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Seizures with psychic symptoms? Please help!!!!

Fri, 04/13/2007 - 16:21
Hi everyone! I am a 30 y/o woman who has been experiencing "episodes" for 13-14 years. I had two this week, which were severe enough to scare me. I just finally went to see my doc today, who feels they could very well be seizures and is sending me to a neuro for evaluation. She is sending me for an MRI and EEG so that I can go to the neuro with them in hand... These episodes generally happen randomly, but I've noticed that some pop up right when I'm drifting off to sleep. Why I've never thought there is something physically wrong with me until now, is beyond me. They start with a feeling of dread that something bad is going to happen, and I feel this throughout my entire body. Then, I enter a state of what I can only describe as being between dreaming and being awake. I'm conscious, but I feel entranced. It is during this state that I experience intense feelings of deja vu, dread, fear and I feel like I'm having premonitions of the future (I swear, I'm not crazy). Afterwards, my head tingles all over, I feel disoriented and confused, I begin sweating all over and I feel as though someone has stuffed my head full of cotton. At this point, the episode ends, but I'm left with the cotton brain feeling for several hours and I feel as though I've run a marathon and all I want to do is sleep. I used to tell my mom when I was younger that I was experiencing these symptoms and she told me that I was having premonitions. LOL. Maybe that's why I never bothered to talk to a doc about it? However, the episodes I had this past Tuesday and Wednesday were so intense, my husband swore I was having seizures. He ran over to me and said that I looked like I wasn't there, that I was staring off into space and then I had this look of intense fear on my face. He also said that he doesn't know why he didn't think of this before, as he's watched me have dozens of them... Is there anyone here that has experienced a similar thing???? I'm terrified. Thanks so much in advance for you replies! -Kat

Comments

Re: Re: Seizures with psychic symptoms? Please help!!!!

Submitted by Katvwolf on Fri, 2007-04-13 - 22:55
Thanks for the feedback, Sol. The pages you gave me were very helpful and reassuring. -Kat

Re: Seizures with psychic symptoms? Please help!!!!

Submitted by maryanns pond on Fri, 2007-04-13 - 20:31
Kat, Your experience sounds very much like the process I went through before diagnosis. I have complex partial and simple partial seizures. I have a few suggestions for you as you prepare to see the neurologist..... - make a list of the various types of feelings you have experienced - ask your husband and/or friends and family if they have ever noticed situations where you did not appear to be in firm contact with reality for a few moments (partial seizures can be so brief that others may only think you weren't paying attention - prepare a full medical history for yourself back to childhood. Did you have a difficult birth, any major illness, any injuries or falls where head was struck, write all of this down in chronological order and go over it with your list of "deja vu" experiences. Do any match up? - prepare a list of all meds and allergies including all environmental allergies. These should be written/typed up so that you can give it to the neurologist on your first visit this will save you much time in the visit and will him to progress to diagnosis and specific questions more quickly. I hope this helps you. Maryann

Re: Re: Seizures with psychic symptoms? Please help!!!!

Submitted by Katvwolf on Fri, 2007-04-13 - 23:02
Thank you, Maryann! This does help. I will definitely write all this down, especially since it is often hard to verbalize these episodes sometimes. When you have the simple partials, do you have any of the psychic symptoms? This is scary stuff... I feel so foolish for not having this addressed medically earlier... Now that I've put two and two together and read some experiences others have had, it does sound like I'm having seizures! -Kat

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