Posted by Solstice on January 1, 2012, at 15:52:27
In reply to Re: Sorry - I take that back - it is for Sleepygirl » Solstice, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 29, 2011, at 21:41:07
> Intense deja vu, stuck staring, episodes of being unable to respond, move, speak coherently, other stuff.
> Does that sound like temporal line stuff for me too?Yes.. but an important question is whether during any of it, are you 'unaware'? For example, during staring spells, are you aware that you are staring, or is it others who notice and tell you about it? Staring spells that are a result of a seizure are usually not noticed by the patient, other than perhaps realizing they lost time (a very brief amount). To the onlooker, however, it looks like they simply pause whatever they are doing, and then resume when the seizure is over. If the patient is, for example, watching TV, the onlooker probably wouldn't notice it, but the patient might because they would miss a few seconds and might realize that when they suddenly pick up the show again and there's something missing. But if they are engaged in an activity - like walking or moving their hands, the onlooker will see them stop and pause, then resume the activity when the seizure stops. This is caused 'absence' seizures, which is a generalized seizure involving the entire brain (rather than a focal seizure involving a limited area like the temporal lobe).
That said, one of the hallmarks of simple partial seizures is that the patient does NOT lose awareness, and these can often involve the temporal lobe. The symptoms you describe are common in seizures originating in the temporal lobe.
> I take 200mgs of lamictal for past couple of years.
> Haven't had much more than the deja vu in a long time.
> The thing is that I've always wondered what effects, if any, might linger from birth.
> I don't know much other than that a nurse noticed seizures after my birth, and that my mother was bleeding, there was a placental abruption, and an emergency c-section. At 9 months I was judged healthy and taken off phenobarbital. I remember intense deja vu as early as 1st grade. It didn't evolve into the being stuck with problems speaking until my early 20's. and those episodes occurred within a certain time period, maybe a year? and since then it's just the occasional deja vu. I'm in my mid 30's.
> I remember sometimes feeling them come on, and them not evolving into anything. Once, after decreasing a benzo, I got deja vu, and also a tingling sensation down my leg.
Are they, by any chance, followed by migraines? There is a type of migraine called 'basilar artery migraine' that is preceded by what we call 'auras' like tingling or weakness in the extremities, difficulty speaking, visual hallucinations, and other altered mental status=looking symptoms (not knowing who they are, where they are, etc., often accompanied by fear and anxiety). There's a whole list of various aura's a patient could have, and whichever ones show up, they usually happen one at a time, each lasting several minutes. At the very end of it, the patient ends up with a migraine. It is most common in women, and typically first appears between the ages of 13 and 25.Also, a person with problematic electrical discharges in the brain can have one type at one point in their lives, and then it *can* evolve over time into something else - coming from another part of the brain.
>
> You know solstice, I think more than anything I like to imagine I have some more concrete reason for the way I am. I mean super anxious and socially phobic.
> The weird experiences are pretty much just interesting. If I continued to have the kind I had in my early 20's then I'd have it evaluated. I am curious about how lamictal withdrawal might go for me.How long have you been taking it? If it has been inadvertently treating seizure discharges in your brain, then your 'withdrawal' symptoms may end up being a resurgence of seizure discharges that cause the temporal lobe symptoms you've had along the way. It would be important to note that if that's the case, then your 'withdrawal' symptoms are not caused by the lamictal - but rather the underlying condition that has been treated by the lamictal (albeit inadvertently).
If you decide to stop the lamictal, please see a neurologist ASAP if you start having the kind of temporal lobe symptoms we've discussed so it can be evaluated and treated.
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:1004586
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111226/msgs/1006084.html