Take control of your epilepsy and seizures. Seizure management has never been easier.
TAKE CONTROL TODAYIt started like a month ago when we were camping.
Anyway, like that third night we were up there, we were sitting around the campfire playing cards, and the only thing I could possibly compare it to it as would be if someone flipped a switch for brain activity.
It was like falling asleep, almost, even though I have full memory of the event, and even the conversation that took place.
The feeling was that of being in a dream; everything was rediculously surreal, and I could only compare it to being in a dream.
Either way, it continued off and on since then.
I went through about a week and a half of feeling decent, then, about a week back, i got the exact same feeling as I did previously. It's not slow, and I can't tell when it's coming. It just hits me, and it's often accompanied by a feeling of falling. (But not always)
But anyway, it's kind of like a lingering feeling of irreality, like what I'm seeing visually isn't making a proper connection to my brain. That's the basic feeling I've had the last month, with only about a week of feeling "normal" inbetween.
And when it gets more severe, it hits in waves. I'll be feeling lousy, but not entirely out of it, then it's like I just walk into a brick wall.
And when I was up camping, we had went down to the ER (lower foothills) because they said it may have been altitude sickness. But, unfortunately, that was proved wrong because it did not dissipate after decending.
But, anyway, down to the point. For the last month I've been feeling like this, and they already did a CAT scan which came back fine. And, obviously, seizures cannot be detected on CAT scans.
But now they want to do an EEG because they think i may be having a seizures. I'm scheduled for a week out, today.
But what I need to know is this.
Are these feelings common in simple-partial sufferers, and, if so, do they commonly linger as long as mine are?
Is this overwhelming feeling of irrealism treatable in any way, without meds, for the time being?
Could this be anything other than a seizure?
Is a basic EEG reccomended, or would a sleep-deprived EEG be more precise in it's results?
Also, for reference, I have never had a history of suffering from any types of seizures during my childhood, nor have I ever experienced anything equivelent to this before.
I do not have this commonly described feeling of "deja vu" as most do, but only a lingering irrealism, which hits it's apex 0-3 times daily. (...possibly during a seizure?)
The only other effects I have is a severe tension headache, with a burning on the base of my skull/neck, sharp pains in my temple and an overall pressure throughout my whole head. Pain relievers cannot even take the edge off, and I've had this headache for now, over four days, and off and on for months. (although it's yet to be as severe as it is currently)
It's indefinate as to whether or not I am having seizures, but what else could it be? Even the doctors can't give me any answers.
I've also had a low grade fever, off and on. (99-100 degrees F)
Please, though; please help. I'm an overall healthy 13 year old female, and I feel like i'm going crazy. One whole week without a break from this lingering irreality, I feel like I'm losing my mind!

Recent Comments on this Discussion
Yeah. I know how you feel.
One day I was walking through the store and all of a sudden I got hit with a wave of what I can only describe as dizzy, surreal, and bad. I had never felt anything like it before, and I was convinced that I was going to loose consciousness and die at any second. It felt like my brain had flown out of my head. I freaked and started crying and had some people call the ambulance. Of course the paramedics just thought I was having a panic attack or something, but I knew that the only panic I was experiencing was the result of suddenly feeling so awful. Instead of going with the paramedics, I called my mom and she drove me to the ER. I had been experiencing fixed and gradually growing worse numbness starting several weeks previously, so the ER doc suspected that I had MS. Over the following week I felt completely dizzy, fatigued, weak and awful that would suddenly get worse in unexpected waves. Environments with lots of sound and noise made me feel much worse.
I had NO IDEA, that any of this could represent symptoms of a seizure. I had no clue what was worng, but I was sure that SOMETHING HAD to be wrong and it was very scary.
So now, a year later, I still haven't managed to convince doctors that I'm anything but neurotic, but I'm really glad to have found this website full of people with common experiences.
hey sun, i cant take noisy places very long. according to my psychatrist over stimuli effects epileptics. she said thats why they do the stobe lights, over stimuli, but she said not everyone is sensitive to light some are sensitive to sound instead. she works with alot of epileptics. she said nothing is cut and dry with seizures and neuros need to think out of the box. smart lady!!!!
hugs fellow noise hater,
banffgirl
I meant to say sound and lots of "stuff." Like when I walk into a big store like Target there is just so much visual stuff to look at and so much sound and people to dodge walking on either side of me it's like it's just too much for my brain to deal with and it makes dizziness worse. I still go into Target though because I *Love* Target.
It used to drive me crazy and made me really anxious but now I've gotten used to it and it doesn't make me anxious anymore but I'm still uncomfortable and don't enjoy eating in the cafeteria.
Somehow my visual perception has just gotten off. Like if I look at one letter then the letter next to it looks like it's wiggling up and down. If I get really tired then sentences look like they are waving all over the page. Has anyone else experienced this???
It makes me think that I've suffered some minor brain damage and I'll have to convince a doctor to order another MRI sometime. If you wake up with your entire left side suddenly weaker than your right side and has remained that way for months, although greatly improved over time, then shouldn't a doctor order an MRI? I've told many doctors about this and none of them have ordered an MRI. In fact they've told me that they don't think I need one.
I hope my left side isn't weaker than my right side forever!!! It's mild now but it's still freaky. It can get suddenly worse if I have an episode though and sometimes I can't move my left arm at all!
i noticed that i cant stand loud noises. loud music or too music commotion disorients me. at my place my music it fairly quiet though i can still heare it. at my friends place they LOVE to crank the stereo. i ask them to turn it down and they just turn it louder. i always have to leave their house because i can't be there anymore. my head starts to feel fuzzy and it gets hard to focus on any one thing. thats when i know i have to leave.
when life gives you lemons... smell an orange
banffgirl, hold on to that neuro. Sounds like you got a good one. I'm still searching for one.
hello Wynter...... Everything you have just described is how I have been feeling for just over 2 mnths now. I feel consistently dizzy and completely out of it, and then it comes in waves of severe light headedness and a dream state. I am on drugs for epilepsy however they appear to not be helping, and now my vision seems to be impaired, how is your vision?
I hope you feel better soon.
x
hah, funny you''d mention the impairment in vision. i've actually had the same problem with mine. every time i get hit with another wave of feeling like so, my vision in my right eye gets considerably worse than it was previously.
and it's not just focus, my vision also swims in that eye. but not my whole sight, just like waves of defocus. it's strange.
but it's nice to be able to relate to someone else symptoms, seeing as you're suffering from virtually everything i am.
very strange, though. i had originally thought it may have been a brain tumor due to the severe shard pains i was getting on my temples, but the CAT scan proved that wrong.
seems odd that your epilepsy medication wouldn't be working for you, though. perhaps it's a pinched nerve. if the EEG i'm going to have disproves seizures, i'm probably going to go to a chiropractor and see if they can get to the bottom of this, seeing as symptoms for a pinched nerve are quite similar to those of a SPS.
perhaps you should try that? worth a shot.
Wynter - Don't bother with a Chiroprater, please. I've reviewed all of the studies on their efficacy for pain of all types, and unless you're experiencing ucomplicated lower back pain, they won't help. I've suffered from chronic nech pain for 8 years, and have sough Chiropractic help twice, with nothing but a lower bank balance to show for it.
I would highly recommend seeing a neurologist at a renowned clinic like Mayo or the Cleveland Clinic right away. I went through dozens of doctors within my insurance's list of covered M.D.s for 8 years for my chronic daily headaches for 8 years. They all drew blood, gave me all sorts of drugs, sent me to physical therapists, specialists, scanned me every which way, and told me nothing was wrong, and I eventually gave up on doctors and found myself sinking into anxiety and some depression. When I couldn't handle life anymore, I said "screw it" and headed to Mayo in Scottsdale AZ on my own dime. The neurologists there diagnosed me with a rare type of primary headache disorder called paroxysmal hemicrania, and within 4 weeks had given me the first relief I'd had in years (Topomax). After 2 months of treatments, the headaches are under control, and they've finally told me that the daily attacks of yawning, light-headedness, and fatigue may be seizures. When your primary care physicians don't seem to find answers, I say skip it, spend some of your own money (or beg your parents to, if they can afford it), and seek out the best medical help you can. Otherwise, you may find yourself misdiagnosed for a decade, taking drugs and anti-depressants and narcotics that you don't need as I did. Best of luck with our EEG!
-Chris
Hey Wynter,
Your description is quite good - it's hard to convey how it feels and tends to be that only those that know what it's like can really understand.
Two thoughts come to mind: Yes, it could be partial seizure - I get something similar. But you mention terrible headaches that you can't shake for ages. That last bit sounds to me like migraine headache - I've been known to get them in clusters and a friend of mine who does suffer from chronic migraine says hers stems from having neck problems. You've just said you have sharp pains in your neck. Many painrelievers don't come close to knocking out the pain of a migraine - the best thing to do is simply sleep them off.
It is possible that these out of sensations you are getting aren't seizures, but migraine auras. If you do have epilepsy as well and you get auras for them, you are more likely to develop auras if you get migraines. (But it doesn't mean that you will only get migraine auras if you get seizure auras.) My friend who suffers migraine says she experiences the feeling that she's always out of it and feels a bit trashed - as one does after the migraine goes and your head feels gutted for about a week.
But in addition, for me personally, with the partial seizures, I've been noticing more often lately that once it subsides, I do end up with a mild tension headache - so that no doubt keeps you guessing ...sorry...
Hi Wynter,
Are these feelings common in simple-partial sufferers, and, if so, do they commonly linger as long as mine are?
Is this overwhelming feeling of irrealism treatable in any way, without meds, for the time being?
The experience you descibed is similar to what I see mentioned for SPS all the time. There are some non-med treatment options for seizures available (see chart linked below). If you do end up being diagnosed with SPS, you can talk to your doctor about them.
Could this be anything other than a seizure?
Is a basic EEG reccomended, or would a sleep-deprived EEG be more precise in it's results?
A best case scenario for an EEG (whether sleep deprived or not) is for you to experience the SPS while the EEG is recording. The sleep deprivation is used to help lower the seizure threshold and make the seizure activity more likely to occur.
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Check out my chart of alternative epilepsy treatments.