What does that mean?

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SoonToBeMommy

SoonToBeMommy

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What does it mean by saying abnormal eeg but normal background? I see my neurologist Friday, but this has been bugging me. Can anyone explain this? Thanks in advance.
 
WOW, that is strange! are you sure you heard it all correctly? Just askin'
 
Have u ever had a seizure? I may be off but it sounds like the EEG showed unusual activity but you don't have a history of seizures. My neuro touched on the topic when I got diagnosed as my previous seizures were provoked
 
EEGs record both transient (brief) and rhythmic (background) brainwaves. This means that you can have normal background rhythms appear along with transient spikes or waves. Some of these transient waves (like spindles during sleep) are normal, whereas others (spikes and sharp waves) are abnormal, and can suggest seizure activity or interictal activity in people with epilepsy or with a predisposition toward epilepsy. People with epilepsy tend to have EEG patterns that show normal background patterns with transient abnormal spikes/waves, and that may be what your report indicated.

The exact language of the EEG report makes a difference (as does the context for each of the recordings), so best to let your neuro fully interpret the results.
 
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Good points Nakamova! I have had, in the past, EEG reports and CAT scans that said I had no seizure activity when I had experienced 'absence seizures during the process of the test. But other times, the opposite. So who knows, I am no doctor but I know I usually do not trust them.
 
Ok that makes sense. I'm supposed to see him tomorrow but I gonna have to reschedule cuz i don't have a ride, but thanks Nakamova. You are always so helpful :)
 
So I was doing some research. I'm thinking I could possibly have frontal lobe epilepsy. Not trying to self diagnosis, but the symptoms fit. And if that were the case then it would make sense that nothing much showed up on the eeg during my big epispdes. Just a thought.
 
yeah, Frontal Lobe Epilepsy is very hard to diagnose, and is often misdiagnosed as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy is tricky too, since simple partials that characterize it are hard to catch on the EEG.
 
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