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Is a spike on an EEG always a seizure?
Fri, 04/07/2006 - 21:36My 4 yr old has been diagnosed with DSI and Severe Verbal Apraxia and we just had a 24 hour video monitored EEG. I have to wait 3 weeks for results and have questions about what i saw. When he was sleeping he had series of "spikes" that would freeze the screen and note the time it happened. This happened about 30 times over a 9 hour period of sleep, sometimes in clusters sometimes alone. There were also about a dozen "XL Events" that were also noted during this time. Nothing like this happened the whole time he was awake. Is there anyone who knows what these mean, the nurse and tech wouldnt help me at all.I just want to know if what I was seeing was actually seizures. His doctor was looking for absence and sleep seizures.
Thanks,
Beth
Re: Is a spike on an EEG always a seizure?
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2006-05-13 - 14:26
Hi Beth, just saw the note. Hope you have had a chance to get some answers to testing that you child had done. I am attaching a link to info on EEGs. Not all spikes are seizures. In fact, spikes are a type of EEG wave forms that can be seen in people with seizures, but can also be seen in people without seizures. Doctor needs to interpret wave forms in relation to background of EEG, where things are coming from, if occur alone or in clusters, and how long the bursts of activity last (to name a few things they look for!). Take a list with you and ask all the questions you need! www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/testing_eeg.html Epilepsy.com Resource Specialist