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question about EEG and related symptoms...please help???

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 02:40
Hi. I could really use some help, if anyone would be willing to comment. Long story short, I have a seizure history, although I don't know what kind they are/were, and I don't know what provokes them. I have had 2 significant head injuries as well as a brain tumor (which wasn't directly on a "lobe" and has been removed). A sleep-deprived EEG in 2001 was slightly abnormal (don't know what meds I was taking at the time), and I haven't been tested until recently. Several months ago, I suddenly started having really bad jerking/myoclonus (I ended up in the ED) and very, very bad memory loss and confusion with periods when I couldn't respond at all (even though I was taking AEDs). Like so many people on this forum, I was told it was either anxiety or something like a strange parkinsons-like syndrome. I told the doctors about all of the other symptoms I was having (deja vu [occasionally], jamais vu [a lot!], sudden and quick stomachache as the symptoms began, etc, etc, etc) and my family described the episodes, but it was decided that I am just anxious and having migraines. Oh, and of course I was told to see someone for psych (because all of this is just anxiety, right?), but I have been...every week. She witnessed several episodes and agrees that this is not anxiety...for several reasons. And right now I'm pretty calm. Very calm, in fact! I know what anxiety feels like, and this isn't it. It's almost like the jerking "period" wiped out my memory for anything I'd be anxious about... Anyway, after telling you all of that (sorry!), I wanted to share my EEG results (done in the afternoon)... It was done more than a week after the worst of the jerking was over, although I was still experiencing the dreaminess and everything. Does anyone have any thoughts? Should I leave it at "migraines" and "anxiety," or should I try to make an appointment with a decent neurologist? I'm still having significant issues. Thank you so much! At the time of the recording, she is alert. DESCRIPTION: The dominant rhythm is a posteriorly predominant, fairly symmetric low voltage 12 Hz alpha rhythm that blocks with eye opening and reactivates with eye closure. Low voltage irregular theta is seen, at times more prominenet in the temporal regions. Low voltage fast activity is seen symmetrically. Photic stimulation elicits no obvious potentials or driving. Hyperventilation is done for 3 minutes and elicits no change IMPRESSION: Essentially normal spontaneous awake electroencephalogram...

Comments

Re: question about EEG and related symptoms...please help???

Submitted by SamanthaA65 on Sun, 2012-10-21 - 13:23
i have epilepsy and have had it for 46 yrs.  i know when i have too many close together it affects my memory.  i have chunks just gone.  and every time i come out of a seizure i am tired, wiped out, confused.  by all means, you saw someone thinking it was anxiety, you have had them witness it.  you are not satisfied,  find a neurologist and be agressive, don't let them just say we are gonna do this and that, ask questions.  i used to do the tests and felt like i was told were gonna treat like this and out the door i went.  i had to learn to say i want more of a say in my own treatment.  now i get a chance every time to ask any questions and walk out understanding what we try next.  Hope I helped.

Re: question about EEG and related symptoms...please help???

Submitted by Noa on Sun, 2012-10-21 - 14:25
Thank you for your response! I'm sorry you had problems with your doctors, but I'm also glad you figured out how you want things to work...and have been able to implement it! I do need to find a neurologist and be more aggressive with my treatment. It's just so frustrating! Especially when I can't remember things and also have trouble forming coherent statements to explain what is going on (yes, I have a list). Funny thing is that I had an obvious "episode" as soon as my EEG was over. Couldn't speak or anything. But I guess the tech didn't mention that to the radiologist... :S Thanks again! :)

Re: question about EEG and related symptoms...please help???

Submitted by pkdz on Sun, 2012-10-21 - 21:25

The EEGs are not definitive, that is for sure.  I've had normal EEGs just days after a tonic-clonic.   When my seizures weren't being controlled, I had a lot of trouble with my memory.  I forgot entire conversations.  I suggested seeing a movie that I had already seen. I hadn't remembered seeing it.  Drawn to the same type of movie, over and over again.  

The EEGs are not definitive, that is for sure.  I've had normal EEGs just days after a tonic-clonic.   When my seizures weren't being controlled, I had a lot of trouble with my memory.  I forgot entire conversations.  I suggested seeing a movie that I had already seen. I hadn't remembered seeing it.  Drawn to the same type of movie, over and over again.  

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