Seizures or Depersonalization? Help!

[phil06]

Can anybody help?

Been googling again: http://www.epilepsy.com/101/ep101_Symptom + brain tumours.

My symptoms:

In the car as a passenger:

Head rush
Memory blanks
Feeling of unreality
Shaky

Can be when I'm on a walk with the dog too. Can last seconds, or ten mins...

When I go to work I am ok or on a driving lesson when my mind is not on it. Been to the doctors a few times and got Diazepam.

How do I know it's just DP and not more serious? my symptom of unreality has lasted six weeks on and off..

[crazyhayz]

i had DP on & off on a daily basis, for over 4 months. Til i had therapy and went on 20mg Citalopram. Im now on the road to recovery after having a complete nervous breakdown due to my severe health anxiety. You have NOT got epilepsy. If u did, u would know about it, trust me. My auntie has epilepsy and I can assure you 1000%, u are NOT having seizures. You are obviosuyl very much like i was few months back, you are pretty much constantly in a high state of anxiety. A neurologist explained to me (as did my therapist) that when we are iun such a high state of anxiety, the neurotransmitters in our brains are literally like 'standing on end' and rushing adrenalin through every nerve ending in our bodies. Hence why people get such odd feelings all over their body. Changing ur chain of thought, getting therapy and taking the right medication has helped me on my road to recovery, and you will get there too, trust me. Firstly, speak to ur GP about ur worries, and then ask for a referral for some CBT. Good luck to you.

[ep10]

I get DP and when I was a child once I had a seizure as an allergic reaction. They are completely different things.. but I do know from lots of personal experience that DP can be very scary :( but is generally harmless. Maybe talk to your doc about some anti anxiety meds.

[anthrokid]

I've had the exact same fears but my psychiatrist is also an experienced doctor that used to specialise in seizures and other brain stuff. He has garunteed me that the effects I experience (much like yours!) are not the same as those of siezures. Especially the fact that we are aware of it. That's the first indicator that it's not a seizure. Have another chat to your gp or something for some reassurance

[phil06]

I googled Temporal Lobe Epilepsy which has me worried as it says depersonalization is a symptom. (Found it on google)...

I have felt spaced out and anxious for the past few days nothing seems real. I'm terrified this is not just anxiety as I had depersonalization on and off before but now I feel overwhelmed by it...

When it's been bad my symptom is a head rush and each end of my head feels sore and if I think about it then it gets more intense and I feel so unreal..and right now I feel so strange on this planet all the time..I could not get a proper sleep last night due to it...these symptoms eased down a few weeks back but now they are back..and I'm worried as ever again...is it seizures!??

..Is there any way I can be sure it's anxiety?

[Worrier]

Phil,

You are your own worst enemy and you know it. So many times people have advised you in the chat room NOT to google but you still do it (I know it's hard not too, BUT you have to try).

The only way you are going to get better is to accept the anxiety, find a helpful way to deal with it and move on from it.

I think some really good counselling is the only way you will get past this constant worry. You said in chat the other day you weren't prepared to pay for counselling, but isn't some kind of relief from this torment you are in, worth it at any cost?

Worrier

[phil06]

It all got worse a few days ago when I thought about resitting my driving test as passing thoughts. I then got a surge like a head rush which triggered a state of depersonalization. I've now had it all day 24/7 for two days...I feel:

Foggy, spaced out, weird.
Flashing thoughts.
Disorientation or so it feels.
Very little can take my mind off it..I'm quite on the edge/unrelaxed.

For a few weeks it had kind of vanished as I had a few other symptoms of anxiety. I started researching and found all these and they sound so similar to depersonalization. I could go to the doctors 24/7 with how I feel right now but I may have to go get some private therapy.

I've become chronic with anxiety...I have worried about these seizure things all day before and I felt like terrible and now I feel it again and more so. And it's cycle...I'm so worried about my mind/brain worries me what I will think next, so much adrenaline, fear...I feel it's really took over me.

Sometimes I feel a purpose or need to google I just go ahead and do it then regret it. Then I say well I had to because I found some diagnosis and here I go sitting worrying..I could have it but I could have anything...even if it's just depersonalization It's not a steady symptom it's one that's really took over my life..I worry about it alot more than a general panic attack now... I'm not sleeping well now due to worrying!

[Belfry1973]

As a person who has had Temporal Lobe Epilepsy for over 25 years I can assure you, you would really know if it was a real seizure! If you have taken proper notice of the symptoms you will have noticed the following effects of the seizure proper, none of which you have described or experienced.
As is often the case you have picked out the symptoms that you match with your own and ignore the rest which show you dont have it! As Worrier says you are your own worse enemy and until you take a pause, think about and acknowledge what is really going on you are going to find it difficult to move on and will continue to torture yourself.

[NeverRelaxed]

I had this for at least 3 months constantly. From the minute I got up until when I went to bed. Such a horrible set of symptoms!

[phil06]

Sorry to being this up again but after a spell of other anxiety symptoms my depersonalization has came back again:

Basically..I felt when it was away I was alot more relaxed but felt a tiny bit depersonalized..but I came home from a night out early one symptom I got was on the bus "wow where am I?" and everything seemed unreal part of the reason I came home..since then worry has took over.

Tonight I started googling temporal lobe epilepsy again. Reading forums was worse as it says it can be similar to panic disorder. Many of the symptoms match depersonalization. What made me worry it was seizures was I'd get a head rush, feeling prominent veins, feeling unreal for 5 minutes very intense...at it's worst it made me agoraphobia about going out.

I have suffered DP since having anxiety however it was less intense I remember my old job light seemed funny, I'd feel a bit woozy and shake myself out it. This year it's been like 10 times worse.

I'll be honest and say all I can say to back up it may just be anxiety is:

Last week I was totally obsessed with my bowels, and later in the week i thought I was having a heart attack. I had these symptoms before but they just hit me, fresh and new.

So I have been thinking clearly this year the way I handle worry has changed. Rather than mildly worry I make a bigger deal out of it than it may be and feel a bit silly after it. But at the time the worry is very genuine and real to me.

Back to the worry I know there's tests you can get but don't want to overreact because the rate I worry I'd have a test for everything right now. But rather than be able to distract myself I sit worrying, worrying, worrying, I don't enjoy it but feel a requirement to worry, to check think of nothing else almost.

Do I really thing I have epilepsy? Maybe at worst of my panic..but the reason I am posting as I'm on the fence almost...between the posts not wanting to go out, feeling safe indoors, having these random attacks again. Now my head says I can't cope with these "so called anxiety symptoms"..they feel worse than the last DP over the years so maybe it is epilepsy? I don't think there's any major clear signs between depersonalization and epilepsy as they seem so similar?

Is there just something somebody can say to stop me feeling spaced and depersonalization and unreal? I wish for once I could put this worry to bed as I've had these attacks since May.