Temporal Lobe Seizures?

[Tito]

I appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I tried to make it as short as possible. I'm sorry it remains so long.

I am a 27 year old relatively healthy woman. I have had 3 diagnosed seizures in my life (1996, 2001, 2002) during which I lost consciousness and according to witnesses began making a choking type noise and having tremors. My doctor told me these things can happen randomly and we figured the trigger could have been pain. No further testing was done following any of them.

In 2006 I became pregnant with my first child and experienced the usual 'placenta brain', absentminded forgetfulness. She was born in Jan 07, and shortly after her birth I would wake up in the middle of the night with these strange episodes. It would begin with a 'butterfly feeling' in my stomach (much like that adrenaline rush feeling) it would progress with nausea (which gradually got worse as the episode progressed) and a deja vu type feeling. It was mainly something that took place in my head...it's extremely hard to describe. It's almost like I would have a flood of memories which would cause the deja vu type feeling except the memories weren't things that I consciously remember, it's almost as if they were memories of dreams. It almost seemed as though I would go into a trance. When the episode was over, I would be unable - as hard as I tried - to remember the thoughts I had during the episode. These episodes were generally 20seconds to 1 minute in length. I was still completely awake through them although I would be unable to carry on a conversation, I could still function with tasks as though on auto pilot. Following the episodes I felt almost surreal/disoriented almost like I had just been roused abruptly from a deep sleep.

The episodes happened only a few times then went away for a few months. I never thought anything of them at first. Then they began happening again this time during the day around June or July 07. They were unpredictable as to how often I would get them, but it seems they came in 3s. If I had one, I was guaranteed to have 2 more within a few hours. I don't recall ever having more than 3 a day. I went to see my family doctor who diagnosed the episodes as anxiety attacks and prescribed Remeron as I was also having problems with insomnia. I took the remeron once and could not stand the 'next day drowsiness' that it caused.

The answer my doctor had given me did not sit right with me as I had never once felt anxious or negative about these episodes, and had never felt any type of chest tightening or inability to breath. I went online searching for anyone else who experienced anxiety attacks like this. It took a few more months of the episodes happening on and off (around for a month or two gone for a month or two) before I joined an anxiety support group and after explaining my episodes as best as I could a lady came forward and told me she experienced episodes VERY similar. She called her episodes Temporal lobe seizures.

However, the episodes haven't returned (last one was around November 07) and I have thus not returned to my doctor or asked to see a neurologist as I'm under the impression seizures like these can only be diagnosed via EEG. I do randomly still get that disoriented type feeling (like I would following an episode) although I have nothing to attribute it to. My 'placenta brain' has never gone away. I now feel as though my memory resembles a large chunk of swiss cheese with missing memories and information that should be common knowledge to me. I recently discovered the the temporal lobes are responsible for housing some memories and I am wondering if maybe damage was caused during these 'short lived' episodes? I would also really appreciate any advice on whether it's worth requesting a specialist or finding a doctor willing to delve into it more since they are no longer happening. Thank you for your time.