I’ve recently read on various posts that deja vu could be related to an AVM. Is this true? I have suffered from really strong feelings of deja vu for as long as I can remember. So strong that I felt as if I had definitely experienced things before, dreamt it or lived it in a parallel universe (yes, i know I should stay away from the sci-fi). Does anyone know of an explanation for this? Does anyone else have the same thing?
Deja vu does not indicate that the person experiencing the feeling an AVM (or any type of brain trauma for that matter). If it did, then just about everyone in the world would be dealing with AVMs, brain tumors, strokes or something else along the same lines. Deja vu has been medically studied and a connection has been drawn between epilepsy, damage to the left temporal lobe and a sense of deja vu right at the onset of seizures. That being said, deja vu has also been tied with things like schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, a result of taking various types of medication, etc. However, there are many many people that do not meet any of these descriptions, yet still have the feeling of deja vu. From a more psychological standpoint, it is beleived that deja vu is based on things that you have already experienced, but may not consiously remember. Think about all of the things that you do, see, hear, read, dream and so on. As many of these things as you may vividly remember, there are probably far more that you experienced but never gave a second thought.
Now, think about the opposite… Doing or saying something a million times, then suddenly not being able to recall the word or even a name. Does this mean you are developming Alzheimer’s? Possibly, but again, just about everyone experiences this type of event, but not everyone is losing their memory.
Given the fact that you have been diagnised with an AVM does mean that your frequent feeling of deja vu could be surred by the damage to your occipital lobe, but the occipital lobe is not commonly known as a region of the brain that has to do with memory, so to have deja vu triggered in the occiptal lobe sounds a bit unusual. However, I have read that trauma to the occipital lobe can cause visual hallucinations, which makes me wonder if the deja vu feeling is in some way related to specific visual reminders.
I have had deja vu for as long as i can remember. I do have seizures mild but still there. And my avm is in the left temporal lobe. So all that combined is probably why i feel the same way as you. Although i havent had it happen in awhile. Occasionally i still do. Hope this helps Andrea
Been There…Done That. Do not want to go there again. Had a pizza delivered, the man looked idential to the guy I had dreamed about the night before…it was just someone that for some odd reason, I had remembered from childhood that our family had met at the beach while on vacation. Never mentioned to dream to anyone…no reason to…it was goofy.
Odd part: A few days later…pizza is delievered and we are just stood there staring at each other. He asked me if I believed. Needless to say, I was still staring and wondering if I had lost my mind…so tempted to ask my husband to help me, but not wanting to ask for help in front of this guy. The conversation continued right there in front of my husband and mother-in-law as well. I told him a few things, he told me a few things that were exact word for word…even his clothes were exact. At one point he even told me what I would say next. Of course by this point, I really did believe I was losing my mind and needed medical attention.
This is the first time I have really talked about this with anyone other than my husband (20+ years ago when it took place). I don’t know if it is what they call deja vu or not, but whatever it is, I sure don’t want to go though it again . Although the guy was very nice, polite, etc…it left me filling a bit odd…as if someone was reading my life right in front of my own eyes. Needless to mention…after the shock wore off, I still had a hard time getting past it.
(AVM Left Temp with multiple clips…operation in 85, stroke, aneursyms…skull sunk a tad bit in the very front/left area…)
(Stereotactic approx 2-3 weeks ago for remainder of AVM found and another aneursym)
Things that are diff since 1985…speech/words get mixed up …mushroom/marshmellow, cream cheese/sour cream, house/horse, etc. Once in a while when laying down to sleep, it feel odd…I get a feeling as if when a plane and you get that first feeling of speed, only last a few seconds, I know to immediately lay on my back because I am going to have a really hard jerk. Usually in one arm or one leg. once in a while, the entire body had jerked. When that happens the jerk is approx 15 seconds to 1 minutes apart. Other than that, the usual dull stab in head, headaches, right eye blurry at times and draining, eye-lids twitch at times, blood in eyes once in a while (but never external), diabetic type II. Never did retain well with books, etc. however I do retain with watching something. Bets the heck out of me why I have always been this way. on many different meds. Do not have seizures (that i am aware of)
Turns out my AVM is in the temporal lobe not the occipital lobe as I was originally told. I guess the deja vu makes more sense now
Yes, it certainly does!
did that incident happen before or after the 85 operation?
if it was before then i can almost conclude that your AVM gave you ESP, if nothing has happened since then it most definitely did, that is the whole reason i dont want mine operated on, to be frank id rather die than live impaired, there are a LOT of things doctors or science can't explain; great story i wish i had read this sooner, thanks!
I was spending a bit of time on the Epilepsy Foundation website and saw that deja vu is recognized as one manifestation of "psychic seizures" and as such should be reported to your neuro:
Psychic seizures:
These seizures change how people think, feel, or experience things.
They may have problems with memory, garbled speech, an inability to find the right word, or trouble understanding spoken or written language.
They may suddenly feel emotions like fear, depression, or happiness with no outside reason.
Some may feel as though they are outside their body or may have feelings of déja vu ("I've been through this before") or jamais vu ("This is new to me"— even though the setting is really familiar).