abnormal eeg

[swimmifish]

this is really weird but for 2 years now I have been somewhat disabled. I avoid stores like walmart with bright flourescent lights and i should not even be driving.

over summer i was diagnosed with an abnormal eeg with a high risk for seizure. The medication i am on does not seem to be helping.

The symptoms I have may or may not be related to my abnormal EEG but i am unsure how serious this is and what i can possibly do to help my situation besides seeing a doctor. I have already seen several doctors and none to know exactly what im going through and i am about to not have insurance because my dads company filed bankruptcy.

my symptoms are out of the blue i feel strange as if i was very confused and unsure of my surroundings. I feel severely detached as if i am not connected to my surrounds. Familiar places seem like i have not seen them before. My family as if i dont recognize them. This happens several times a day. I never lose my memory but i seem to lose my sense of awareness.

There are times when i have had it so bad i felt 100 percent gone and i had dropped to the floor screaming and i thought id never come back to reality. Other times i was only partially disconnected. A few days ago my mom woke me surprisingly from a nap and as soon as i woke i felt confused and ran to my closet saying "Stop! Stop ! Stop"

some of these symptoms are not normal of a seizure and i dont know what it can be. has anyone experienced this or know how i can keep calm or deal with this without becoming disabled? I like to swim and i want a real job not to be confined to my house and my parents care.

[broccolichick]

I suggest in the middle of one of these 'episodes' you go to an emergency room. I don't know the status of your healthcare but if you don't have any or are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid you will not have to worry about it.

[swimmifish]

thanks broccoli chick for your advice. I forgot to say that when it is only somewhat detached or confused i can still function normally without anyone to notice anything was wrong unless they knew me well. I just seem to have excess fear. but during the times i feel 100 percent gone like the time i was awoken from my nap or drop to the ground i can not function. most of the time it remains in this just somewhat feeling strange stage,

[hoodedclawjen]

sounds like a variation on a petit-mal/absence seizure to me. i think seeing as you still do have the insurance, go get stuff seen to NOW- find an epilepsy support group online, or via a specialist, for a start. they might have suggestions for different drug treatments, strategies, studies you can get involved in, etc.

[broccolichick]

thanks broccoli chick for your advice. I forgot to say that when it is only somewhat detached or confused i can still function normally without anyone to notice anything was wrong unless they knew me well. I just seem to have excess fear. but during the times i feel 100 percent gone like the time i was awoken from my nap or drop to the ground i can not function. most of the time it remains in this just somewhat feeling strange stage,

Honestly it does not sound like a seizure disorder to me (though I'm not a clinician, I majored in neuroscience). I would recommend still you seek emergency help in the middle of such an episode or go to a neurologist.

[Tori~CL]

Sounds like Panic/anxiety disorder from what you described. The flourescent lights can always send a 'panic feeling'.

Actually everything you described sounds like it to me.

[Pixelle]

my symptoms are out of the blue i feel strange as if i was very confused and unsure of my surroundings. I feel severely detached as if i am not connected to my surrounds. Familiar places seem like i have not seen them before. My family as if i dont recognize them. This happens several times a day. I never lose my memory but i seem to lose my sense of awareness.

I'd say that you may be experiencing depersonalisation/derealisation syndrome. It's a feeling of "unrealness" and being outside of your own body but watching yourself, almost as if you are in a movie - a feeling of being disconnected as you described. It can be very scary. It is usually the result of stress and anxiety and can be related to the panic disorder as Tori mentioned. Quite often nocturnal panic attacks can be involved, which may be why you freaked out when your mum woke you from sleep that time.

Most of the time, depersonalisation/derealisation will pass on it's own but sometimes it can come and go for several years. I know through my own work that most general medical practitioners don't know a great deal about this syndrome so you will be better off getting your doctor to refer you to a psychologist if you are at all concerned. You can read a fairly uncomplicated description of the syndrome here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder) at wiki if you care to. :)

[Tori~CL]

Agree about depersonalisation/derealisation feeling. It's the worst of the worst scary feeling in the world. Yes, most pysc doctors understands what this means.