and I started having the deja vu with fear thing back when my daughter (now 7) was 8 weeks old.  The first time I had it, I was driving home with her in the car after dropping my son off at kindergarten.  I had a few more later that day and then some off-and-on the following weeks.  I thought it was just some postpartum thing, so I ignored it.  Then a couple years later, I had them again at the grocery store.  I went to the doctor and was diagnosed as having panic attacks and given Xanax for them.  It seemed I had the attacks for a few days or weeks (I forget which!) every couple years.  I had them two years ago after we got back from a vacation at Disney World and then I had them February 24th of this year.  This time, however, they were followed by a grand mal seizure.  I went to the ER and had an EKG and CAT scan.

At my follow-up visit, the doctor (not the same practice as before) diagnosed me as having temporal lobe epilepsy and said the deja vu & fear thing was a common symptom of that.  He also asked if I normally felt panicky at the grocery store and I said no, and he said then they weren't panic attacks!  I was referred to a neurologist and had an EEG and MRI - everything, including the EKG and CAT scan from the ER, was normal. 

The being afraid to drive thing is quite understandable.  I've been driving these past 7 years when I had the deja vu & fear partial seizures, but thank goodness they never turned into anything more than that (until Feb. 24th, but I was at home that day). 

Just tell the neurologist exactly what you've described.  If you are out driving and you start to get those feelings, pull over and wait.

--Kim

Hi, Lisa--

I'm 37 and I started having the deja vu with fear thing back when my daughter (now 7) was 8 weeks old.  The first time I had it, I was driving home with her in the car after dropping my son off at kindergarten.  I had a few more later that day and then some off-and-on the following weeks.  I thought it was just some postpartum thing, so I ignored it.  Then a couple years later, I had them again at the grocery store.  I went to the doctor and was diagnosed as having panic attacks and given Xanax for them.  It seemed I had the attacks for a few days or weeks (I forget which!) every couple years.  I had them two years ago after we got back from a vacation at Disney World and then I had them February 24th of this year.  This time, however, they were followed by a grand mal seizure.  I went to the ER and had an EKG and CAT scan.

At my follow-up visit, the doctor (not the same practice as before) diagnosed me as having temporal lobe epilepsy and said the deja vu & fear thing was a common symptom of that.  He also asked if I normally felt panicky at the grocery store and I said no, and he said then they weren't panic attacks!  I was referred to a neurologist and had an EEG and MRI - everything, including the EKG and CAT scan from the ER, was normal. 

The being afraid to drive thing is quite understandable.  I've been driving these past 7 years when I had the deja vu & fear partial seizures, but thank goodness they never turned into anything more than that (until Feb. 24th, but I was at home that day). 

Just tell the neurologist exactly what you've described.  If you are out driving and you start to get those feelings, pull over and wait.

--Kim

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