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Can a Myoclonic Jerk while falling asleep during EEG be mistaken for Epilepsy?
Wed, 02/25/2015 - 17:10Hi there, I am new to the site but I was wondering if anyone has some advice.
HISTORY: Had 3 "episodes" that doctors/bystanders were unsure if it was merely a faint that looked like a seizure or an actual generalized seizure over the period of two years starting when I was 19 (I am 25 now). One year ago I collapsed in a mall (felt fine before the event) and was taken to the emergency room. Bystanders said it was a seizure, but paramedics/doctors were hesitant to call it a seizure and thought it was just another fainting episode.
PROBLEM: The hospital sent me for an EEG. I did not react to the flashing lights or hyperventalating. BUT I fell asleep during the EEG resting portion and experienced a myoclonic jerk when I was falling asleep (it actually jolted me awake). The results came back abnormal and showed spike wave activity bi-frontally when I fell asleep/woke up and they are calling it generalized primary epilepsy.
QUESTION: As myoclonic jerk's are common and can occur in non-epileptic people, is it possible that the jerk showed up on the EEG and it is being mistaken for epilepsy? I had stopped taking medication (bad side effects) and have been seizure free since.
.A jerk now and then can be
Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2015-02-25 - 18:30
.A jerk now and then can be just that a jerk. Understand that hic ups are also a type of myoclonic jerk. However the EEG doesn't see the jerk since it is looking for the elecrtical output comming from your brain. An abnormality in an EEG is basically an electrical impulse going off wrong in the brain. The abnormality will show where in the brain it came from. As for stopping your medications because you didn't like the side efects. Well did you take it long enough for your body to get used to the medication. If you did you would have had to take it for 3-6 weeks depending on the medication. There are no one size fits all medications for seizure control. Asperin take it and the head ache is gonek. Seizure medications take time for the levels to build in your body. If it was the side effects you didn;'t like then did oyu ask the neurologist if there was another medication that would work without all th side effects?? If it were me I would have called the neurologist and asked more questions.Where is the abnormality? What can happen if I don't start taking the medication? Will I have other jerks orseizures and if I do what types of seizures might I have? I hope this helps and you do get the assistance you need