We don't have his full Doctor's assessment.  The fact that he? still gets
Petit Mals (Deja Vu)  while taking their medication, is not a sufficient
reason to throw out all the pills.
  They might still be controlling a far *worse Grand Mal or Complex Partial
(like I had) and the occasional Deja Vu might just be a sign where their
blood levels of medication get too low, or other outside influences are
bringing them on.  Without the medications, the Deja can be a precursor to a
stronger seizure.   Mine were, before they were controlled.
  I think this was the thread where they listed 3 seizure medications
they're using? although it's not on this message I hooked onto.   I've only
used Dilantin (without success) of the 3 listed, if this is the message I
saw.    The other 2 I'm not familiar with.   But their Doctor is.  Some of
the meds. (like Tegretol) can produce worse seizures if someone were to
promptly stop them, just because someone told them to.
  When I was close to full control (1996/7) I had periods where I'd get the
odd Deja Vu once or twice a week, over a period of 1-2 months, but we kept
at the same dosing rate, and over time they reduced and then stopped.   I
haven't needed to adjust the dose levels I'm using since then.
   Stopping taking my pills, 'just because' isn't a reasonable risk for me,
imo. I've spent my last trip (I hope) to Emerg.  G./

I take sodium valproate (epilim), but still get them about once a month or
sometimes more often, exactly as Fishbone (strange name ;-) ) wrote. The
epilim doesn't seem to suppress them at all for me.
They're often very detailed and I even had one whilst listening to
somebody's conversation and told my wife exactly what the other person was
going to reply and then what would be said back to them. Was 100% correct.
Now THAT was weird.
It doesn't bother me having them though. They don't cause any harm, present
any danger or discomfort and aren't visible to those watching, so whenever
they occur I just think to myself "whoa, that's odd".
As Mary said, there are a lot worse things to be experiencing.

Cheers,
Darryl.

In article <TtWdna8WbOguZzrfRVn-3w@comcast.com>,
da_fishbone@yahooNOSPAM.com says...

Sorry, but you're way wrong. I _had_ DejaVu seizures. I'm post-op now.
No amygdala, no problem. No hippoocamus, No problem. I described mine as
more of a "pre-load" occuring. Even deja-vu's cause sclerosis (dead
neurons)with each new seizure, further weakening the brain's defenses
for preventing/minimizing the next one, as well as exacerbating memory
loss and emotional lability. When you have a MRI/head study and they use
the epilepsy protocol (there ARE others) when they "slice" you, the
mesial temporal lobe damage is very evident. If you think you're
unscathed, wait till you have a Wada test. I only had DV's for 4
decades.
<snip>

I guess that rules me out - I've only been having deja-vu's three decades.

Darryl.

<unsnip>
6 years ago after I dropped 150 pounds and my energy level went
through the roof, so did the strength and frequency of my seizures
<spit>. I was also losing the ability to recognize people, or getting
the feeling that everyone looked familiar, some of the time. Quote from
neuro: "That makes perfect sense. That's right where your seizures
are." <grrr>  My "nausea" (aura) tasted like a combination of old sock,
raw potato, and cardboard, in addition to that feeling in the pit of the
stomach. Seizures now past tense. My e-mail address means "Wherever You
Go There You Are" & Who Am I This Time.

I just did a post on this thread about what a Simple Partial aura to a Right
Temporal Lobe-based seizure is like.
  Where did you get the reference below about the 'dead brain cells' (below
**s below) ?

In article <TtWdna8WbOguZzrfRVn-3w@comcast.com>,
da_fishbone@yahooNOSPAM.com says...

Sorry, but you're way wrong. I _had_ DejaVu seizures. I'm post-op now.
No amygdala, no problem. No hippoocamus, No problem. I described mine as
more of a "pre-load" occuring.

*** G. *** Below is what I asked for reference to.  Deja Vu is an electrical
Simple Partial Seizure starting in the Right Temporal Lobe.  It doesn't
involve the other brain parts you quote?
  Most of my seizures were in 1993-7.  They're controlled now by pills and
haven't 'degenerated further' as you suggest in next paragraph.   Quite the
reverse, I have little to no auras or any of the 'brain fog' that were part
of the period quoted above when the seizures were most disruptive. /

Even deja-vu's cause sclerosis (dead
neurons)with each new seizure, further weakening the brain's defenses
for preventing/minimizing the next one, as well as exacerbating memory
loss and emotional lability.

**G.***  Memory loss can come from pre-existing damage to either of the
Temporal Lobes (mine is Right T.Lobe).  Seizures aren't producing the memory
effects, the damage (pre-existing?)  to the T.Lobe can produce memory
effects, and trigger seizures if the electrical firing is not controlled. /

When you have a MRI/head study and they use
the epilepsy protocol (there ARE others) when they "slice" you, the
**mesial temporal lobe damage is very evident. If you think you're
unscathed, wait till you have a Wada test.

***G.* An MRI measures damage down to fractions of a mm. Mine measured
damage to Rt. T.Lobe done by Encephalitis, which later was where my Complex
Partial seizures started.
 Isn't the mesial area a separate part *from the Temporal lobes?  This is
the first post (since 1998) I've seen it used at the same time as references
to temporal lobes. (**s I put above). /

I only had DV's for 4
decades. 6 years ago after I dropped 150 pounds and my energy level went
through the roof, so did the strength and frequency of my seizures
<spit>. I was also losing the ability to recognize people, or getting
the feeling that everyone looked familiar, some of the time. Quote from
neuro: "That makes perfect sense. That's right where your seizures
are." <grrr>  My "nausea" (aura) tasted like a combination of old sock,
raw potato, and cardboard, in addition to that feeling in the pit of the
stomach.
**G.*** The aura you describe above (sometimes with a Jamais Vu sensation)
is listed as one of the possible symptoms of a Simple Partial aura (seizure)
that is starting in the *left side Temporal Lobe, as opposed to its twin the
Right T.Lobe that produces a sour, lemon taste and **deja vu.
  'grrrr'  all you want, but the symptoms you had the Dr. said? were
confirmed by the tests they ran.

 The Temporal Lobes are the 'short term memory buffers' where new learning
and experiences go first.  *If that area is disrupted it will affect
learning, recognizing friends, etc. you list in para. above.  The part above
between <spit> and <grrr> was a perfectly accurate assessment of where your
seizures likely occur.  It's a **far less invasive way to assess internal
electrical activity than putting you into the Operating Theatre to have a
look.  I don't see why that becomes a 'grrrr' treatment.

   What stopped your seizures you mention below, the surgery at top?  They
removed 2 parts of your brain to treat the type of seizures you were having
and now they're gone? -- your comment below.   So while someone might be
able to use pills to treat their type, you and your Doctor chose a surgical
solution.   That doesn't make either one 'better'  than any other.
Whatever works is good for me.  Your's might have been a more invasive type
that required more extensive treatment than some of the rest of us need, for
full control.    G./

Seizures now past tense. My e-mail address means "Wherever You
Go There You Are" & Who Am I This Time.

No amygdala, no problem. No hippoocamus, No problem. I described mine as
more of a "pre-load" occuring. Even deja-vu's cause sclerosis (dead
neurons)with each new seizure, further weakening the brain's defenses
for preventing/minimizing the next one, as well as exacerbating memory
loss and emotional lability.

I'm not sure what you're meaning when you saysomething is wrong.Yes, sure,
every episode in the brain causes sclerosis: drinking (I'm not giving up my
wine with my evening meal): thinking; working; living ... So?

None of us is immortal, we have to live every minute to the full. Well, I
do, having had three brushes with the Grim Reaper and staring him out ...
I'm certainly not going to take drugs to stop something the effect of which
is as unimportant as, say, running to catch the post or staying up until
4.30 am after a very grown up party as I did last weekend. Up at 8 and loved
every minute of it.

If it affects my future reasoning, well, so be it.That bus might get me
before I forget it.

Mary

When you have a MRI/head study and they use
the epilepsy protocol (there ARE others) when they "slice" you, the
mesial temporal lobe damage is very evident. If you think you're
unscathed, wait till you have a Wada test. I only had DV's for 4
decades. 6 years ago after I dropped 150 pounds and my energy level went
through the roof, so did the strength and frequency of my seizures
<spit>. I was also losing the ability to recognize people, or getting
the feeling that everyone looked familiar, some of the time. Quote from
neuro: "That makes perfect sense. That's right where your seizures
are." <grrr>  My "nausea" (aura) tasted like a combination of old sock,
raw potato, and cardboard, in addition to that feeling in the pit of the
stomach. Seizures now past tense. My e-mail address means "Wherever You
Go There You Are" & Who Am I This Time.