# Simple-partial temporal lobe seizures?



## razer777 (Jun 28, 2010)

I always thought of seizures as like, you know, you're on the floor convulsing but supposedly mild ones in the temporal lobe can cause intense feelings of DP/DR. My worst DP/DR always came in brief attacks (a couple minutes at most) followed by residual spacey/depressed/severely anxious feelings.

_Psychic phenomena
Psychic epileptic seizures involve purely sensory or subjective symptoms with retained memory for the ictus. These seizures do not involve loss of consciousness. They do not have a motor component.
* Patients may have a feeling of déjà vu or jamais vu, a sense of familiarity or unfamiliarity, respectively.
* Patients may experience depersonalization (ie, feeling of detachment from oneself) or derealization (ie, surroundings appear unreal).
* Fear or anxiety usually is associated with seizures arising from the amygdala. Sometimes, the fear is strong, described as an "impending sense of doom."
* Patients may describe a sense of dissociation or autoscopy, in which they report seeing their own body from outside._

My first episode of DP came after what I thought was a weird panic attack. I was just sitting in a lecture, only mildly stressed out about normal things in life when all of a sudden I had a rising feeling in my chest and everything just became unreal, and terrifying and it felt like every bit of data going through my mind was impossible to understand, like a I had a thousand thoughts and in my head all at once. This freaked the crap out of me and left me with DP (although not at the terrifying level it was at initially) and extreme anxiety that it was going to happen again or that there was something terribly wrong with me. It did happen again but not quite as bad as the first time and often with other random effects such as a split-second where I smelled something from my memory (like beef stew, or gasoline) or millisecond flashes of images from childhood. Almost always this was accompanied by an intense feeling of terror and unreality, everything looked the same except i perceived everything as like evil or eery. I've also had experiences of sudden, yet very brief euphoria and intense feelings of depression (like super intense, yet also brief). When these were over I was always freaked the **** out which left me with severe anxiety and DP when it was over.

Supposedly this is treatable with lamotrigine(lamictal) which happens to also be a medication for DP.


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## BlueTank (Jun 2, 2010)

razer777 said:


> I always thought of seizures as like, you know, you're on the floor convulsing but supposedly mild ones in the temporal lobe can cause intense feelings of DP/DR. My worst DP/DR always came in brief attacks (a couple minutes at most) followed by residual spacey/depressed/severely anxious feelings.
> 
> _Psychic phenomena
> Psychic epileptic seizures involve purely sensory or subjective symptoms with retained memory for the ictus. These seizures do not involve loss of consciousness. They do not have a motor component.
> ...


Around the time DP set in I had taken Hydrocodone. I felt detached (hands from my body) and went to bed. In bed I had this strange back-and-forth out of body experience. I sort of recall seeing colors perhaps. It was really strange! No panic attack or anything. I wonder if something similar happened with me! I'd say full blown DP kicked in about 3 days after that night.

In searching around once I was reading about the whole Fluorescent light thing and there was studies done about how it bothers people and about it like causing siezures, which ties into all of this. Theres general info out there on that. Do you react negatively to fluorescent light? I assume so.

Random aside... well before DP I smelled a Glade freshener in a store once and had a flashback from an old apartment. The flash was VERY fast but not really visual. More of a feeling. But it was powerful i know that. it "HIT" me really hard. coincidentally, this apartment that I had the same Glade freshner in-- while I lived there for a grand total of less than a year happens to be the same place where I had my bad trip on weed. *shrug*

If you start Lamictal, let us know how it goes man. I am taking Zoloft and Klonopin, so the next step would be Lamictal, but I'm pretty scared of it. Don't you have to take it all through out the day? Like 3 or 4 times during the day? How does one work these types of things into their lives! It would have to be pretty beneficial for me to put up with a lot of scary shit.


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## razer777 (Jun 28, 2010)

I have yet to go see a doctor, I've been feeling much less DP'd recently and overall my symptoms are better except for anxiety/depression which is the same as it has been
supposedly side effects are rare and mild compared to things like SSRIs, benzos, and other anti-seizure medicine although there is a 1/1000 chance of developing a life-threatening rash. Another side effect is increased concentration : )


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## Xerei (Feb 17, 2010)

razer777 said:


> I have yet to go see a doctor, I've been feeling much less DP'd recently and overall my symptoms are better except for anxiety/depression which is the same as it has been
> supposedly side effects are rare and mild compared to things like SSRIs, benzos, and other anti-seizure medicine although there is a 1/1000 chance of developing a life-threatening rash. Another side effect is increased concentration : )


what's the point with seeing a doctor who would only say that you're anxious and depressed? if it's not something physical the doctor won't be of too much help.


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## razer777 (Jun 28, 2010)

Xerei said:


> what's the point with seeing a doctor who would only say that you're anxious and depressed? if it's not something physical the doctor won't be of too much help.


Well if I am having seizures then it is something physical. Its a pretty serious thing because it could get worse and spread to different parts of the brain. Overall I'm feeling better but I do still get bad moments with the DP where I feel like I've gone back to square one. And there are still the random flashes of random emotions, they aren't as unpleasant though, but maybe I'm just getting used to them? My DP fluctuates a lot over the course of the day, do you guys get this or is yours more steady?


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## razer777 (Jun 28, 2010)

BlueTank said:


> In searching around once I was reading about the whole Fluorescent light thing and there was studies done about how it bothers people and about it like causing siezures, which ties into all of this. There's general info out there on that. Do you react negatively to fluorescent light? I assume so.
> 
> Random aside... well before DP I smelled a Glade freshener in a store once and had a flashback from an old apartment. The flash was VERY fast but not really visual. More of a feeling. But it was powerful i know that. it "HIT" me really hard. coincidentally, this apartment that I had the same Glade freshner in-- while I lived there for a grand total of less than a year happens to be the same place where I had my bad trip on weed. *shrug*


Artificial lights can bug me. I was just got back from giving my dog a short walk and those orangish/pink streetlights were weirding me out, especially the way they cast really crisp shadows.

But the way you described your flashback sounds similar to what I experience.


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## meditateoutdoors (Jul 31, 2010)

razer777 said:


> I had a rising feeling in my chest and everything just became unreal, and terrifying and it felt like every bit of data going through my mind was impossible to understand, like a I had a thousand thoughts and in my head all at once.
> 
> a split-second where I smelled something from my memory (like beef stew, or gasoline) or millisecond flashes of images from childhood. Almost always this was accompanied by an intense feeling of terror and unreality, everything looked the same except i perceived everything as like evil or eery. I've also had experiences of sudden, yet very brief euphoria and intense feelings of depression (like super intense, yet also brief).


I had to register for this forum and reply to your post because for years I've had very similar experiences. I often have brief flashes of intense feelings connected with memories from my childhood. These flashes happen at random and are often totally unconnected to anything currently happening, although they can sometimes be triggered by a particular smell or sound. I also sometimes have the experience of my head being jammed full of thoughts that I can't sort out.

I was diagnosed 11 years ago with bipolar disorder, and the doctors said, for example, that the "racing" thoughts were a symptom of mania, but that has never seemed to fit because these experiences are so intense and brief, as you describe. The more I read about temporal lobe epilepsy (simple partial seizures in particular), the more that seems to fit (not that I'm eager for another diagnosis).

Fortunately for me, the experiences aren't that disturbing, and I've mostly learned to live with them, but it sounds like the depersonalization/derealization is difficult for you. I think if you're looking for treatment, it might be a good idea to ask your doctor about simple partial seizures (SPS). You're correct that lamotrigine can be used to treat SPS as well as depersonalization/derealization from other causes. Good luck in getting help and keep us posted.

--Ryan


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## pancake (Nov 26, 2009)

razer777 said:


> My first episode of DP came after what I thought was a weird panic attack. I was just sitting in a lecture, only mildly stressed out about normal things in life when all of a sudden I had a rising feeling in my chest and everything just became unreal, and terrifying and it felt like every bit of data going through my mind was impossible to understand, like a I had a thousand thoughts and in my head all at once. [..]
> It did happen again but not quite as bad as the first time and often with other random effects such as a split-second where I smelled something from my memory (like beef stew, or gasoline) or millisecond flashes of images from childhood.[..]
> I've also had experiences of sudden, yet very brief euphoria and intense feelings of depression (like super intense, yet also brief). [..]


I always wondered about this form of epilepsy as well but I've never been checked for it.

I was just thinking about those flashes. It is funny, sometimes something happens and I know I am going to remember that moment forever. Like a glossy colour photograph wedged in my brain that will flash up like a billboard once in a while. My episodic memory is pretty good but continuity sucks. It is more like remembering an odd tv show than a life, just a series of brief skits.

The thought overload feels like a short circuit in my head. Sometimes I smell things that aren't there very briefly or feel insects crawling on my skin (so fucking annoying) I experience deja-vu and jamais-vu pretty frequently too. Very brief euphoria as well (longest ever was a couple of hours but often it is just moments).


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