Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and first and foremost want to say hi. Hi

I've been wondering for a while if i might have some slight seizure activity going on (simple partiel seizures or temporal lope seizures).

Let me tell you guys a bit about myself.

I'm a 27-year old female and from northern Europe.
I study psychology at a university.

I was born extremely premature at week 27/28 (it's a bit uncertain, because my mom didn't know she was pregnant until she was bout 4-6 weeks along) and weighed 814 g and was 34 cm.

there was someting wrong from the beginning. The placenta didn't work and i was basically starving and my mom very sick throughout the pregnancy, and there i was, at week 27.

I have mild cerebral palsy diplegia (spasticity in my lower extremities). But i am probably the most high-functioning person with CP you'll ever meet. No one ever notices anything.

BUT, then there's all the mental stuff. I have suffered brain-injury, and it is more common than not that people with CP diplegia have some form of epilepsy.

I also have dyscalculia, sequentiel and eksecutive issues.
I only found this out last year, at the age of 26...
My CP is worst on my left side of my body, so the injury is in my right cerebral hemisphere, which controls logic, math and an "over-all perspective of things". All of which i struggle with.

I also have synaesthesia, sensory integration disorder (strong lights, colors that don't match, high noises, lost of people in a room, strong smells ect) is left-handed and diagnosed as gifted (twice exceptional). We also have Aspergers in the family, and i dare say that quite a few family-members on that side of the family are gifted, left-handed, have autistic-traits and a bit "fragile" emotionally.

One of my "gifts" is languages and i taught myself foreign languages in kindergarden and had an extensive vocabulary at age 3 in my mother-tongue, despite the fact that i didn't speak a word til the age of 2.

I saw someone else on this board talking about giftedness with languages, left-handedness?....

And now to the point...

I have never had an EEG and no one has ever noticed anything, but i have a strong suspicion of epilepsy. I would be text-book if i was, so why not? What do you guys think?

Here's a list of my symptoms:

- I get "funky" feelings about once or twice a year.
- It lasts 5-7 seconds
- I touch something soft, wavy, thick fabric like and stop dead in my tracks
- Deja vú
- I stare off into space but is wide awake and alert. No loss of consciousness, but can't stop the feelings
- a wave starts at my toes and goes upwards and stops at my chests. The wave makes me a bit queezy.
- Get a feeling of falling
- A sudden jolt of fear
- I taste metal in my mouth
- Then it feels like my tongue is growing and gets too big for my mouth
- I start to swallow and smack my lips
- I feel like my skin grows and gets enormous. Like i'm a sumo-wrestler and can't get my arms into my arms, even though my arms are resting at my side. I heard of something called Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome?

And then it stops. This is at it's worst and happens only once or twice a year. It is very brief and is like an infinitesimal "breeze" and then it's gone. An aura perhaps?

If i am extremely tired and overstimulated (which people with CP often get), i sometimes get little bits of the "big aura". Especially when i lay down to sleep.
I get a feeling of deja vú, everything is spinning and then i feel like i'm falling and i start to swallow/smack my lips while staring (automatisms?)

At nighttime i can pull myself out of it a bit. But it's like a huge black vortex opens beneath me, while lying on my back. I'm swallowing and staring into the whole. It's so alluring and mesmerizing, but also like an impending doom, but i just can't help but to stare and get closer and closer. It's like black smoke that slowly surrounds me. I get dizzier and dizzier and THEN i stop. I flinch and pull myself out. I've never dared to look closer at the black hole.
I think it might be the gateway to a grand mal.

This doesn't go away on it's own though, like with the first "seizure", i have to pull myself out of it and i feel sick and have to sit up and take in huge gulps of air and then it goes away.

I don't hallucinate though, since i know that the "black hole" isn't real but more like a weird sensation. Something untangible...very hard to explain.

This sounds very much like epilepsy, yes?...

I'm asking because i've taken up diving, and i want to be an instructor...I asked my doctor about it. He sound it was definitely not normal, and he wanted to refer me to an neurologist. I kindly declined, because i wasn't sure whether the EEG would show anything, since this happens so rarely and because i didn't want that stigma because of diving and driving etc...

What do you guys think? Do you recognize this? (i'm very new at this).

And how do you feel about diving, when this only happens once or twice a year, only last 5-7 seconds, i'm fully awake and it has never evolved to anything else, and i've had it for as long as i can remember?

Thanks a lot if you've made it this far.

- Mimir

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Mimir,

It is great to have you come and be with us. You will fine a great number of dear friends to listen when you are in need of ears. Please, just let us know how we can help you out. You will find out we are supportive and relaxing place.

My best advice for you is to see an Epileptologist (specialist in epilepsy) at an Epilepsy Center you can usually find them at big or university hospitals, they can pinpoint the exact cause of your epilepsy.

Keep away from a lot of food with carbs. and starch in them because it can trigger seizures and start taking vitamin B12 once a day this helps calms the nerves down. Also keep a journal and write down what time she has any seizures along with a description by doing this the Dr. may see a pattern in the seizures. Also when in the theater watching a movie, avoid seeing the flashing lights by turning her head and closing your eyes.

Please keep us up to date on your situation. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hi Mimir,

Welcome to the forum! What you are describing sounds like a simple parital sz. also known as a (aura sz.). I get them often right before I have a absence or complex partial sz. I have found that the moment this starts to tighten up all the muscles in my body and it will stop the sz. also if I look at a dark color this will stop the sz. also.
You are correct CP and epilepsy do sometimes connect with each other. I have worked with students that have CP in public school so I understand where you are coming from.
As Darlene mentioned keep track of your sz. and also take note of when you start and stop your monthly cycle because often hormones changing each month will trigger sz. for many women. I found that taking the drug Diamox 5 days before my cycle helped reduce my sz. greatly.
Be sure to see an Epileptologist also they have a lot more experience in epilepsy than many neurologist do. Here's wishing you only the best and May God Bless You!

Sue