EEG...how often?

[hootie]

My son had his first EEG in November 2009. He had an MRI in January 2010. He has been on Depakote since December 2009.

His neurologist wants to do another EEG. Is it "normal" to do another EEG this soon? I am not seeing many absence seizures now that he has started Depakote.

I guess my concern is the glue used to stick the leads to his head...and the acetone used to take them off. He is very sensitive to things (I think he had a six-week regression with seizure activity and talking after the the anesthesia used for the MRI).

:huh:

 

[vapour]

I think so. I didnt know they had to do them on a regular basis either until recently.

My Neuro has ordered another EEG Ill be getting on april 26th (my b day grrrr)

Maybe its to see how well medicine is working.. or if anything else has changed.

They did an EEG when i was in the hospital recently on psych ward.. but I never got the results and cant get it from the hospital.. it takes time...

My other was in July last year.

Will be interesting to see what this one has to say.

My first was nov 2008 roughly.. that showed 2 spikes but they couldnt make a diagnosis based on that.. wasnt good enough.

The july one showed terrible seizure activity ((

I wonder if this one will be normal lol

 

[Rae1889]

i had one EEG in november, and then a second one on the 11th of this month. I'm 20yrs old and they did see some small 'blips' on the EEG the last time I did it. nothing too scary as I didnt think I had activity at all, other than some tingly chills during the light flashing part.

maybe just ask him what this will show? there is no sense on putting your boy through that all over again for a 'just cuz' answer.

 

[Nakamova]

I would definitely ask what the EEG is for. Sometimes they just push the tests without thinking. Not saying that's what's going on here, but since he's doing basically okay, what's the rush?

 

[hootie]

I'm sure the medicine is working because I am not seeing the daily absence seizures anymore. He only seems to have them when he is super tired (wakes at 3 or 4 am and does not go to bed until 8:30 or 9 pm) or if he is exposed to chemicals (hence the reason why I am questioning the need for the EEG so soon).

The original EEG showed about 140 spikes in the 44 hours measured. I only saw two seizures in this time period (once while inhaling the toxic fumes while he was getting hooked up and one about one half hour after).

Can I expect the spikes to be totally gone??? My guess is no.

My son is scheduled for the second EEG on April 16. We will have to compare "notes" when we get the results:tup:.

Vapour, it would be nice if you could get the hospital stay EEG results to compare to the one you will get next month. I do wonder if my son is having seizures when he is acting uncooperative and aggressive (he is 11 but has autism and is unable to answer questions about what might be going on).

 

[Meetz1064]

It all

depends on different factors about your son. Right now, I am YET AGAIN hooked up to another ambulatory EEG. I am NOT thrilled. I typically have them no more than once or twice a year, but in the last several years have had 4 or more.

Because your son is autistic, he does have a higher chance of having seizures. And he may be still having seizures that you don't recognize because of his autism, and I'm sure that the neuro is trying to rule that out now that his meds appear to be working quite well from your accounts.

Another thing to consider--is diet. Many autistic kids who have seizures are helped through diet as well. I DO know the complexities and rigors of trying to get an autistic child to change their routine--my youngest son has Asperger's. But it IS something to consider.

Now, if you'd like to have this bloomin' ambulatory EEG I'm wearing at the moment I'll happily share with you. I'm having to redo it because there was too much "artifact" (interference) last time. At least it's only 3 days this time, NOT 5. YIPPEE!!!

Take care!

Meetz
:rock:

 

[hootie]

Thanks, Meetz!

Sorry to hear that you have to go in for a re-do! At least it is not as long this time.

The diet factor is not new to me. Both my kids have multiple food allergies. My son that is on the spectrum was on the GF/CF diet when he regressed (due to my older son's dairy and wheat allergies it made it easier to feed them the same thing). The son with ASD then became allergic to rice and potato and we had to take those out of his diet. We added in wheat and dairy and his digestion got better, his sensory issues went down and his rashes cleared up (go figure...).

He reacted to the alternative grains (Quinoa, millet, amaranth, etc) with blood in his stool or rashes on his body. Corn was never good for either of my kids. I fed him meat and fruit/veggies for a while and he was always in ketosis (this was years before he started having seizures).

I do wonder if I should do a trial of gluten-free again to see if it reduces his seizure activity but I'm not sure if I could tell since he is now on depakote and I am not seeing absence seizures as frequently as I used to (only when super tired or when exposed to chemicals it seems). Maybe I should at least test him for allergies to wheat again. Last year when tested, he did not have any antibodies to wheat. I do know the autism issue has more to do with the breakdown of the proteins than allergies but I do give him an enzyme that specifically breaks down gluten and casein proteins (Houston Enzyme Trienza or AFP Peptizyde) just in case.

I really think my son's seizures are tied to his hyper-allergic state. The eosinophils are always high on testing, he has hyper-IgE (reference range is 0-390 and his results fluctuate from 2500 to almost 4000!!!). The brainless allergist does not seem to have an answer for me about what to do about this as he only has allergy symptoms during this time of year for about two weeks.
Testing also shows that he has antibodies to the epithelial cells in his brain (it is called landau-kleffner variant). I feel like we do a lot of testing, get abnormal results and no one has any answers for what to do about it. Seems like a waste of time.

Anyway...sorry for the novel...just some info on my son...

 

[Meetz1064]

It certainly

sounds like you've been through the wringer with your son. What a bummer deal. At least you have the beginning of a clue about what's going on. Some parents don't.....