EEG and coffee??

[Inaara]

Ok, there might be a thread somewhere on this, but...uh...well, I'll be honest and tell you that my brain's not working well enouh right now for me to try and process looking for it, so sorry if it's already here, you can bop me later.

Last two times I had EEGs done, no one said anything about not having coffee or tea or anything containing caffeine prior.

So I have another one in a few weeks before I see the new neurologist (actually, the same morning) and they've got on the notice, in big bold letter, no caffeine prior to the EEG.

Anyone know the deal with that and how come they've never mentioned it before now?

[Meetz1064]

Never had that one before. I'm told to do EVERYTHING that I normally do. *coughing* So I drink some coffee--granted, not as much--but I do drink some.

The reasoning is that they would like a "clean" picture of what your brainwaves look like without any extra toxins irritating them.

Have a great day!

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Inaara you naughty girl! Caffeine stimulates the nervous system. Adrenaline is released and the liver begins to emit stored blood sugar. Insulin is then released, and blood sugar drops below normal—a common seizure trigger. And caffeine can be a “stealth” drug, too. It can be found as an ingredient in medications, including some antihistamines and decongestants.

[Nakamova]

Caffeine has some slight effect on EEG in the theta and alpha bandwidths, so I assume that they are trying avoid anything that might add "noise" to the EEG.

[Inaara]

Well, ok, but I'm kinda with Meetz here - wouldn't it make a little more sense to get a clear picture of what my brain is gonna do on a normal day? You know, like every single day when I have a cup (that's one cup...) of coffee when I get up?

Kind aseems to defeat the purpose of the test to me to have me alter my normal routine. *scratches head* Cause, ummm, well...that's gonna give them a false reading in that not drinking that morning coffee like I do every other day ain't gonna paint a normal picture of what my brain's doing every other morning, is it?

*sigh* seems odd to me is all...

[Crystal11]

I too like my one cup of coffee in the morning, but still I wasn't allowed to have any at all during my EEG. They don't want any kind of stimulant going through my system and then try to measure brain waves. It might create artifcates which can make reading harder. Also you won't be able to going into stages of sleep, such as stage one or mild sleep that happens during you EEG. They want to see your natural brain waves, not ones that are mildly stimuated.

Take care
Crystal