Has anyone experienced this? (Weird Sensations)

[EmilyZ]

Hi

I'm familiar with TLE symptoms such as deja vu and visual disturbances, but I get some very unusual feelings that I haven't heard anyone mention before. I don't wish them on anyone, but at the same time it would be nice to know that it's not just me being crazy.

Sometimes I'll hear a word repeated very slowly. Or if there's music playing it will get 'stuck' one one word/phrase. If the music's naturally repetitive (like techno or dance music) I find it can actually cause this to happen. This is one thing that gets worse when I've had no sleep. Something else that's related to what I've just mentioned is that, after the 'slow motion word' thing has just happened, I'll feel as though I've been given a shock and I'll gasp (involuntarily) and sit up straight or stand up. The closest thing I can compare it to is when you're falling to sleep and you wake up suddenly.

On the emotional side of things, it feels as though something is about to happen, usually something bad. Like a feeling of tension or anxiety. I think I should do something like have a drink/something to eat, use the bathroom, or walk around.

All of these are pretty unpleasant and I know when they're likely to happen because there's a very specific sensation that's associated with them, but it's frustratingly difficult to describe so I won't even try.

 

[momof3boys]

I have left temporal lobe epilepsy. For me, I have alot of different things happen before a seizure and during the seizures. last year while I was doing my first VEEG, I was having alot of simple partial seizures. Before having the VEEG, I was on two anti seizure medications....Keppra and Carbatrol, which controlled my seizures very well. But there were a few "spells" I had during that time period. Once after having my second son, and being up all night. Which resulted in a complex partial seizure. I dont recall anything that happens during them, unlike the simple partials where Im aware of whats going on. During my simple partial seizures I get the following symptoms:

I first get a feeling that something isnt right... Its kind of hard to describe. Just a different feeling overcomes me. Then I get a feeling of fear or sadness... then comes to feeling of nausea, and it feels like Im going to lose my stomach... my heart begins to race.... and my head wants to turn to the right... I get a feeling of pins and needles that start in my left hand and foot and work its way up my entire body, where by the time my head turns to the right, it feels like a million needles are attacking the roof of my mouth... then my body stiffens and I begin to jerk. I can hear what people are saying, see what they are doing... I just cant respond til the seizure is over. They usually last between 1-2 minutes. Once its over, my body feels weak and tired. Like Ive been run over by a truck. I recall wanting to lift my legs, and they felt like they were so heavy, I couldnt move them myself. I have a headache afterwords too. During that time period that I was off of the medication, once the seizures began to come one after another, I would get the deja vu feelings too. But for me, that only happens if the seizures keep coming.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi EmilyZ, welcome to CWE!

On the emotional side of things, it feels as though something is about to happen, usually something bad. Like a feeling of tension or anxiety. I think I should do something like have a drink/something to eat, use the bathroom, or walk around.

I don't get auras myself, but I know some CWE members have described the same or similar symptoms to ones you mention. Those sensations are all kinds of simple partial seizures, mostly related to the autonomic nervous system. You might be interrsted in this thread: http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/auras-17979/

 

[Cint]

My auras before bad TC's are feelings as though something really bad is about to happen and I wanna run away..... then my world starts slowing down, like in the movies when they play it in slow motion... the surrounding noise gets louder and louder to the point where it sounds like people are yelling/screaming at me. My head really hurts and feels like it will explode... then I'm gone.

 

[PFunk]

Hi EmilyZ. I also get auditory/language simple partials (I actually get all types of SP’s). Below are some of the things I experience. I copied and pasted from some emails so they may seem disjointed.

When listening to music, it would sound like I was hearing someone singing even though no one was. It felt like my brain was trying to interpreting something that was not there.

I started to notice my internal monologue was.. off. It felt like my words were stuttering. It t t.... waaas.ss.ss a lmo st liii ikethis s ss.... Words were breaking apart and slamming together. I decided to get up, thinking if I walked around things might be better. Well, it didn't work. Things kept getting more intense. Words started to jump out of my sentences. They would fly through that air. Some words started to swing around and smashing into other words. Out of the explosion other words would arise and they too would crash and explode, leading to even more words. I could see/feel these words exploding around me like fireworks. I was being showered by words everywhere. I could feel all of them at once.

When words jump, explode or become elongated/ broken they will sometimes startle me giving me the same feeling you describe (jumping in your sleep)

Here’s another one and it’s going to be hard to explain. It deals specifically with onomatopoeia, words that imitate sounds. Say you crinkle a candy wrapper with your hands, I will hear that sound but my brain will tell me I just heard the word crinkle. If I hear a cat meow, part of my brain says I heard the word meow while the other part knows it was just the sound of a cat meowing…..

 

[EmilyZ]

Thanks for the replies.

Here’s another one and it’s going to be hard to explain. It deals specifically with onomatopoeia, words that imitate sounds. Say you crinkle a candy wrapper with your hands, I will hear that sound but my brain will tell me I just heard the word crinkle. If I hear a cat meow, part of my brain says I heard the word meow while the other part knows it was just the sound of a cat meowing…..

That's a really unusual one. I haven't experienced it, but I know what you mean. It's amazing how many of these symptoms seem to be specific to individuals.

I never know whether the shock sensation I mentioned is due to panic after it's happened or whether it's part of the seizure itself. Because the gasping isn't in my control at all, and it feels surprising (as though it's really someone else making a noise), I'd say it's to do with the epilepsy but sometimes it can be hard to separate anxiety effects from seizure effects.