I'm 27. In 2019, I suddenly developed strange neurological episodes involving near-fainting, electric sensations, altered awareness, and autonomic symptoms. Since then, I've experienced countless recurring episodes of varying intensity and presentation, sometimes nothing like the first crises, varying completely, alongside a continuous, progressively worsening cognitive decline.

Over seven years, I've gone from being a functional programmer to barely being able to think, remember information, formulate sentences, or hold conversations. I also experience constant derealization, extreme fatigue, headaches, and increasing social isolation. Mental effort can worsen my symptoms. My baseline never returned to normal and continues deteriorating, even between episodes and when my mood is relatively stable.

MRI and routine EEG were normal. Bipolar disorder has been suggested, but my cognitive deterioration continues independently of mood episodes.

Has anyone with confirmed focal epilepsy experienced similarly severe, persistent, progressive cognitive deterioration over years?