Strange symptoms since 4th grade

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So I have been experiencing these "episodes" for almost 20 years, with the first episode I remember occurring in the 4th grade while taking an exam. Since then, I have had these episodes during exams, or while at work, sometimes during periods of intense concentration, and sometimes seemingly at random. I have described the symptoms to a few psychiatrists over the years, always with the response that it sounds like it could be an anxiety attack. But honestly, the symptoms never seem to quite match up as I don't have a feeling of anxiety, no heart palpitations, and sense of doom or anything like that. More recently, my girlfriend suggested simple partial seizures after doing some research, and I'm wondering if epilepsy could be a possibility — an uncle of mine has absence seizures and has had them since he was a child. For a little background, I'm 29 years old, I work, I sleep, I eat, and for the most part, the symptoms I'm going to describe have never occurred more than once a month or significantly affected my life that I am aware of. They usually last for around 3-5 minutes, tho sometimes have lasted as long as a half an hour or more. The first thing that happens is I just feel a little uncomfortable. The feeling is hard to describe, maybe like butterflies in my stomach, and a general tightness. I know immediately what's coming next from experience. I also have always had this sense that I'm remembering something from a long time ago, something I can't quite put my finger on but which is right at the forefront of my mind. Eventually that feeling of remembering passes as the physical and sensory symptoms overwhelm anything else I'm thinking about. The main symptoms I experience are sensory in nature I suppose: all the light around me seems to be extremely bright, and the biggest thing is that I suddenly have super-hearing. I feel like I can hear the conversations of anyone within 100 yards of me. Pens scratching on pads sound like someone is writing on a notebook and the notebook is inside my ear. If I get up to move, even while making an effort to walk in a slow and controlled manner, I feel as though I am running across the room — even though I know intellectually that I most definitely am not running, in fact I'm probably walking extremely slowly since I'm trying to control my pace. Anyone else who is moving around me also appears to be moving at lightning speed. It's almost like time has sped up, like someone has pushed the fast-forward button on my life and turned the volume on the TV way up. Everything just feels really intense and I'm hyper-focused and aware of everything. Speaking to people is extremely difficult, as I usually trying to make sure that no one can tell that anything is wrong with me. Once I progress to this place, it becomes just a matter of time, how long will this last before it starts to slowly subside, and then dissipates completely. I don't think I've ever had one of these episodes progress to a full-on convulsing style seizure or a black out of any kind, but I don't know how I'd know if I had blacked out momentarily. I do have a history of people insisting they told me to do something, or told me about something — that we had a long conversation about it, and my having no recollection of it at all. I've always attributed that to ADHD, since I never have a recollection of having one of these episodes prior to one of those times when it seems I've completely forgotten a conversation. Anyway, sometimes when I have these episodes if I want them to go away faster I've found that either singing to myself, listening to music or sometimes just changing my environment — like going for a walk — seems to help them subside more quickly. I don't know if that means that this can't be epilepsy, but I'd really like to know, once and for all, what this experience is. Ever since my girlfriend sent me the link for simple partial seizures on Wikipedia, I've been extremely concerned as I don't want whatever this is to progress into full-blown seizures that start to damage my memory or other functions. Does anyone have any recommendations about how to get diagnosed or maybe some suggestions on what this could be – whether that is a diagnosis or maybe just some thoughts? Thanks very much for your time.

Comments

Re: Strange symptoms since 4th grade

Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Tue, 2012-08-28 - 22:51

Hi BHLevenson, I've had sets of strange symptoms all my life. Two of the sets that sound as being the closest to being similar to your descriptions were finally more reliably labeled for me toward the final semesters at university as simple partial seizures of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) and seperate & distinct migraines. Doctors didn't consider TLE until the seizures "kindled" over decades into more frequent complex partial seizures, with ocassional secondarily generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures. In the following years, during clusters of partial seizures about every four weeks, the grand mal seizures became stronger and more reliable during each cluster. I have daily partial seizures that are different than those in the clusters. Doctors didn't consider migraines until after intense headaches became much more common for me after the "prodromal" (Premonitory Phase) & "aura" signs & symptoms of a migraine attack. I frequently call migraine attacks that don't develop into a painful headache as "painless migraine" and/or "migraine without headache", "numb headache", etc. The prodromals of my migraines and seizures are vague, and different/variable enough, to be nearly useless as any reliable warning or alert of an impending migraine attack or an impending cluster of seizures. The aura of many of my migraines give me warning of an impending migraine attack, which I can usually delay by then avoiding aggravating stimuli, but, now which I can seldom avoid after a few hours (all medicines I've tried over decades quickly become worse than useless). The aura of impending strong clusters of seizures are unique simple partial seizures for me, as different from my daily partial seizures. I think doctors distinguish between these two sets of "aura" by how much they are paid, as I'm now on Medicaid, and doctors don't seem to desire to have more Medicaid patients presently. Recently, I was in the middle of an argument between ER doctors and clinic doctors, and while I can easily differentiate between the aura of migraine versus the aura of epilepsy, the ER doctors call my aura of epilepsy as aura of migraine, and the clinic doctors call my aura of migraine as aura of epilepsy. Frequently, the ER doctors tell me to go to the clinic, and the clinic tells me to go to ER. Both of them equivalently make the request for me to shut-up (or speak-up only in agreement) and cooperate, while they are sending me back-and-forth. So, expense of transit and other Medicaid Snafu are controlling of all medical services. With very good insurance, and plenty of good resources, doctors would probably be crawling out of the woodwork for financial rewards. In the book "The Epilepsies" by Panayiotopoulos (2005), at National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), (under the book's TLE sub-section for "Epigastric or Visceral Aura") http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2605/#ch12.s4 is the paragraph "clipping" also usually at: http://books.google.com/books?id=aaVrAAAAMAAJ&q=whirling,+tenderness,+fluttering,+butterflies,+pressure,+burning,&dq=whirling,+tenderness,+fluttering,+butterflies,+pressure,+burning,&source=bl&ots=5gAY-ryMxC&sig=1B1-n-Ig2pB55YbeoBbLRSU7G8w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3W49UOjBGeT7iwLLq4DAAQ&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAg In the book "Imitators of Epilepsy" by Kaplan & Fisher (2005), at NCBI, (under "The Migraine Attack" aura section, are similar case studies: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7326/#A1177 The pages are also often at: http://books.google.com/books?id=DB7zfP7etC4C&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=would+assume+the+same+overpowering+rhythm.&source=bl&ots=T44M5D2U0Q&sig=56NJ54C3pg8HCgGmFmnis8HdSvk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=t3o9UI-rM4GIiwLWmoHQDg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=would%20assume%20the%20same%20overpowering%20rhythm.&f=false The book "Migraine" by Davidoff (2002) has many more migraine matching details under word searchs for "alice" and "amnesia": http://books.google.com/books?id=PAdn6xC3KlAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=migraine+Davidoff&source=bl&ots=0QhRrX_qg6&sig=qtYLINkTVNBF42Jg7lx918QEe5o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gHw9UKP2G4bNiwKq_4HwAQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=alice&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=PAdn6xC3KlAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=migraine+Davidoff&source=bl&ots=0QhRq4Xql3&sig=NSYkwF-uvbRq5RrOVBuwlmLsg2s&hl=en&sa=X&ei=50k9ULHoD6aSiQKi3IHABQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=amnesia&f=false Aura sensations less than 5 minutes tend to indicate TLE aura, more than 5 minutes, migraine aura. The book "Imitators of Epilepsy" cover many more disorders that may require differentian from epilepsy and/or migraine. Tadzio

Re: Strange symptoms since 4th grade

Submitted by ProdigyQueen on Tue, 2013-02-05 - 21:02

Hey! Have you found an answer to ur strange symptoms since you last posted this discussion? I don't believe its an aura migraine as the other stated so clearly. I think it might be a partial seizure like ur girl said. My husband has experienced some of the symptoms like you. If you haven't been told yet i would recommend you to see an Neurologist & have them do a EEG or possibly think about getting an MRI done. Yes its expensive for the MRI...but very much worth it. Hope all is well with you & you found the answers u are looking for! Much Love, Prodigy Queen

Strange symptoms since 4th grade

Comments

Re: Strange symptoms since 4th grade

Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Tue, 2012-08-28 - 22:51

Re: Strange symptoms since 4th grade

Submitted by ProdigyQueen on Tue, 2013-02-05 - 21:02

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