Need Your Thoughts on Dream-like "Episodes" I've Been Having.

I would definitely see a doctor. My first thought was, are you on any medication? Maybe that could be a side effect of a medicine. Good luck to you.

Hmmm, my niece was diagnosed with absence seizures. What she describes is a lot like that. Maybe google absence seizures and see if it's familiar at all.

And, please talk to your doc about it too, k?

:)

I get something like this when I have extreme migraines, but because yours are worsening you should go in and see your doctor. It could be mild seizures, petit mals, feeling shaken up and fuzzy afterwards is a sign, and if they are getting worse you might be getting ready to have a bigger one, a grand mal, not good if you are alone with your babies. It could also be due to anxiety, or other problems, so in any event the doctor will want to know what triggers these, stress, a certain food eaten prior to each one, etc.

God bless.

I am not sure about the ability to "trigger" these episodes, but you might want to mention them to your doctor....it sounds a bit like a mild seizure. I get migraine auras and they can sometimes be a bit "dream-like" or trippy. I suppose it could also just be really strong intuition?

an aura to a seizure? You should get it checked out by a neurologist.

My first guess would be seizure. Go see a nuerologist ASAP!

This sounds like epilepsy for sure, a type called temporal lobe epilepsy. I just did (well about a month ago!) a major research paper on epilepsy, and I researched all the more common types. You can google this type, which has it's onset in the second decade of life. One of it's more common symptom is the de ja vu feeling you describe, also you get an anxious feeling, or a feeling of nausea and butterflies in your stomach.
It sounds like you are having what they call simple partial seizures associated with temporal lobe epilepsy.
I just cut and pasted this from epilepsy.com - does this sound like you?

Seizures that often occur in temporal lobe epilepsy include what is known as simple partial seizures, such as auras, and focal seizures with complex impairment in consciousness, otherwise known as complex partial seizures. Auras associated with medial temporal lobe epilepsy can begin in isolation early on and late in life. The most common manifestation of auras typically is that of a déjà-vu experience or some gastrointestinal upset. Feelings of fear, panic, anxiety or a feeling of a rising epigastric sensation or butterflies with nausea are also other ways in which auras present in medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Some people also report a sense of unusual smell that can raise a possibility of a hippocampal abnormality or a tumor in that area.

Did you ever have a febrile seizure caused by a high fever when you were a child - this is the main trigger for TLE.

Total agreement with GrammaRocks.

This sounds exactly like what happened with a friend of mine and she was having mini seizures. You should definitely go to a neurologist. She is on medication now, but is not allowed to drive or anything because she couldn't control when they would happen and wouldn't remember it when she snapped out of it. Please go see a doc that specializes in this! Good luck to you and I'm sorry you're going through this.

I highly recommend going to see your doctor. My dad had auras similar to what you are having prior to each time he would have a seizure. It's totally normal to feel the way you do after having an episode. Dad also would say that he had the wierd deja vu feeling when he was having an aura. Just as he was about to identify where he "was" or what he was seeing, he would black out for a few seconds and feel very uneasy.

Not all seizures are related to epilepsy and there are many ways for a seizure to present itself. My dad's seizures were caused by aspartame poisoning. My friend's daughter had severe seizures every day for two years until they found that a vertebrae in her neck was turned 180 degrees. They went to the chiropractor and the seizures stopped.

Please don't be scared by this! There is help for this! HUGS!!!!

I think it's a manifestation of anxiety. Recognize it as that, and try to do things to minimize your anxiety. Exercise is very helpful.

Dissasociation(sp?)
Were you ever abused?

Hi K.! I know exactly what you are talking about. In my house we call it "flipping out." Not only do I do this, but my mom did this for many years. I went to a Neurologist about it, as my mom did about 20 years ago, and funnily enough, the 2 separate neurologists separated by 20 years had no answers and said the same thing. They wanted to put us on seizure medication. We had already had MRI's & EEG's done and there was no sign of us having had seizures, so we were very skeptical about taking the medication, which could have SERIOUS side effects, w/out proof that that was what we were experiencing. (Both of those Dr's agreed that we weren't having seizures, but still wanted to try the medication to "see what happened!") Anyway, my mom became involved in natural healing (herbs, etc) and the homeopaths that she went to told her that her pituitary gland was out of balance and that is what caused the "flip outs." She asked the neurologist that theory and asked if that was a possibility, and he literally snapped his fingers and said, "You know, I bet that's it!" She started taking an herb called Master Gland and it doesn't bother her anymore! I also started taking the Master Gland and I don't have the "flip outs" either. I am so sorry that you are having to deal with these episodes! They can be terrifying! I hope that you can find the answers you are looking for and can be rid of these episodes! :)

P.S. The herb, Master Gland, is a Nature's Sunshine product & you can get it from any natural or homeopathic store. When I first started taking it, I took 3/day. Now I take anywhere from 1-3/week. I have found that the episodes came about more frequently and longer if I was under a large amount of stress or if I was very tired. So, if things are a little stressful, etc, that is when I'll take more/week.

I dont know what to say other than "thank God" I found this. K, what you described is almost exactly what I've been trying to describe to doctors for the last 12 years. My episodes, almost exactly as you describe, started just days after I had a maxillofacial surgery done to correct a jaw problem. In the last few years, I've found my episodes to be more cyclical, coming on every 3 weeks or so. They come on suddenly beginning in the morning or even in my sleep (it will wake me up) and then I know it will be an episode day. I'll have several, even up to maybe 10 that day. The next day usually comes with some anxiety, feeling that it's going to happen again. But it generally only happens once or twice in the couple of days following that initial episode day. I call these aftershocks. I know the déjà vu feeling. I know the feeling of almost intense familiarity that only seems to make sense while I'm in that brief state. Theres almost a feeling of revelation in it. It isn't scary while it's happening. As odd as it sounds, it's almost feels like a window to another reality or consciousness for that moment. I'm sure it's nothing so grand, but there's an indescribable feeling that comes with. I've had the feeling of finding some sort of key to great understanding. I've even had a sensation of seeing and understanding death. I don't truly remember it, and the feeling/sensation is gone just as quickly as it came on, but I am sometimes left with an "imprint" of what I just experienced. Not so much a memory, but just a vague idea of what I saw and "understood" in those few moments as I desperately try to hold on to it and remember what I'm experiencing. Just as i'm trying to process and hold on to some piece of what I'm seeing and experiencing, it vanishes, leaving me "foggy" as you say, and unable to process virtually any information for several moments. I'm aware of where I am and what's going on, but for the life of me, I can't get out two words to respond to anyone until my brain has this moment to "reboot". I know who's around me, i know what's going on, I just can't process words or speech. I am unable to communicate for several seconds. I often get flushed and suddenly sweaty at that point. It lasts only a minute, but my silence and slight perspiration are generally the only clues to others that anything just happened to me. I maintain muscle control and motor skills just fine during these episodes, though I may feel weekend, but it's just as if the dream center of my brain is suddenly cued or stimulated. While the episode/experience itself is generally not scary, the aftermath can be. It leaves me with some anxiety and sometimes a bit of fear. But give me a half hour, I might not be thinking about it all. It's not a panic attack and I've never thought of it as a seizure, as I understand them. But now, reading some of these answers it seems a strong possibility.

I've been tested my numerous doctors. A neurologist and even an allergist. No one can tell me anything. At best I feel like they've humored me. I should also mention I've experienced some memory issues beginning at the same time. I have holes in my memory sometimes. Sometimes someone will say "hey, you remember when...?" and I'll have no idea. What's stranger, is that I might think about it the next day and suddenly I do remember. One more thing: and it might be totally unrelated (but I doubt it, as it started shortly after that surgery as well), but I have chronic knee pain. Both my knees ache moste of the time, sometimes a lot more than others, but it's always both and always symmetrical. It's not any one isolated spot, it's the whole knee area. Its a strange dull ache, sort of like a pressure. In the last few years it's been my lower back and hips as well. Again, I've been to the rheumatologist, the chiropractor, the neurologist and had the blood tests and X-rays. Everything says I'm tip-top. There's no damage or inflammation. All outside indications are that I'm young (33 now) and in terrific shape and health. And yet I deal with these "episodes" that I still struggle with to even describe, my lower body aches like I imagine a 90yo would feel like, and I struggle to remember someone's name even 1 minute after they tell me. Iay well have three separate problems going on, but they all started after that jaw surgery on Christmas eve of 1999. I have to tell you that it means a lot to have read your description of your episodes. No one has given me a clue as to what might be wrong with me and it scares me. It scares my wife and my kids don't even know yet. It's so frustrating to try to explain all over again to te next Dr and then to have them ask the same questions and then just humor me as though it's all in my head. I've spent my entire adult life like this and it is a tremendous burden.

My wife's never known me without these issues. I have some hope in reading this thread. Thank you for posting it and tha k you to those who replied. So far, the Master Gland herbal supplement sounds the most promising. Thank you and I hope and pray you can find the answers too. I appreciate any help, feedback or input anyone can offer. Actually, feel free to email me ____@____.com . Thank you!!!!