Eeg

[nic]

I had a prolonged EEG on Friday. This lasted two hours. She wanted to try and get me to sleep and after thinking I never would I did drop off for a few seconds a few times. When I sleep I get one of body jerks that wake me up. What is this?
What exactly do they look for on an EEG.. I know very little about this.
Any replies would help.. Thanks. Nic

 

[lindsayschu2]

Those could be a number of things--many many people have those that are not related to epilepsy, and they are called 'hypnic jerks.' Some people do have myoclonic jerks in sleep and during sleep transitions (such as falling asleep or transitioning from very light sleep to deeper sleep, or waking) that are related to epilepsy--I am one of those. You will have to wait to see if yours were related to epilepsy or not depending on EEG results. They look for different wave patterns that indicate abnormal electrical activity in the brain, and where these abnormal waves might be coming from in the brain to help them to determine what type of epilepsy you may be having. These abnormal waves aren't necessarily seizures themselves, just indications that you may have epilepsy. Sometimes EEGs are normal even in the presence of epilepsy, so good neuros look for other clinical symptoms to get a full picture of what is going on with you. Let us know how it comes out.

 

[nic]

Also I was told I have an abnormal brain nodule. Could this be the cause of the onset of my very frequent seizures?
Thanks

 

[masterjen]

I very occasionally have hypnic jerks as I am falling asleep and I also have myoclonics. For me they feel very different. They also occur at different times of the night, where myoclonics typically wake me in the night well after I have been asleep. I also can have myoclonics in light sleep, such as during a nap in the daytime, but again they feel different than a hypnic jerk. For me the hypnic jerk typically feels like my head has suddenly jerked, or that I am falling and I suddenly jerk myself awake.

 

[lindsayschu2]

I agree with Jen, I can tell the difference as well. My hypnic jerks are usually just one jerk that happens just as I am falling asleep. If it is a myoclonic, it might also happen as I fall asleep--but it's more than one jerk--it's a series of fast, hard jerks in a number of muscles one after another that may last a while and have an electrical intensity about them that feels like I was plugged into a socket. My myos also wake me from sleep.