Hi Shocked, and welcome to the forum! I can tell you a couple of things about EEGs: One, they can be normal and you can still have epilepsy. I've had epilepsy for over 30 years and the handful of EEGs I've had have all been normal. As Ruth said, an EEG only picks up abnormal brain activity if you have a seizure when you're hooked up to the machine. You can have epilepsy without having really noticeable seizures. The "visible" seizures I have are pretty much all complex partial, and those are very easy to see. They are not convulsive seizures, but I sort of stare off into space, maybe can't talk, and nearly always make smacking or chewing motions with my mouth. I'm completely unaware of the mouth stuff, but otherwise I can mostly carry on with what I'm doing, though I know I'm having a seizure. There is also "epileptiform activity" or subclincal seizures. Those don't necessarily manifest themselves directly but you can feel the effects over time. What you've described certainly sounds like it could be some seizure activity. Finally, a video EEG is a long process where you are hooked up to an EEG for several days and monitored by a video camera. If it were me I wouldn't bother to have one of those done. You certainly could have epilepsy and you and your doctors may not need the extra info that a video EEG might give you. I've never felt the need for one.
All that said, I encourage you not to get so worked up about this. I know it's waaaay easier said than done, but in my thirty-plus years of having epilepsy I've had five tonic-clonic seizures (the big, convulsive ones) over 10,000 of the complex partials and most likely tens of thousands of subclinical seizures, though those, by definition, are impossible to get an accurate count of, unless you were monitored by deep brain electrodes 24/7, and who needs that? I've been on five different meds and have had a VNS for about 6 months and none of that has done a very good job controlling my seizures. That's what is called refractory epilepsy.
I told you all that so you will know a little bit more about seizures, and now I will tell you that I have had a very normal life in spite of all the seizures. I've gotten 2 college degrees in that time, raised 3 kids, have a good marriage ( I think the seizures are in some ways harder on my wife than on me), have had two successful careers (on the 2nd one now), and remain very active. The seizures mess with my memory some, but I manage to compensate for the most part.
Your life won't necessarily have to change all that much. Learn all you can about epilepsy and medications, don't be afraid to question your docs, try to get to an epielptologist instead of a regular neurologist, be prepared for a bit of a roller-coaster ride, and get on with your life. OK? Spend some time here, read a lot of the posts, and vent or ask as many questions as you want. I've gotta get going now because it's my busy season (I own a bicycle shop) and I have a lot of work to do. Here's a link about seizures you will find helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_types
Now go and get on with your day! I'm sure you have a lot of stuff you should be doing so stop sitting around and worrying!
Onward and upward!
