Intense Deja Vu, followed by lightheadedness and strange feeling

Pete, a year later I have a reply for you. I have had these same symptoms, and both times after a cleanse that resulted in blooming of a certain gut bacteria. Apparently, from the research I've done, a lot of these deja vu/passing out episodes are related to the gut. Go figure.

I've had two such episodes recently. It was as if some innocuous event in the real world, like watching my bike tyre go round, seeing a particular house or tracks in the mud, trigger some sort of lost memory - or rather, the sensation of having a memory, like a deja vu event, but very confined (e.g. a flashcard memory of writing a sentence on my laptop, or having said something to someone). Trying to recall the memory makes me feel sick and I get a rush to my head. I described it to a friend as feeling as if I had holes in my memory and things were pouring in and out. It's like I can't form memories of my thoughts as well - my episodic memory is fine (I can remember where I've been and what I've done, etc.) but I can't pin down the memory of what I was thinking. The feeling passes quite quickly and afterwards I feel I need a little nap. But I don't get headaches or any other symtoms, such as auras. Just a feeling afterwards of my body having been through something. The first time I had this sensation was after a toxic reaction to raw shiitake mushrooms (coupled with something called "shiitake flagellate dermatitis" - look it up: it nearly ended my marriage!) and the one the other day came after eating quite a lot of edible mushrooms (horn of plenty) that I'd picked, cleaned and dried myself. So I'm wondering if it could be some kind of toxicity thing. Anyway, it's a little disturbing but at least I can function normally!

I have the exact same symptoms - so glad I found this site.

I'm female and 51 and had my first episode yesterday. It freaked me out so much I typed my symptoms into google and cannot believe so many people have it too! Today I had three deja vu attacks then my whole body goes into an adrenaline rush and I feel dizzy and confused.....very upsetting too.

I have the exact same thing happen to me...every single time I get the feeling of dejar vu...i get sick to my stomach and puke.ive always wondered why because I've never heard of this happening to anyone else...i am also diagnosed with epilepsy...so it could be related to my epilepsy..which I never knew....or I'm also diagnosed with anxiety disorder....so it could be from that too...but I'll definitely be going to my doctor to figure it out...thanks for posting about this because now I know I am not alone

Hi, I'm 22 and I've experienced little deja vu feelings randomly throughout my life, usually a dream is remembered by a being in a similar scenario as the dream which causes the deja vu for me. Then a couple years ago I got a really intense deja vu, I had gotten my license and fixed a car I had had sitting for years to be my first car. As I stood there watching the motor run it hit me I had had a dream of that before and I felt nausa in the pit of my stomach and felt as though I'd throw up and felt distant from reality for the rest of the day, like my mind was somewhere else. Today it happened again and I felt the same way, then it happened twice more, being caused by a random youtube video with a similar situation I dreamed and then a thought that caused me to remember and entire dream, all in the same couple hours. Really strange, especially since they became less related to the actual dream, but still as intense. I think the intense deja vu feeling is caused by remembering forgotten thoughts or memories, more importantly those stored in the dream sections of your mind, the part that's active while you sleep. Like you can remember dreams and feelings when you wake but they fade. Then during the deja vu all of those come back as if that part is active or sharing information with your conscious mind, causing the feeling of being distant since all of your mind is focusing of memory retrieval and trying to figure out the what cause the deja vu and where you remember it from. Just my thoughts, I was just really put off by how intense the feeling is and the physical reaction, as if my brain is too focused to control my body haha.

I have this experience occasionally since as long as I can remember I'm 18 now!! It's hard to explain it to others!! I really want to know the cause!!

I have had exactly the same over past 7 years although I use to pass out? now it's all the above but I am not fainting? my daughter saw my last blackout/fit/faint? and said my eyes where you in my head? the doctor says this could still be fainting?

Thank you for your feedback nothing came up on the brain scan and neurologist signed me off with severe day dreaming???

Hey BrownCow, my experience has some similarities to yours. I am 50 years old and have been getting these every couple of months with varying intensity since I was 16. Although for the first year or so after they started, I could get several per week.

They are still the same today as they were 34 years ago, the only difference now is that I think I have gotten a little more used to them and really want to understand and make sense of the deja vu.

In the early days when I was having one, I felt I had to get out of the room or stop whatever I was doing. I think this was just me trying to get away from the intense feeling, which didn't help as it just had to run its course.

I've also had them while driving, but I am still able to concentrate. I get them while talking to people and they say I just go blank for a bit.

The trigger is always a mix of:
- Sound (music or something someone is saying)
- What I am seeing
How I feel while its happening:
- I know without reservation that I have dreamt this exact scenario (feeling only, I probably never did)
- I begin to sweat heavily
- If it is an intense deja vu, I get the sharp white shapes that others have described flashing in my vision
- Intense nausia
- I have an intense desire for it to stop, but I also have a just as intense desire for it to continue so I can understand the dream
When it stops (usually around 30 seconds)
- Still sweating
- Breathing deeply so I don't puke
- Trying not to pass out
When it dissipates (5 minutes or more afterwards)
- I feel dazed,light headed and exhausted
- I sometimes get a headache afterwards (not a migraine)
- I can't concentrate on anything
- I feel like I 'knew' it was coming for the past couple of days
- I can feel vague for a day or two later

It's all about the dream...
How I feel about them now is very different to when I was young. As intense and debilitating as they can be, I almost look forward to them because the intense dream like deja vu makes me feel like everything at this moment in time makes perfect sense, like I am able to get just a glimpse of another world that has all of the answers, and want more. It sounds ridiclulous but this is exactly how it feels, and these days I look forward to the feeling.

However, I actually think this has to be some kind of small seizure and what I am feeling is just a symptom. I think this is confirmed by the fact it affects my vision, and that I am so exhaused afterwards.

At this point in my life I am kinda okay with it. Maybe one day we will get an answer.

I'm also glad that this thread shows I'm not alone. Thanks to everyone that has posted their experience.

I also think it is related to a dream. You are the first one to mention this. I feel like I am reliving a dream, exactly!

I really thought I was crazy and wondered if this happened to anyone else. It happened so intensely to me this morning I just had to search and see if others experience this. It is a mixture of feelings often hard to define but I remain afraid to tell others for fear they ill think I am bonkers. This morning it happened while pouring coffee. Flashes of visions that I seemed to have dreamed but also so real in the present. Dizziness, tingling , nausea, blurred vision and overwhelming anxiety. Thought I would pass out fir a moment. Always fleeting but seems to haunt me the rest of the day.

Hi Twisty, your experience is closest to mine.
I'm 62 man. Most of these events happened while at my desk in my work office. A very intense feeling of Deja-vu would come over me quickly, with an intense burning smell. Very weird, but I would embrace it initially and go into in a dream-like state. I was still in reality, but almost a fog-like state. This would last maybe 1 minute, then I would see (imagine) a grinning man popping up from the next cubicle, who would smile at me. I would then withdraw from the episode, sweating profusely, and feeling nauseous, not being able to remember things during the episode. So strange. I had this happen maybe 25 times, the last time being about 20 years ago. Told my family doctor, he just gave me a strange look.

This condition is so crazy and it seems more common than I ever knew. I recall going to Club Med in Turks and Caicos for a week about 25 years ago, and this thing happened to me every day, almost like I had dreamt of each moment before the trip. Why can’t anyone help us with some sort of diagnosis?? It’s so uncomfortable and debilitating. Luckily, I don’t have an episode more than once a year lately but I dread having them at all.

OK so it's been a little less than one month since I have seen my neurologist I think it's really important to get good doctors that listen and take you seriously. In the past I have never had doctors who have doubted me but it was really refreshing for the neurologist to understand what I was going through. I had a fear that I would walk into my appointment and he would tell me I'm perfectly fine and send me home. Right off the bat he told me that exactly what I'm describing is a textbook description of complex partial seizures. Except they would be simple partial seizures instead because I do not lose consciousness or have impaired awareness during my episodes. My neurologist started me on a low-dose of Keppra that I take twice daily. My EEG and MRI came back normal which he described is good because that means my case is not severe and it's not due to something crazy like a brain tumor or scarring of tissue in my brain.

My questions to my neurologist were Can these seizures progress into grand mall seizures he said the likeliness is very low because my MRI does not show any type of damage or signs that it would progress.

The only time that my episodes would be an emergency is if I actually start convulsing.

I asked if my memory would get better. He didn't give me a definitive answer and just told me he hopes it will get better. At my initial appointment he found a good term for my memory issues which is called "word finding difficulty". Ever since I had a large number of episodes I have trouble with words im trying to use while speaking and writing even something as simple as the word "pan" while talking about cooking.

I have a journal to write things down. I have not had an episode since 9/5/2017 which i had 9 episodes that day. I never paid attention to the frequency of when they would occur so not sure if the medicine is keeping them at bay or if i just haven't had an episode yet.

I have felt triggers while on the medicine (500mg Keppra) but they felt very small and no episode occurred after the "trigger".

For now the treatment will be medication. My dosage will depend on the frequency or occurrence of my episodes more episodes means I will have an increased dosage of the medication. I have a prescription for the next 8months.

Will update later.