EEG results
- Thread starter nic
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nic
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Usually if I have an illness I'll google it galore. But with the seizures I just get lost in information. It's all happened so fast and my brain can't compute information. I have a list of things to ask the consultant and I always forget when I'm there. I'll write it down and just hope I don't forget the list..
I agree with Fedup. A lot of info. you google is easy to over-interpret and/or over-apply to yourself. We're all guilty of it! As Fedup says, do a bit of googling for general information (but not too much) and perhaps as a way to formulate some questions but you're better generating questions for the doctor based on what is going on with you personally rather than asking about things you've googled since the doctor may have only limited time. Despite what you've seen on the internet, keep an open mind as to what really is going on with you personally when you see the doctor.
nic
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I think he's just as confused as the rest of us. I've never had a seizure in my life and then on Easter Monday I had quite a bad seizure. I then went two weeks, so we figured it was a one off. Then I started having two seizures a day. All of my tests have come back normal. I haven't had a seizure since last Tuesday, so I am hopeful that the Lamictal is working. If the seizures return he wants to send me off for a three day video EEG. If they do capture a seizure I'm still unsure as to what they can do.
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hey nic --
An EEG can sometimes "capture a seizure" -- i.e. show an abnormal brainwave pattern if a seizure is occurring during the EEG process. But there are also patterns characteristic of epilepsy that can sometimes show up between seizures. In my case, I've never had a seizure during an EEG, but my EEGs show what's called a "spike and dome" pattern, a "classic" marker for epilepsy. The pattern shows up when I'm completely unmedicated. If I'm medicated, then the EEG might show a bit of slowing or a random spike or two, but you wouldn't necessarily connect those to epilepsy unless you knew that I was already diagnosed with a seizure disorder.
It sounds like your EEG didn't show a "classic" pattern so your neuro is a little less certain of your diagnosis A good thing to keep in mind is that a positive EEG can help confirm an epilepsy diagnosis, but a negative EEG can't rule it out. So a neurologist needs to go by the actual symptoms a person is having -- and it sounds like you've had enough actual seizures that an epilepsy diagnosis is likely even without a positive EEG.
Regarding the "slowing": Some slow brainwaves are normal when a person is asleep, but considered somewhat abnormal if they show up while someone is awake. That may have been the case with your EEG, but the slow waves weren't distinct enough to allow for a definitive diagnosis.
An EEG can sometimes "capture a seizure" -- i.e. show an abnormal brainwave pattern if a seizure is occurring during the EEG process. But there are also patterns characteristic of epilepsy that can sometimes show up between seizures. In my case, I've never had a seizure during an EEG, but my EEGs show what's called a "spike and dome" pattern, a "classic" marker for epilepsy. The pattern shows up when I'm completely unmedicated. If I'm medicated, then the EEG might show a bit of slowing or a random spike or two, but you wouldn't necessarily connect those to epilepsy unless you knew that I was already diagnosed with a seizure disorder.
It sounds like your EEG didn't show a "classic" pattern so your neuro is a little less certain of your diagnosis A good thing to keep in mind is that a positive EEG can help confirm an epilepsy diagnosis, but a negative EEG can't rule it out. So a neurologist needs to go by the actual symptoms a person is having -- and it sounds like you've had enough actual seizures that an epilepsy diagnosis is likely even without a positive EEG.
Regarding the "slowing": Some slow brainwaves are normal when a person is asleep, but considered somewhat abnormal if they show up while someone is awake. That may have been the case with your EEG, but the slow waves weren't distinct enough to allow for a definitive diagnosis.