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Does this sound like Epilepsy to you?

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 02:08
I`ll try to be as brief as possible, & am reaching out for answers as I`m at my wits end. If anyone can help or suggest something, please feel free. I had my first (& only) Grand Mal seizure in 2010, but after reading some of your posts I`m almost certain that I`m continuing to experience `focal` seizures. In 2010 my brian MRI showed areas of demylenation. Other than one other `suspicious` new lesion, there`s been no further change. To be clear, MS has definitely been ruled out. I was sent to yet another Neurologist last week which was by far, the most exasperating appt I`ve ever attended. The only symptom he was concerned about was anything resembling an "aura". Upon explaining these odd `episodes` that can last up to 5 minutes, he immediately dismissed any type of seizure disorder & concluded that I was neurologically intact. I`ve been an ER Nurse for years & realize that what I was describing couldn`t be defined as an aura simply due to the duration of the event. However, upon further study & accessing this forum, I`m sure these `pre-seizure` episodes are actually focal seizures! I`m a 58 yr old female - post menopasal x 8 years. I began having sporadic episodes of tremors that would initiate in my hands. After a few seconds, I`d begin to notice some trembling in both my legs. Eventually, I`d develop a numbness/tingling sensation to my lips & mouth. At the very most, this would last ~ 3 minutes (although it felt much longer), occurring every couple of months. I even checked my blood sugar at work thinking maybe it was low - Normal blood sugar. However, by age 50 these episodes were becoming more frequent & more severe in nature. The day of my Grand Mal Seizure, I experienced that very same & familiar feeling. This episode felt the worst yet & the last thing I can recall is calling out to my husband for help. My next conscious moment was lying on our living room floor, with 2 of my paramedic `friends` taking my vital signs. I`d also been incontinent of urine. Since that time, my life has changed dramatically, & although I`ve had no further Grand Mal seizures, something`s definitely not right. However, 2 EEG`s have shown no Epilepsy & the Neurologist thought the shaking in my hands/legs was possibly 'stress'! (Definitely not stress.) However, until reading some of the posts on this forum, I've been concerned that I'm possibly developing early onset dementia. Every time I try to report a symptom to my (retiring) GP, he just laugh, & says, `your weird`. The following, as well as having the ongoing tremors, are the symptoms I`m experiencing & have been reading about in this forum. Extreme fatigue - to the point that I seem to fall asleep in the middle of a discussion, or while watching TV, & even while driving! But it`s only for a very few seconds - AND I`m actually `dreaming` - seeing things that aren`t there. Sleep disorders were ruled out & I was started on amphetamines to keep me awake. I`ve stopped them, as if anything, they`re making things worse. As well, I`ve been having both visual & auditory hallucinations - multiple times. Conversations & specific events that I remember being part of....never happened. I thought I was losing my mind but I`ve also just read that people with focal seizures are often missed diagnosed with mental illness when in fact, these hallucinations are focal seizures. Prior to `having` to leave my job, I can recall sitting down to chart (immediately following an episode of tremors), but couldn`t understand what I was supposed to be doing! It was similar to when I was in the grocery store looking at the 5 items on my grocery list & not being able to figure out if they were the things in my basket! Last year, I`d pulled my new car into a parking lot. That`s the last thing I recalled. Suddenly there was a crashing sensation & I thought someone had backed into me. But my car had rolled quite a distance across the lot & into another car. I couldn`t figure out what had happened. It wasn`t until a couple of days later I remember hearing a bystander say, `she doesn`t know what`s happened - it`s obvious she`s in shock`. It was then that I realized that I must have been postictal. I did try to relay this episode to the Neurologist who wasn`t at all interested. Hot `flushes` (not flashes) & incredible sweating have been occurring both day & night - also over the past 10 years. Bed linens are soaked at night but even that`s an odd thing in that the sweating is often asymetrical - one leg soaking wet while the other is dry. While tweezing my eyebrows one day, the sweating started up as usual, but I watched in the mirror as it actually started on & around my eyelids. I've ruined most of my shirts from same & live in summer clothing with the 'air' on even throughout the winter months. I`ve experienced menopase hot flashes & this is not at all the same. Again, I`ve read that these episodes can also be related to focal seizures. Finally, there are 2 other symptoms that I have & didn`t realize they could be seizure related - have never mentioned them to anyone. Firstly, I`ll occasionally get a loud humming sound in my ear lasting only a few seconds. I`ll still be able to hear other`s talking or the TV, but it`s like their voices suddenly become very distant - almost muted while this loud humming noise occurs. Seems to only effect one ear. Lastly, I continue to smell cigarette smoke - quite frequently, although I don`t smoke & my nearest neighbor - a non smoker - is over a km away! For years I`d put this down to my neighbors possibly smoking outdoors (in my old neighborhood) although I never did see them, but here there`s absolutely no one smoking & yet I`m definitely smelling tobacco smoke! I probably would have told my doc had I smelled burnt toast. Sorry for the ramble but I`m becoming desperate. Also, sorry for any typos - new computer won`t reset itself to `English US`. Possibly has it`s own disorders. Thanks for any help or suggestions anyone might have for me.

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