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Frequent Epilepsy-like symptoms

Tue, 11/26/2019 - 15:46
Hey all, this is my first post here although I have been looking through this forum anonymously for a while now, trying to see if I could find any answers to my questions through other peoples' stories. And well, I just figured it'd probably be better to say what's going on with me so I can get some real advice for myself. First of all, I am a 17 year old male, I am active (run for my high school), and I have a relatively standard diet for an American (high carb, low fats). Overall, I would say I'm fairly healthy, in fact, I would say I am the healthiest I have ever been, and yet I've been having some strange things going on for the past 7-8 months or so. I have these really brief yet disorienting and startling moments where I experience Deja Vu, usually not too extreme but it may last a while. (15-20 seconds) Sometimes the Deja Vu is extremely strong, though this happens a lot less frequently. It feels like it throws me out of reality completely and it is extremely confusing. It feels like my brain is trying to remember something extremely deep but can never quite get it. It's like a bad dream really. Along with these more intense episodes I tend to pick up an awful smell, only for a few moments though. Usually Deja Vu wouldn't concern me, but it just happens so frequently now (usually a few times a week) that it's starting to get me a bit worried. It's important to note that I also experience migraines, which is just another layer of confusion I know, but they are rare and are always started with a visual aura, in case that helps anyone understand. Another note, I do have a history of childhood neglect, an alcoholic father. I've read in a few places that that sort of thing can affect a bunch of weird neurological stuff and yada yada, but I'm not sure how true that is. Figured I ought to throw that out there just in case. So, any advice?

Comments

landon,That's a very good

Submitted by birdman on Wed, 2019-11-27 - 10:43
landon,That's a very good idea to keep journal.  Treating seizures can become a very trial and error task where the doctor will depend upon the patient for information on how well the medication is working.  By keeping track of my seizures and the medications that I have taken I have been able to take control of my treatment and judge which therapy has worked best for me.  Anticipating seizures. Isn't that crazy.  I went for 25 yrs with doctors trying to do everything they could to stop them.  Then I got into treatment where doctors wanted to run tests to qualify me for brain surgery.  I had to fail three drug trials and have EEG monitoring to record seizures.  In all of this I felt so silly as I looked forward to the next seizure so we could get on with treatment.  Mike

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