Mild Epilepsy or Panic Attack?

Hi eveyone and thanks for taking the time to read...

I'm a 54 year-old male, living in the UK.

Since my early teens I've suffered from what I call my 'funny feeling'. It is as all-consuming as a powerful orgasm, but in a bad way.

The first time it happened I was reading something out loud at the morning school assembly. A feeling of sheer terror crept over me, coupled with an unpleasant, peculiar sensation which feels as if it is centred in my upper torso. I describe it as the feeling I remember when, as a child, sitting in the back of the car, we would go over a hump-backed bridge...only far more intense.

I can't decide if these are panic attacks or something else.

I'm quite a shy and self-conscious person so the first set of examples of what triggers one of these events, suggests to me that it is a panic attack:

Giving a talk to a roomful of people and forgetting what to say next; historically - driving while intoxicated (I'm very ashamed to say that in my 20's I would drive after having had a drink); being in the company of one other person and not knowing how to keep the conversation going.

But there are other triggers, to do with rhythms, which make me believe these are not necessarily panic attacks. Why would I panic about the following?...

Being at a pantomime and the kids clap in time to a song but they don't keep to time and drift off the beat; lying in bed with wife and kids whilst they're all dozing in the morning and trying to lock into the rhythm of their breathing (why would I want to do that?); being at the hairdresser's where they have the radio on but not quite loud enough and I can't identify and lock into the tune; not remembering something.   

Once the precedent has been set, I then worry that the same thing will happen again under the same circumstances (often, it does). I've never tried this, but I imagine that telling people that this might happen would lessen the chance of it actually happening, if that makes sense.

I don't let it rule my life but I do find myself reluctant to get into situations that have included an event, in the past. For a short time we had a mobile hairdresser come to our house and I was relieved as I could ensure that no radio would be playing!

It rarely happens when I'm on my own, except for when driving, as mentioned earlier. If on my own I can conquer it by shouting at it and telling it to 'f*** off!', not something I can resort to in a roomful of people.

I have caught myself in the mirror immediately after one of these episodes and my face is flushed.

Once, I spent an entire day Googling and did stumble across an article relating to Temporal Lobe Epilepsies, which refers to 'onset is frequently in childhood or young adulthood' and a 'most common, epigastric, often rising, sensation', so, maybe??

I can go months without having one of these episodes, which, by the way, last only a few seconds. Once over, I can function completely normally. It's worth mentioning that if an episode DOES happen, when it's finished it's not only a relief that it's over, but it also means it won't happen again (until next time).

Does any of this chime with anyone here. That would be a first. It doesn't worry me unduly: I'm fascinated to know what's going on.

Thanks - Martin