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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 7 to 31 of 31. Go back in thread:
Posted by Phillipa on December 10, 2011, at 21:20:23
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » emmanuel98, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 10, 2011, at 20:28:12
Ha ha if I was I'd be rich and famous for sure. Phillipa
Posted by huxley on December 11, 2011, at 2:42:19
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » emmanuel98, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 10, 2011, at 20:28:12
Had some trouble coming off it.
Anxiety, Deralization. Although for me it's hard to say what was causing what.Have read up on it and as always, some seem to suffere terribly and others have no problem at all.
I found the best thing with everything is to taper slowly. My brain doesnt like changing, especially rapid changes.
Posted by Dinah on December 11, 2011, at 8:32:23
In reply to lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences?, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 10, 2011, at 12:54:23
Are you replacing it with another mood stabilizer/anticonvulsant? My anecdotal evidence is that sometimes I quit taking it for a few days, and I get interesting temporal lobe experiences.
With your history, I'd say be very careful and look into alternatives.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 11, 2011, at 12:32:25
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » sleepygirl2, posted by Dinah on December 11, 2011, at 8:32:23
I don't know when I'll stop it. I only know thatbit doesn't mid with pregnancy, like a lot of meds in this category.
I suppose Ive heard what I expected, the derealization stuff, a need for slow decreasing.
Posted by Solstice on December 12, 2011, at 3:53:03
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » sleepygirl2, posted by Dinah on December 11, 2011, at 8:32:23
> My anecdotal evidence is that sometimes I quit taking it for a few days, and I get interesting temporal lobe experiences.
>
Can you elaborate? (on temporal lobe experiences).Solstice
Posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 8:36:31
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Dinah, posted by Solstice on December 12, 2011, at 3:53:03
I ought to write them down when they happen. I only recently had one of the worst episodes I've ever had late October, yet I only now remember that it was weird and a bit scary. I can't recall the actual events. I remember listing some to my therapist, but I don't recall the specifics.
It's mostly perceptions, and sometimes feelings. Never a loss of consciousness. Fleeting visual disturbances like straight lines briefly appearing curved or angled. Impressions of movement in still objects. Smelling things that aren't there. Intense feelings that last at most a few minutes, more like moments. Each one very brief, but recurring. I really don't like to talk about them because they make me feel a bit crazy. Yet I'm totally aware of what's going on, and recognize that I've missed a few Lamictal and am sleeping too little.
I figure I really should be more careful, and worry there may be lasting damage.
I remember when I was withdrawing from, hmmm... I think it was Depakote. I had a moment when I really understood Amazing Grace for the first time (and possibly the last time). It was some sort of shame attack, coupled with a crystal clear understanding of what the song meant. But it only was a few minutes before it passed. It was memorable, and I recall the thoughts but not the convictions.
The experiences are never ego syntonic. I'm always aware that it's something that's happening to me.
Then I start taking my anticonvulsants again, and make sure to sleep enough, and it goes away.
Once I was completely weaned off they also stopped, but my migraines increased and my mood wasn't as stable.
Posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 8:38:51
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 8:36:31
I say it was scary, and it was. But at the very moment it happens, I'm mostly just interested. I understand it's a perceptual problem even at the time, and find the mechanics of it fascinating. It's afterward that I find it disturbing.
Posted by Solstice on December 13, 2011, at 13:13:36
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 8:36:31
> It's mostly perceptions, and sometimes feelings. Never a loss of consciousness. Fleeting visual disturbances like straight lines briefly appearing curved or angled. Impressions of movement in still objects. Smelling things that aren't there. Intense feelings that last at most a few minutes, more like moments. Each one very brief, but recurring. I really don't like to talk about them because they make me feel a bit crazy. Yet I'm totally aware of what's going on, and recognize that I've missed a few Lamictal and am sleeping too little.
What you are describing sounds very much like the symptoms of 'simple partial epilepsy.' It is a focal discharge, usually in the temporal lobe, that is very brief and does not result in loss of consciousness. Symptoms can range from visual hallucinations, to odd smells and tastes, to unusual sensations like de ja vu, to brief but intense emotions like anxiety, fear, even joy, that even the patient is aware that there is nothing going on around them to provoke the emotion.Lamictal, being an anticonvulsant, may be relieving the symptoms, and they resume when you miss a few doses. If I were you, I would talk to a neurologist about it, and ask for an EEG. It's a simple, relatively inexpensive test that could explain a lot of the difficulties you have, incluing the emisis phobia. Simple partial epilepsy can develop any time after age 1. Frequently, it follows a head injury (i.e. falling off a bike), or the development of physical problems like endocrine disorders (diabetes) and migraines.
I'd really encourage you to explore that if you can, because it sure would be nice to have a concrete explanation for the kinds of symptoms you're describing. And if you get an EEG, be sure to ask for one where you are off the Lamictal and any other anticonvulsants you might be taking. Let me know if you decide to do something like that, and I'll give you some guidance (I am in the field of neurophysiology).
>
> I figure I really should be more careful, and worry there may be lasting damage.I don't think you're at risk for damage (if it's what I suspect). The important thing would be to know where the discharges are, and to treat it. The problem with seizures (the brain's neurons firing in sync), is that if it lasts more than ten consecutive minutes, the risk for damage to the brain gets very high. More troublesome is the fact that many types of seizures do not include physical manifestation... which means the brain can be seizing and the patient and family members may be completely unaware. Absence seizures are like that, because the primary manifestation is silence - a person completely 'pauses' during the seizure. No stiffening or jerking. And with simple partial seizures, it involves the senses... and can also involve somatosensory sensations (stomach feels weird, feel sick to stomach). The ictal discharges are taking place during the symptoms.. i.e. if you suddenly smell something weird, or are suddenly overcome by a strong and unexplainable emotion, that is when the discharge is taking place. If it only lasts a few moments, or a minute or two, then it's no big deal. You just don't want to smell that weird smell or have that weird taste in your mouth for ten minutes. Make sense?
Let me know if you have any questions, and I think it would be a good idea to check it out. You may have developed this a long time ago, and the lamictal has been addressing it as a 'side effect' of its psychotherapeutic effect. :-)
Solstice.
Posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 14:43:44
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Dinah, posted by Solstice on December 13, 2011, at 13:13:36
I've had a few EEG's, from one in my teens to one less than ten years ago. My migraine neurologist did a thorough workup. When she put me back on Depakote for migraine prophylaxis I'd been off any mood stabilizer for months, I think, with no signs of trouble past the initial withdrawal.
It does happen, though, in a limited set of circumstances. And it's totally my fault, as I'm generally looking to meet a deadline by pushing myself to mild hypomania. These temporal lobe things seem to be a side effect of the withdrawal of anti convulsants, probably aided by sleep deprivation.
I'll be the first to admit though that my brain's wiring has always been a bit off. I also have migraines with aura, which also sometimes come with some strange experiences. Though not precisely the same strange experiences as anti-convulsant withdrawal.
Sleepygirl and I have shared stories of temporal lobe experiences over the years, which is why I wanted to remind her not to stop anything quickly. (And to nag you again, Sleepygirl, to get those experiences checked out!)
Thanks, Solstice.
Posted by Solstice on December 13, 2011, at 20:53:35
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 14:43:44
How long have you been having these sensory symptoms?
Solstice
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 13, 2011, at 21:04:55
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 8:36:31
My father describes distortions in his vision. He's diagnosed with ophthalmic migraines.
I haven't had a lot of that deja vu stuff in a while. The worst ones happened years ago, and haven't returned. That was some wacky stuff though!
I remember a couple of occasions. One time was in a class. People were looking at me, saying something to me, but I couldn't respond.
One time I was trying to speak to someone on the phone. I was trying so hard, but it just came out as gibberish. It's a bit difficult to explain it.
It's been a few months since I got any intense deja vu. I was at the gym, stuck in a moment, looking at someone. I felt a little queasy, but I managed to get off the elliptical and shake it off.
I don't know what was up with the gibberish talking, headache inducing weirdness years ago. This more recent and very occasional intense deja vu doesn't bother me much.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 13, 2011, at 21:17:07
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by Dinah on December 13, 2011, at 14:43:44
Thanks Dinah :-)
Like I said, they're too occasional and mild at this point to bother with them, and I have mentioned them to my Pdoc.
The really interesting, crazy-like experiences were over 10 years ago.
If I decrease lamictal I'll pay attention.
My father has described some really strange stuff with his ophthalmic migraines. He doesn't get headaches though. He he described his own experience with being unable to respond when speaking with someone, different than mine.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 14, 2011, at 17:16:26
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Dinah, posted by Solstice on December 13, 2011, at 13:13:36
Hi solstice,
Can I ask you something? In case you know and/or care to comment. I had seizures (reportedly) as an infant - emergency c section, placental abruption, first 9 months on phenobarbital.
I wonder if that's something that could've had lasting effects, or is the brain very resilient at that age?
Posted by Dinah on December 17, 2011, at 19:14:39
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Dinah, posted by Solstice on December 13, 2011, at 20:53:35
I don't really think about it in those terms, since it has only happened during withdrawal. For me, once withdrawal has passed, there's no more symptoms. I don't really remember when I quit the meds the first time. I'm not good with time.
Posted by 49er on December 24, 2011, at 8:29:09
In reply to lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences?, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 10, 2011, at 12:54:23
> Thanks
http://beyondmeds.com/lamictal-redux/
49er
Posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2011, at 21:02:49
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » sleepygirl2, posted by 49er on December 24, 2011, at 8:29:09
49er did you write this about your own experiences? Phillipa
Posted by 49er on December 24, 2011, at 21:35:50
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » 49er, posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2011, at 21:02:49
> 49er did you write this about your own experiences? Phillipa
Hi Philipa,
No, thank god I never was on the drug and didn't experience that.
Sorry I wasn't clear as the link I provided was to various comments on this blog about the issue. Sadly, it was the most popular one due to there being so little information about it.
Posted by Phillipa on December 24, 2011, at 22:07:06
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Phillipa, posted by 49er on December 24, 2011, at 21:35:50
Well I guess I'm glad that at 50mg of lamictal got this excess saliva so bad all I did was constantly spit in a cup as it just kept coming. So went off it. I guess about week four. Just quit taking it it was horrible. Phillipa
Posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 16:52:49
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » Solstice, posted by sleepygirl2 on December 14, 2011, at 17:16:26
> Hi solstice,
>
> Can I ask you something? In case you know and/or care to comment. I had seizures (reportedly) as an infant - emergency c section, placental abruption, first 9 months on phenobarbital.
> I wonder if that's something that could've had lasting effects, or is the brain very resilient at that age?Dinah - -
I am SO sorry that I somehow overlooked your post - or maybe I just haven't been on here except in a very spotty way.
Yes - seizures as an infant can definitely impact the brain. That is the first thing we ask a patient who comes to the lab for an EEG. The severity of the abruption is, of course, key. Now, the brain is indeed very resilient, but it's also very delicate at that age. Seizures as an infant are regarded as a considerable risk factor for seizures developing later on. Interestingly, seizures can 'develop' - as in they can start in one area of the brain, and later show up somewhere else. I had a young patient from Argentina a couple of months ago. Seven year old girl, developmentally delayed. Her parents moved to the US for treatment. The mother gave me reports and print-outs of previous EEG's done in Argentina when the child was five. Two years later, I perform an EEG, and the spike discharge is now on the opposite side of her brain. Two years ago it was clearly on the left parietal, and now it's on the right parietal. This child had no clinical signs of seizures.. in that she did not *have* a seizure during these spike discharges. Not all (in fact most) seizures do not have clear physical manifestations. One of the recent advances in the field is in long-term monitoring. They have learned that people in coma's (regardless of the reason for the coma), have a higher-than-expected rate of having seizures, without clinical signs - called Non-convulsive Seizures, or NCS. They are moving toward using long-term EEG monitoring to ensure a coma patient's brain is protected, because any seizure (defined as what we call an 'electrographic' seizure - where we can see it taking place on the EEG but not necessarily with the body ever moving).. but any seizure lasting more than 30 minutes is damaging the brain. If I have a patient that starts showing electrographic discharges, once they hit the five minute mark - I call the neurologist. So my point is, that not *always* - but much of the time, a patient does not have to be having an actual seizure for us to be able to detect it. They have 'between-seizure' discharges (called interictal). And convulsions are classic, but are not the only manifestation of a seizure. Simple staring spells.. or the kind of temporal lobe symptoms you describe can be a manifestation of a seizure. I had a 50 yr old male patient a few weeks ago who was bumped by a car while riding his bike, and his head hit the curb... a year ago. No damage found by MRI or CT scan, but a neurologist referred him to the lab because he reported having frequent strange taste and smell sensations. He would often have these random and unexplainable sensations of smelling rubber. That's temporal lobe. And sure enough, his EEG showed infrequent discharges at F7 and T5/T7 (the channels recording from his temporal lobe).
So much of how seizures as an infant will affect you depends on exactly where the seizure discharges originated from, how long they lasted, how frequently they occurred, how successfully they were treated, etc. Your symptoms are classic temporal lobe. Temporal lobe seizure symptoms also includes inexplicable (usually a sudden and overwhelming occurrence - rather than a build-up) of anxiety, foreboding, anger/rage, even a sense of inexplicable joy. With your history, I think it would be prudent to explore it. It could explain a lot.. and if your symptoms are being caused by discharges, it's highly likely that treatment would result in significant relief. It's possible that if you are having discharges, the Lamictal has been addressing it just enough to prevent you from recognizing it as deserving a medical evaluation.
And as an aside, the brain's normal electrical activity - neuron firing - is very random and disorganized. During what we call a 'seizure,' neurons start firing in-synch in a very coordinated and rhythmic way, and that is what is defined as a seizure. For a patient with seizure convulsions, whatever part of the body that is responding to the seizure will jerk in a very rhythmic and coordinated fashion, and it will match the electrographic discharge (for example, if the neurons are firing at 5hz per second, the body will 'jerk' at 4hz per second, simultaneously with the discharges. And by the way, people who 'fake' seizures cannot replicate that kind of rhythmicity. It is physically impossible to sustain it, unless your neurons are producing it.)
I'm guessing you were born several decades ago, before neurophysiology developed the sophistication it now has.. but any information you remember being told or have access to that would describe in as much detail as possible what took place, would be helpful. We particularly want to know how long each seizure lasted, how close they were together, how many the patient had in an hour, in a day, in a week, whatever... the age span of the seizures (i.e. started at 9 mo and lasted till age 2).. treatments, whether they were successful, and all about your current symptoms. If you don't have much historical information, that's ok.. but if you've got aunts or uncles, or other relatives or family friends that might remember something, it's enormously helpful. If a neurologist suspects that your symptoms may very well be as a result of seizures, but they aren't able to see discharges on a 'regular' EEG recording, then they can order a longer-term EEG. They'd probably start with a 23 hour, where you are hooked up in the lab and sent home with a backpack to live your life as normal for the next 23 hours (kind of like a holter monitor). Those kind of recordings are especially helpful because symptoms are often triggered by daily activities, which wouldn't take place if you were an inpatient.
I don't think you wanted this long of an answer - but please ask any more questions you may have!
Solstice
Posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 17:50:32
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » sleepygirl2, posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 16:52:49
Posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 17:54:05
In reply to Re: lamictal withdrawal effects? any experiences? » sleepygirl2, posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 16:52:49
I am so sorry to both of you... for some reason I thought I was responding to a post Dinah had written. Anyway.. I apologize for my Christmas confusion :-)
Solstice
> > Hi solstice,
> >
> > Can I ask you something? In case you know and/or care to comment. I had seizures (reportedly) as an infant - emergency c section, placental abruption, first 9 months on phenobarbital.
> > I wonder if that's something that could've had lasting effects, or is the brain very resilient at that age?
>
> Dinah - -
>
> I am SO sorry that I somehow overlooked your post - or maybe I just haven't been on here except in a very spotty way.
>
> Yes - seizures as an infant can definitely impact the brain. That is the first thing we ask a patient who comes to the lab for an EEG. The severity of the abruption is, of course, key. Now, the brain is indeed very resilient, but it's also very delicate at that age. Seizures as an infant are regarded as a considerable risk factor for seizures developing later on. Interestingly, seizures can 'develop' - as in they can start in one area of the brain, and later show up somewhere else. I had a young patient from Argentina a couple of months ago. Seven year old girl, developmentally delayed. Her parents moved to the US for treatment. The mother gave me reports and print-outs of previous EEG's done in Argentina when the child was five. Two years later, I perform an EEG, and the spike discharge is now on the opposite side of her brain. Two years ago it was clearly on the left parietal, and now it's on the right parietal. This child had no clinical signs of seizures.. in that she did not *have* a seizure during these spike discharges. Not all (in fact most) seizures do not have clear physical manifestations. One of the recent advances in the field is in long-term monitoring. They have learned that people in coma's (regardless of the reason for the coma), have a higher-than-expected rate of having seizures, without clinical signs - called Non-convulsive Seizures, or NCS. They are moving toward using long-term EEG monitoring to ensure a coma patient's brain is protected, because any seizure (defined as what we call an 'electrographic' seizure - where we can see it taking place on the EEG but not necessarily with the body ever moving).. but any seizure lasting more than 30 minutes is damaging the brain. If I have a patient that starts showing electrographic discharges, once they hit the five minute mark - I call the neurologist. So my point is, that not *always* - but much of the time, a patient does not have to be having an actual seizure for us to be able to detect it. They have 'between-seizure' discharges (called interictal). And convulsions are classic, but are not the only manifestation of a seizure. Simple staring spells.. or the kind of temporal lobe symptoms you describe can be a manifestation of a seizure. I had a 50 yr old male patient a few weeks ago who was bumped by a car while riding his bike, and his head hit the curb... a year ago. No damage found by MRI or CT scan, but a neurologist referred him to the lab because he reported having frequent strange taste and smell sensations. He would often have these random and unexplainable sensations of smelling rubber. That's temporal lobe. And sure enough, his EEG showed infrequent discharges at F7 and T5/T7 (the channels recording from his temporal lobe).
>
> So much of how seizures as an infant will affect you depends on exactly where the seizure discharges originated from, how long they lasted, how frequently they occurred, how successfully they were treated, etc. Your symptoms are classic temporal lobe. Temporal lobe seizure symptoms also includes inexplicable (usually a sudden and overwhelming occurrence - rather than a build-up) of anxiety, foreboding, anger/rage, even a sense of inexplicable joy. With your history, I think it would be prudent to explore it. It could explain a lot.. and if your symptoms are being caused by discharges, it's highly likely that treatment would result in significant relief. It's possible that if you are having discharges, the Lamictal has been addressing it just enough to prevent you from recognizing it as deserving a medical evaluation.
>
> And as an aside, the brain's normal electrical activity - neuron firing - is very random and disorganized. During what we call a 'seizure,' neurons start firing in-synch in a very coordinated and rhythmic way, and that is what is defined as a seizure. For a patient with seizure convulsions, whatever part of the body that is responding to the seizure will jerk in a very rhythmic and coordinated fashion, and it will match the electrographic discharge (for example, if the neurons are firing at 5hz per second, the body will 'jerk' at 4hz per second, simultaneously with the discharges. And by the way, people who 'fake' seizures cannot replicate that kind of rhythmicity. It is physically impossible to sustain it, unless your neurons are producing it.)
>
> I'm guessing you were born several decades ago, before neurophysiology developed the sophistication it now has.. but any information you remember being told or have access to that would describe in as much detail as possible what took place, would be helpful. We particularly want to know how long each seizure lasted, how close they were together, how many the patient had in an hour, in a day, in a week, whatever... the age span of the seizures (i.e. started at 9 mo and lasted till age 2).. treatments, whether they were successful, and all about your current symptoms. If you don't have much historical information, that's ok.. but if you've got aunts or uncles, or other relatives or family friends that might remember something, it's enormously helpful. If a neurologist suspects that your symptoms may very well be as a result of seizures, but they aren't able to see discharges on a 'regular' EEG recording, then they can order a longer-term EEG. They'd probably start with a 23 hour, where you are hooked up in the lab and sent home with a backpack to live your life as normal for the next 23 hours (kind of like a holter monitor). Those kind of recordings are especially helpful because symptoms are often triggered by daily activities, which wouldn't take place if you were an inpatient.
>
> I don't think you wanted this long of an answer - but please ask any more questions you may have!
>
> Solstice
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 29, 2011, at 21:41:07
In reply to Sorry - I take that back - it is for Sleepygirl, posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 17:54:05
Hey, thanks for responding :-)
I enjoyed reading the info you shared.
I know you first thought you were responding to Dinah.
I described a little bit of my experiences above, i. e.
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?
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.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.
Posted by sleepygirl2 on December 29, 2011, at 21:41:24
In reply to Sorry - I take that back - it is for Sleepygirl, posted by Solstice on December 25, 2011, at 17:54:05
Hey, thanks for responding :-)
I enjoyed reading the info you shared.
I know you first thought you were responding to Dinah.
I described a little bit of my experiences above, i. e.
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?
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.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.
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
Posted by sleepygirl2 on January 1, 2012, at 20:23:16
In reply to Re: Sorry - I take that back - it is for Sleepygirl » sleepygirl2, posted by Solstice on January 1, 2012, at 15:52:27
I think I've always been aware during the experiences.
Those particularly strange episodes did end in headaches, but the episodes preceding them only lasted a couple of minutes?
The headaches were not of migraine intensity as I remember that kind of pain. I had a couple of painful migraines when I was a kid.
I've taken lamictal for 2-3 years?
I absolutely will see a neurologist if I develop symptoms.
Thanks for your responses Solstice.
This is the end of the thread.
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