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Mike Busc

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Hi everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself and see if anyone could give me some advice. I'm really not sure what's going on in my head but I've been experiencing some strange things. I did an internet search and it brought me to a forum posting here. What I read was exactly what was happening to me. I've never been diagnosed or even seen a doctor about this. It's a relatively new thing. I'll paste a copy of the posting I read that describes we as well. It's from 3 years ago.
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02-26-2009, 06:27 AM
Nick J
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Are these simple partial seizures?

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"Hi, I'm new, this is my first post in these Forums.
I have read some other posts which make my symptoms seem very insignificant so I guess I must be thankful that I don't have it worse than I do.

I have been suffering from suspected simple partial seizures for at least 10 years. The symptoms are always similar, although more recently there has been a slight change.

I'm sure everyone's familiar with the feeling you get when you wake up from a dream. For a few moments after waking, we feel we can remember the dream, but this memory rapidly fades away. Even whilst desperately trying to remember aspects of the dream, we feel the memory just melting away, and despite our best efforts, it's gone in just a minute or two.

In my 'attacks', I get a feeling a bit similar to this. It's as if a sudden strange thought enters my head for no reason. It seems that a memory has just surfaced, a recent memory which had been forgotten. It feels a little like deja-vu. My usual reaction (I can't help it) is to try and remember more, but it just melts away, like the dream does after waking. I can't describe the memory, because it's different each time and never makes any sense. It is disturbing to suddenly have a thought pop up in your head which does not make any sense.

At the same time, I feel distant, disconnected from the world. I am still awake and able to respond, though might seem distracted. I still know where I am, but my surroundings seem unfamiliar. At this point a feel a pressure in my head. This lasts for a few seconds.

Immediately following this, I start to feel very warm indeed. If I'm in bed, I shake off the covers to cool down. This lasts for a few minutes.

The warm feeling is a relatively new symptom. I used to get a aching in my left arm instead, but I don't really get that any more.

The strength of the attack varies from very strong, where I can feel what is almost like an electric shock in my head, right down to the very weak, where I'm not really sure if it even happened at all.

Also, they come in clusters (this is a recent change) - they used to come about once every week or 2, but now I can go for several weeks feeling fine, and then have a big attack followed by dozens of smaller ones over a 3 or 4 day period, before fading away again. During this time, everything just seems a bit off, as if familiar places are slightly sinister and creepy, and I have a vague unease which I can't really describe, and I can't concentrate. This subsides over a day or 2 after the attacks die down.

I've had things like EEG, MRI scan, but everything's come up clean so far. I appear to be a bit of a mystery."

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These are almost exactly what I felt. It happened first a couple months ago.Twice in the same day. Then about a month latter. Then more recently about a week ago it happened 3 times in one day. Almost always with a feeling of nausea. The same day when I had the three episodes, in between episodes I had to go to a building I've been to a hundred times before. The building did not even seem like the same building. The outside looked completely different although I knew I was at the right place. I wasn't untill I walked in that it then seemed familiar. It was really a strange feeling.

Well, any opinions are appreciated.

Mike

Oh, and my head hurts afterwards.
 
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Hi Mike, welcome to CWE!

The episodes you describe seem to involve both deja vu and jamais vu. Those can be symptoms of seizures called simple partials. The electric shock feeling, and the sense of unease and nausea can also be simple partial seizures. You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_partial_seizure

I recommend that you keep a journal of your symptoms -- when they occur, what time of day, how long they last, what happens during them. A journal can be useful for showing a doctor what you've been experiencing, and also for potentially identifying any triggers that might be playing a role. Triggers are basically physical, physiological, or emotional stressors. Fatigue is the #1 trigger, but they can also include low blood sugar, dehydration/electrolyte imbalance, food sensitivities (aspartame, MSG, gluten), nutritional imbalances, illness/infection, hormones, hyperventilation, photosensitivity, etc. A trigger might occur right before a symptom or a few hours or days beforehand.

If you can figure out a trigger -- and avoid it -- that's a bonus. In the meantime, you may want to talk your doctor about getting a referral to a neurologist.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Thanks for your reply and insight. I did fail to mention I had a brain injury after an auto accident. But that was over 5 years ago. It was a TBI. I was in a coma for about a week. It may have ben induced. Then, after I was coherent, my right side was paralyzed. After a few weeks in the hospital and some therapy I fully recovered. Not sure if it may be relevent or not.

Also, I am new to all of this and know nothing of epilepsy. Is what I may have possibly a form of epilepsy, or not necessarily?

Thanks
 
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Hi Mike,
I would definitely see your doctor about what you've been experiencing. If it sounds like you may be having some kinds of epileptic seizures (there are many different types) then the doctor should be able to refer you to a neurologist.
 
Is what I may have possibly a form of epilepsy, or not necessarily?
Your symptoms resemble simple partial seizures, which are a form of epilepsy. They may be related to your TBI.
 
Thanks much all.

One more thing, and it's not that I'm trying to get out of seeing a doctor, but is it possible that this may go away on it's own, or at the least not get any worse, or am I just wishful thinking.

Mike
 
If you can find a specific trigger for symptoms and avoid it, that might help reduced them. But there's no way to know for sure -- seizures are tricky that way. Keeping a journal will let you know if they are changing in any way. Certainly if they increase/get worse, you should see a doctor. And it can't hurt (and may very well help) to see a doctor before then. :)
 
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