Anyone had a normal EEG

[Mav455]

My neurologist said my EEG was normal but I still have epilepsy. Anyone else had this result? What does it mean?

 

[arnie]

I've always had normal EEGs. It's actually quite common for the EEG not to pick up anything unless there is abnormal activity happening while you are hooked in to the EEG stuff. That's why they will do multi-hour or multi-day EEGS, in the hope of getting the abnormal activity. I decided once that it's like my cats: I can walk into the room at ten random times during the day and they're asleep by the heater, but I know they are active sometimes because their food and water dishes get emptier, their kitty litter box gets fuller, and cat fur is spread around. To make sure they actually do move I either have to be in the room long enough or set up a camera. How's that for a different sort of analogy?
Even with an abnormal EEG they can't always tell just where the seizure focus is.

 

[lindsayschu2]

Yes, I've only had two EEGs--one was normal, but they concluded I was epileptic anyway. The second was a couple of weeks ago during a higher seizure episode, and it was abnormal (I was having auras in the waiting room so I wasn't surprised).

 

[Nakamova]

Some kinds of epilepsy show characteristic abnormal brainwaves whether you have a seizure or not. Other kinds (esp. simple partials and seizures that originate in the frontal and temporal lobes) can be too brief or too deep to register properly on an EEG. Approx. 10%-15% of patients with epilepsy never show epileptiform discharges on their EEGs. For this reason, the actual symptoms are the primary method neurologists use (or should use) to make an epilepsy diagnosis.

 

[MAB]

Some kinds of epilepsy show characteristic abnormal brainwaves whether you have a seizure or not. Other kinds (esp. simple partials and seizures that originate in the frontal and temporal lobes) can be too brief or too deep to register properly on an EEG. Approx. 10%-15% of patients with epilepsy never show epileptiform discharges on their EEGs. For this reason, the actual symptoms are the primary method neurologists use (or should use) to make an epilepsy diagnosis.

I wish I had known all this 3 1/2 years ago when I started having partial seizures immediately after having a small stroke. The partial seizures mimicked so many of the same symptoms of the stroke that I spent over 3 years being treated for TIA's instead of seizures. Since starting treatment for the seizures, the number of seizures has been reduced drastically.

 

[Nakamova]

Unfortunately, it's all too common for partial seizures to be misdiagnosed. It sucks that you had to wait 3 years to start getting some relief.

 

[MAB]

My neurologist said my EEG was normal but I still have epilepsy. Anyone else had this result? What does it mean?

My first neuro did an EEG and it was normal. He dismissed the possibility of seizures after that. Thankfully I found another neuro that knew better than the the first.

 

[N Sperlo]

The last video EEG I had showed a normal EEG, but the video evidence showed signs of epilepsy. I've had mostly normal EEGs, but when I was diagnosed, I was having irregular EEGs.