? About the Eeg Test

For me it is. I can go in and have an eeg done one day and be normal, and go in the nex day and be abnormal. So for me it is completely normal, but i'm far from "normal"

Hiya...I am 21yr old and I have been diagnosed recently also my eeg and everything was normal except they say I have a rare temporal lobe epilepsy. I have different kinds of seizures also. And I get headaches and auras.

I have seen several on here saying their eeg's were normal. Question I have is are these being done when you are sleep deprived or after a full night's sleep?? My daughter's neuro always made sure that she didn't have more than 3 hours sleep the night before an eeg. The one she had when she had slept all night was normal. The sleep deprived ones always showed the area of abnormality.

Hiya..
Well one would say that bringing into account that they light your face during the eeg test and make you breathe deep and slow would indicate why not make us tired and sleep diprive us. They just want to try and make up have a seizure hey. The neuro I saw said its always better to have a eeg done 24 hrs after a seizure. But I dodnt have a seizure b4 my test. My eeg showed severe stress, the neuro I saw first said that I could not be an epileptic but he was a fool anyway. He never looked at any of my ct scans or mri's so I was so upset when he said I was making myself have seizures and it was all in my head. I went to my own doc and he read the eeg and said that I do have epilepsy and sent me to another neuro where they said yes.

Howdy!

An eeg can only be used to confirm diagnosis.

The only thing a normal eeg proves is that there were no abnormal brain waves at the time that the test was taken.

Howdydave said it right, unless your actually seizing during the eeg its going to be normal.
All my eeg's at first showed nothing. And now I going through the same problems with my 16 year old daughter. The doctors don't think I know what i'm talking about. She's had several eeg's now their not listening to use at all.
It took almost 3 years and until I had a grand mal for a doctor to say "oh now we know whats wrong with me".
Even though my mris had abnormalthings on it.

Just wanted to clarify that abnormalities can show up on eegs without having a seizure at the time. A normal eeg doesn't mean you don't have epilepsy. What the Dr. Is looking for is any abnormality that might indicate the tendency toward seizures. My son has had numerous eegs, both long-term video monitoring and out-patient ones and each time the results have showed constant spike and wave patterns - a very abnormal eeg. However, the technicians monitoring the machines thought that he was going to have a seizure any moment based on the abnormal brain waves, but he didn't. He's had many complex partial seizures, but never while hooked up the eeg monitors, yet his brain waves are very abnormal. So yes, you can have a normal eeg, but still have epilepsy, or an abnormal eeg, but no seizure at the time of the monitoring. An abnormal eeg doesn't mean you're having a seizure right then as an actual seizure is quite defined on the eeg. It just means you have a tendency toward them and clinical correlation is needed.

I don't know what to do. I had an eeg yesterday that brought on a seizure or something. I've had some similiar experiences, but was there for dizziness, migraines, and problems concentrating.
Any suggestions. I don't see the doctor for 3 weeks.
Michele

Hi michele. It is so hard to wait for the doctor appointment after an eeg. We had to do that with our son, also.


I do not know what happened during the eeg, but it sounds like you feel you had a seizure. Did the tech say this or just what you recall of things happening? (techs are not supposed to tell you anything.) it is best to wait it out and hear what the doctor says is going on.

I know it is so touch....Migraines can go along with seizures or they can be totally separate. You can go to emedicine and to neurology there. They have great articles on seizures and migraine variants also!

Best wishes for a good appointment! Hoping he has help for you!

Did you have your seizure during photic stimulation(flashing lights)??The eeg is done while you are sleep deprived because the abnormalities will show up when you are sleeping or drowsy-if you are not sleepy,the test could show normal patterns.The photic stimulation is done to show abnormalities-normal waves will not be different during this test.

I had what I think was a seizure, unable to control my shaking had and some upper body parts. It felt like tightening muscles. It was during the flashing lights. I asked the lady if everyone reacts this way and she said no. She asked me how long have I had these and I said only rarely, then she did the checkerboard lights and it got worse to where I felt like throwing up. And asked her to stop. I had a bad headache afterward for a couple of days, but the doctor has be on topamax for migraines. I hope he can tell me what all of this is. Did anyone else have anything like this happen to them?
Thanks,
michele

Michele, I am sure that your doctor will be able to tell you what that showed! I know it is hard to wait for results though.

I'm 19 years old and was just recently diagnosed, I had every type of head/brain test you can think of, everything from an eeg to a head ct and everything came back normal. Every seizure I have is a grand mal, now I find my self asking the same question you do how can my body be going through such an ordeal and everything show up normal,because frankly somethin just ant right. I wish I had an answer for you but unfortuantly I don't. My prayers are with you and the most important bit of advice I can give you is hang in there!!!!

Carrie, it is so frustrating when all tests say "normal" yet you keep having seizures. You are in a small percentage but will find people who have the same problem! My son is also in that category. Statistics say that less than 10 % of those with epilepsy will have repeated normal eeg and still seize. I have met soooo many on the internet with the same thing, though. You are not alone. Just shows that the neuros still have so much to learn about the brain!

Take care! I wish you all the best. Hoping you find a medication that can control seizures for you!