Dechi
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
While going to Dr Hyde’s office today, I had a visual hallucination. I was going 120km/h on the highway and saw a female deer running towards me, on the left hand side. I was startled, but no other car driver seemed to notice it. Then I looked in my rear view mirror, expecting the see the deer get hit by one of the many cars on the highway, but there was nothing. Not on the sideway, not on the highway. Nowhere.
Then I realized there was no deer. I was freaking out because for the past 2-3 months I had been having auditory hallucinations. I know they weren’t real noises, because I always had a witness to confirm they did not happen. To me it’s the same as a real noise, just like the deer looked like the real thing. So I probably have even more when I am alone, but don’t know it.
I told Dr Hyde about that and he immediately said he knew what it was. He explained they were not hallucinations, because hallucinations are not real. What I have is real, it’s auditory and visual seizures caused by my brain injuries, and the output is a real image and real sound, produced by my brain. I have moderate to very severe hypoperfusion on many parts of the brain due to the enterovirus infection that led to ME.
Dr Hyde says I could take anti-convulsion medications, but he would rather I don’t unless it becomes severe. He also gave me the name of a neurologist who specializes in those and treats another one of his patients, who has them so severe he cannot function. He asked me if I also have olfactory hallucinations, but unless somebody tells me it’s not real, I can’t know. My brain is just “ printing “ random visual, auditory and olfactory memories, for whatever reason, and I can’t tell the difference. The deer probably happened because I saw a deer crossing sign and unconsciously worried about it.
Dr Hyde also noticed on my brain map from the SPECT scan that I had a severe lesion on the right side, near my eye, that was due to an “ almost “ stroke. He was right on, because I lost my vision in the right eye in 2014 and doctors thought I had a small stroke. So everything holds together.
I am relieved because I thought I was starting dementia, but this is scary stuff also...
I thought it would be interesting to share. Maybe others have it too, since apparently it’s not uncommon in ME patients.
Then I realized there was no deer. I was freaking out because for the past 2-3 months I had been having auditory hallucinations. I know they weren’t real noises, because I always had a witness to confirm they did not happen. To me it’s the same as a real noise, just like the deer looked like the real thing. So I probably have even more when I am alone, but don’t know it.
I told Dr Hyde about that and he immediately said he knew what it was. He explained they were not hallucinations, because hallucinations are not real. What I have is real, it’s auditory and visual seizures caused by my brain injuries, and the output is a real image and real sound, produced by my brain. I have moderate to very severe hypoperfusion on many parts of the brain due to the enterovirus infection that led to ME.
Dr Hyde says I could take anti-convulsion medications, but he would rather I don’t unless it becomes severe. He also gave me the name of a neurologist who specializes in those and treats another one of his patients, who has them so severe he cannot function. He asked me if I also have olfactory hallucinations, but unless somebody tells me it’s not real, I can’t know. My brain is just “ printing “ random visual, auditory and olfactory memories, for whatever reason, and I can’t tell the difference. The deer probably happened because I saw a deer crossing sign and unconsciously worried about it.
Dr Hyde also noticed on my brain map from the SPECT scan that I had a severe lesion on the right side, near my eye, that was due to an “ almost “ stroke. He was right on, because I lost my vision in the right eye in 2014 and doctors thought I had a small stroke. So everything holds together.
I am relieved because I thought I was starting dementia, but this is scary stuff also...
I thought it would be interesting to share. Maybe others have it too, since apparently it’s not uncommon in ME patients.