Hard time comprehending 10 month old sons EEG

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Acobb1021

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My son has been diagnosed with complex partial seizures. We have been started on keppra. I am reading over his EEG and am so confused. Any help will be appreciated. I'm new at this.

"Abnormal due to generally normal waking,drowsy, sleep record, except for occasional sharp waves and spikes with phase reversal at c3 and t3. This indicates a tendency toward focal epilepsy and or structural lesion."

He has had a few seizure like episodes. He is scheduled for an MRI in the near future. Thanks for your help!
 
Well, one of the first things docs want to do is determine if the seizures are "focal" meaning do they have a specific location that can be determined in the brain.

Many people don't have focal epilepsy. They never have figured out where mine are located.

The other thing they want to rule out is any kind of structural problem such as scar tissue from a bump on the head, tumors, abnormal blood vessel tangles and such.

Until you have the MRI (have they done a CT scan yet?) in hand, the results of the eeg are very speculative. They have a long list of possible causes and have to cross them off in sequence.

So, wait for the tests, try not to freak out, (easier said than done I'm sure) and come back here if you have more questions.

Welcome.
 
She said they were only occurring on the left side of the brain, but when he does have a seizure it may spread to both sides. So if the MRI comes back normal, do I just keep giving him mess with no idea what's causing it? So stressful.
 
Most cases of epilepsy are what the docs call "idiopathic" which is just a fancy medical term for "we have no idea but we have to call it something that sounds impressive". :)

So it is not unusual to not have a definitive cause that you can hang onto. I've had idiopathic seizures for over 30 years.

As to what you do for your son for treatment, that is up to you. Some people opt for strictly going by what the MD tells them to do. Some people like to strike out on their own with natural and alternative treatments.
Then others strike a balance somewhere in between, using the pharmaceutical meds to get things under control but then seeking ways too treat the seizures naturally as well.
 
This is really sucky. They either find something structurally, or I just cope with the we have no idea but hopefully these meds help. So stressful! Thanks for your help
 
They have to rule out structural issues first.

IF that is ruled out, THEN there are all kinds of other things that can cause seizures that should be considered.

Things like blood sugar fluctuations, electrolyte imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, gut flora dysbiosis, etc. might be the issue.

Do some reading around this site. I think it takes a very balanced position as far as being open to alternative treatments and yet not falling for the snake oil of the week.
 
This is really sucky. They either find something structurally, or I just cope with the we have no idea but hopefully these meds help. So stressful! Thanks for your help
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Not knowing a cause is definitely stressful (especially early in the diagnosis), but as AlohaBird mentions, it's the norm for the majority of people with seizure disorders. It may be easier to think of it this way: Every person is born with a seizure threshold. It may go up or down over the course of a lifetime. For some of us it may be low to start with, for others there may be injuries or other medical issues that lower it. There may be genetic factors at work, or a combination of inherent factors and external triggers. It's great if you can find a specific cause and then address it easily, but more often than not the focus ends up on prevention and treatment -- ways to raise that seizure threshold and keep it up. Yes, it's frustrating, but although epilepsy still a relatively mysterious disorder, we are lucky to have many treatment options in this day and age.

Regarding the EEG: It looks for brainwave patterns that are suggestive of epilepsy. There can be distinctive epilepsy-related patterns that occur during a seizure as well as ones that can occur when the brain is not seizing. So the neuro is looking for those kinds of patterns. Generally speaking, "spikes and waves" are among those brainwaves that point towards an epilepsy diagnosis, but there are a lot of variables that the neuro takes into account when making a diagnosis, including the actual clinical symptoms your son experiences. Don't hesitate to ask your son's doctor questions about any of this stuff -- it's his or her job to make this stuff clear.

It's great that your son has only had a few episodes. If it is determined that they are seizures, early diagnosis is positive factor.
 
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The only other thing I will add to the excellent information you have already been given, is that even if the MRI is negative and they don't see anything, that does not mean that there isn't a structural issue that is causing your son's seizures. It may just be too small or localized to show up on an MRI. Frequently when people have focal seizures with "negative" MRIs, and then go on to have brain surgery, the pathologist will find abnormalities in the tissue that could not be detected with our current diagnostic tools.

Finally - hugs to you! My daughter did not have her first seizures until she was 15, but an epilepsy diagnosis in your child is devastating no matter when they start. Best of luck to you as you navigate this new world.
 
Acobb1021 said:
My son has been diagnosed with complex partial seizures. We have been started on keppra. I am reading over his EEG and am so confused. Any help will be appreciated. I'm new at this.

"Abnormal due to generally normal waking,drowsy, sleep record, except for occasional sharp waves and spikes with phase reversal at c3 and t3. This indicates a tendency toward focal epilepsy and or structural lesion."

He has had a few seizure like episodes. He is scheduled for an MRI in the near future. Thanks for your help!
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(1) Please watch this movie about seizures in a young boy. There is no cost for watching the movie apart from your one hour time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyeC9IiFKpw



(2) Ketogenic diet has been proven to be more effective in children and babies. Do not let your neurologist discourage you by saying that it is too hard to maintain and there are no double blind randomized studies for ketogenic diet. Nothing will be too hard when it comes to well being of your son. Double blind studies have also been done.

It was started by Dr. Freeman at John Hopkins in 1970 and thousands of kids have continued to remain seizure free after being on diet for couple of years.

I do not know where you are located but most of the major hospitals in USA and countries all around the world offer the ketogenic diet treatment.



(3) Diet is neuroprotective and develops the growing brain of children. While drugs cause a decline in brain function.



There are couple of things you may want to check and rule out.

(1) Does anyone from both parent's sides suffer from brain disorder or seizures? If yes, it may point towards some inherited trait.

(2) Did you son fall and hit his head hard?

(3) Structural Brain lesion - MRI should be able to rule it out.

(4) Did you recently start your son on formula milk or soy milk? Some of formula milk contain carageenan which is a known neurotoxin.

(5) Did he receive bunch of vaccines in one shot? Vaccines are useful and protect from diseases but can be too much for a growing brain if numerous vaccines are given in one shot.
 
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There are history of seizures on both sides. My mother had seizures as a young child and outgrew them after four years on meds. His fathers nephew had seizures where he would just stare blankly and it ended up effecting the decision making part of his brain and had some sort of brain surgery at age 10. He's 12 now. And seizure free. I cannot recall anytime he has hit his head hard, just a few falls backward while learning to sit.
 
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