Could it be? Need advice about Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

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jessij

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Hi everyone,

I'm new here and am interested to know a bit more about Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. I am actually feeling quite dumbfounded at the moment as I'd never heard of it before, until recently. I have never been diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy but I relate to a lot of the symptoms. I have had pretty bad anxiety for years and have been diagnosed with panic disorder, but I also get other strange symptoms like:
I see pin points of light
I have intense de ja vu
I have intense jamais vu
But one of the things that really stands out for me, is that for over ten years I get these vertigo like episodes which only last a couple seconds but I feel really weird just before they happen, like I'm in a trance. I can't see how it's related to anxiety disorder as I don't feel anxious when it happens, in fact most of the time it happens when I'm looking at the computer screen. Also one night I swear I was sort of sleeping/half awake state and I was shaking a lot. It was really strange. Another time I woke up with a scratch down my whole body, but I had been drinking a lot, so I assumed that it was due to the drinking, though the scratch was pretty large so I was quite shocked it didn't wake me.
Anyway, last year I had a bike accident. I fell from my bike and broke my jaw. When I was in hospital I'm pretty sure they did an mri scan to see if I'd had any brain or spinal injury.(I say pretty sure, cause I was well and truly drugged up and out of it). I'm just wondering if I had an accident like that and they weren't thinking to check for epilepsy, whether it can be overlooked.
Do you think it's worth my while to see a neurologist.
Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.
 
Hi jessij, welcome to CWE!

I think you should see a neurologist who can take a look at your symptoms and schedule an EEG. The EEG is the default test for epilepsy (although not all seizure disorders show up on it). You may have had a CT scan or MRI done after your accident, but those wouldn't necessarily reveal epilepsy unless there were an obvious structural issue.

The deja vu, jamais vu and other sensations you describe could be "simple partial seizures." You can read more about those here: http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_simplepartial

Best,
Nakamova
 
Hi there,

I haven't told my doctor but I have an appointment this Friday and I will then.
I hope I don't have to wait too long to get the tests done.

Thanks for the information

Cheers
jessij
 
I recall having the deja vu when I was having complex partial seizures. I would get it before the seizure would start. Ive been having simple partial seizures over the past year. I havnt had any deja vu with them, but If I were you, I would for sure bring this up to your dr when you see him on friday.
 
Hi Kristen,

I'm just wondering, how did you go with having your babies and temporal lobe epilepsy. Did you feel worse after giving birth? The reason I ask, is because I just had my first baby recently (he is almost 6months) and I was told by the dr that I have postnatal depression...which I could....but I don't feel any depression. It's just that my anxiety and ocd came back...but I really don't feel down, or depressed or sad or anything...just anxiety and other strange symptoms...like I feel a weird kind of spatial distortion thing. I also feel like a strange sensation on the top of my right head...I've had it for years and years and I am almost used to it now.
Anyway, I see you have 3 boys, so I'm figuring you've coped pretty well with your pregnancies?

Cheers, Jess
 
jessij said:
Hi Kristen,

I'm just wondering, how did you go with having your babies and temporal lobe epilepsy. Did you feel worse after giving birth? The reason I ask, is because I just had my first baby recently (he is almost 6months) and I was told by the dr that I have postnatal depression...which I could....but I don't feel any depression. It's just that my anxiety and ocd came back...but I really don't feel down, or depressed or sad or anything...just anxiety and other strange symptoms...like I feel a weird kind of spatial distortion thing. I also feel like a strange sensation on the top of my right head...I've had it for years and years and I am almost used to it now.
Anyway, I see you have 3 boys, so I'm figuring you've coped pretty well with your pregnancies?

Cheers, Jess
Click to expand...

I felt pretty good after each birth of my boys. I was put on Lexapro after our third son was born. At the time of our third son's birth, I had three boys under the age of 2. So having to take care of three kids, while my husband was at work, was a challenge for me. It got the best of me and my OB could tell I was not in a good place when it came to getting rest and staying calm with daily things. So she prescribed me Lexapro and I was on that for a year. Then I weaned myself off, and have been good since. I just needed that little help the first year, til our youngest got to walking on his own and got alittle more independant. But other than that, I felt pretty good after each birth. Our youngest will be going to Kindergarten in August, so this will all be new to me, because for the past almost 8 years now Ive been a stay at home mom. Once they are all in school, Im going to take sometime for myself and then look at getting a part time job to help out with the income.
 
Hi there! I haven't been diagnosed with a specific epilepsy yet...just seizure disorder but I get deja vu sometimes and jamais vu (scarier). I get the vertigo feeling you talk about more intensely since I started Keppra. And I do get a tingly on the top of my head, and sides sometimes too, usually just prior and after my seizure. I have only ever have had partial seizures.
By the way, they can totally miss things on MRIs. You can absolutely clear MRIs and still have seizures. They can even classify tiny lesions on your brain as "normal".
My seizures always get worse 6 months after my children were born. Pregnancy was always rough and hormonal changes with my period.
I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety and depression issues! My seizures were whisked away as stress or "atypical" migraines (no pain) for four years.
You should absolutely talk to your GP and see if you can see a neurologist. It's been my experience that as a mother and a woman partial seizures can be overlooked and dismissed as "stress". Lots of people get stressed. Not everyone who is anxious or stressed gets dejavu/jamais vu.
Be your own health advocate!
 
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