Strange neuro symptoms ? Epilepsy

[MyFishFred]

Obviously I’m going to speak to my GP but it’s not urgent so got a long wait.

I keep getting short episodes of feeling hot, nauseous and an incredible sense of Deja vu. I can hold a conversation but my thoughts are rather jumbled. These episodes only last a minute or two but are very disconcerting. I feel absolutely fine afterwards.

DF has epilepsy but we’ve always put that down to a significant Head Injury after a road accident.
I’m late fifties, very fit with a normal blood pressure and no stress so confident it’s not a panic attack.

Does this sound like epilepsy or an aura before epilepsy?

No one will be able to tell you, OP, but I would disagree that your symptoms are non urgent. I suggest that you phone the surgery and explain that there's a history of epilepsy in your family (I know your father had a head injury but I would still mention it). Best wishes.

Deja vu is a fairly common symptom that an epileptic attack is about to happen. Are you quite tired after such an episode. That can happen to. You need to see your GP. I think it is quite urgent especially if you drive.

I have experienced 3x tonic clonic and many focal seizures. With the focal seizures, I would initially have a feeling of intense fear or dread then be unable to read, write or speak for a minute or so. But I was aware and awake while it was happening. The description of your thoughts being “jumbled” sounds similar to my experience and I have read about Deja vu as an aura. I am on a low dose of anti convulsant medication now. I hope you get some answers.

Thanks for the comments.
I’ve got a GP phone consult lined up but am not hopeful that I’ll get to the bottom of it.
I was hoping someone might say it was menopause related or something straightforward!

That sounds very much like epilepsy to me. Deja Vu was the first symptom that my Mother She had temporal lobe epilepsy. You need an in person appointment asap. Please push for one. And you are going to have to be very pushy I’m afraid or get someone to be very pushy on your behalf.

Btw My Mother still takes anti-seizure medication but she has been seizure free for 15 years now.

I am epileptic (thankfully controlled) and the aura I get is exactly like Deja vu. I also start to forget things. Go and speak to your GP. They may refer you.

I have temporal lobe epilepsy and this is exactly what happens to me during a seizure. I get an intense feeling of Deja vu if there’s no one speaking it’s my own thoughts in my head that are familiar (if that makes sense!) it lasts around 2 minutes and I wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever if I tried to speak. I feel really tired afterwards. I would tend to get them just before my period and if I was ill or run down. I have thankfully been medicated for 10 years now. Definitely go see a dr x

I used to have this thing where I would have an episode of weirdness where real sounds were sort of muted. I was aware of being present but sort of not. And I would have an experience of sounds like voices. Fast, slow, droaning, sped up. All at the same time. It felt very familiar but I could never grasp any words. It would last maybe 10 seconds then go. They would come in clusters like daily or almost daily for a month then not again for ages.

that was years ago. Hasn’t happened for years. I now wonder if it was some sort of seizure

Thank you so much for the replies and especially your explanations, the sensations are difficult to describe. I get an overwhelming feeling of Deja vu, a million thoughts all at once and a queasy feeling that last about 30 seconds then
vanish.

I can have 3 episodes in a day then nothing for months.

GP appointment made.
i do feel anxious about my family history of dementia and also the rules around driving, although I’ve never had a convulsion

I should say that I have tonic clinic seizures and the Deja vu feeling is definitely part of the beginning of the seizure.

Please come back and let us know what the gp says if you don’t mind

This sounds a bit like an awareness seizure, but I am not a medic just a keen googler so definitely see your GP.

Look up focal aware seizures, that sounds like what you are experiencing.
I'm epileptic, I have these types of seizures plus focal impaired awareness seizures.
Used to be known as partial awareness/complex awareness seizures and before that, petite mal seizures.
The professionals just love updating the names of things.

I came on to say it sounds like temporal lobe epilepsy. You really shouldn’t be driving until you sort this out.

So I’ve had this on and off since a teen. They disappeared in my 20s then came back mid 40s. My gp was dismissive (anxiety) but I fretted and luckily have private health care at work.

consultant thought possibly temporal lobe epilepsy. I had mri and a few eegs including a sleep deprivation one. But other than apparently a very minor’blip’ that told them nothing, they couldn’t find anything wrong.

I did have a spike in migraine at the same time and was going through a period of stress and the start of peri symptoms. I was offered medication if needed but was cleared to drive. I didn’t take the meds and they have massively lessened.

so for me was put down as ‘one of those things’ but only after a good old poke around.

A former colleague had this. It was petit mal epilepsy and is now well controlled under meds.

This is very similar to what I have and it's a form of epilepsy. Focal aware seizures.
Mine started 5 years ago (aged 48) but I didn't even get a referral to neuro until last year when I lost consciousness and my GP finally took me seriously - they are very hard to explain to others. Mine are very infrequent so I am in current discussion with my neuro as to whether I should take meds or not as they can have some nasty side effects.I had a sleep deprived EEG and also an MRI but neither showed anything.
Stress brings it on. I had one in April (a nocturnal seizure which was very disorentated and I was sick) after a funeral of a family member, the time before was 18 months previously when we had come through a stressful period and I was tired s well (which is the time I lost consciousness).
I don't drive ATM - I sold my car last year - far too scared of having a generalised seizure when driving. Luckily DH drives! I would like to go back to driving at some point but it's not a deal breaker for me currently.

I really appreciate the comments, thank you.
I’ve got a GP appointment made.
The episodes are so difficult to describe, I’m confident that it isn’t stress but that’s an easy label.
My biggest concern is my family history of dementia.

re side effects of medication. I’ve been on medication for 30+ years and although it can take some time to get used to them - especially as you slowly build up dosage, I’ve never had any major side effects that impact on me now. My seizures are tonic clonic and so I would lose my driving license every time I had one and had one during labour so for me, medication always made sense.

You can get medication that is slow releasing which also helps with side effects.

The seizure rules around driving are not just about convulsions, those would be tonic clinic seizures. There are also things called partial seizures which are also included in the rules.