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Slow Brain waves on EEG

Tue, 01/05/2010 - 14:20
Hi, I have had seizures of some sort since I was a few months old. It was never very frequent, maybe once or twice a year. I remember as a child when this would happen, people would always ask If I had epilepsy. My parents figured this wasnt anything to worry about, so I was never tested. The past few years, it became more common. I went to the dr to get checked. I was referred to a neurologist, and did n EEG and a sleep deprived EEG. I went in for the results yesterday and he told me that I had abnormal slow brain waves on the left side of my brain and prescribed me Tegretol. He told me that hopefully with this medication I will not ever have another seizure again. My question is, is this epilepsy I have or what is it classified as? Thanks in advance.

Comments

Re: Slow Brain waves on EEG

Submitted by evandaniel on Sat, 2010-01-09 - 22:06
From what I understand, if a person has recurrent seizures that interfere enough in their life to warrant treatment with medication, then yes, the diagnosis would be epilepsy.  The most definitive seizure EEG patterns are spikes or spikes followed by waves, but slowing does indicate "abnormal" activity and can lead to a diagnosis of epilepsy.  That said, a diagnosis of epilepsy is by no means the end of the world.  I hope the Tegretol works for you with as few side effects as possible.  Good luck!

Re: Slow Brain waves on EEG

Submitted by glo1030@att.net on Wed, 2012-11-28 - 20:00

Please help someone! My wake eeg showed sharp waves and left side slowing. When I was 12 I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and I was put on Dilantin. I went off this medication when I was 17 on my own. I went in to see the Neurologist and told him my history. He continued to tell me my eeg was abnormal. Yet He does not want to put me on meds? I look normal therfore I can't have epilepsy? This is what I am thinking, I have episodes usually around  alot of people I feel extremly anxious like I am loosing control. I never had seizures I had Outburst, anger. Now I am having a very hard time functioning and I can't seem to keep a job. I am on wellbutrin and zoloft now. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and use a acpap machine at night. Can someone please give me guidanceI what I need to do? I do not think Doctors are helping me they refuse to listen. Hope someone can....

Kimberly

Please help someone! My wake eeg showed sharp waves and left side slowing. When I was 12 I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and I was put on Dilantin. I went off this medication when I was 17 on my own. I went in to see the Neurologist and told him my history. He continued to tell me my eeg was abnormal. Yet He does not want to put me on meds? I look normal therfore I can't have epilepsy? This is what I am thinking, I have episodes usually around  alot of people I feel extremly anxious like I am loosing control. I never had seizures I had Outburst, anger. Now I am having a very hard time functioning and I can't seem to keep a job. I am on wellbutrin and zoloft now. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and use a acpap machine at night. Can someone please give me guidanceI what I need to do? I do not think Doctors are helping me they refuse to listen. Hope someone can....

Kimberly

Re: Slow Brain waves on EEG

Submitted by juperee on Thu, 2010-01-28 - 16:25

Hi, BMG. Evanda is right; the epilepsy diagnosis is based more on the recurring seizure activity than anything. Sometimes an EEG doesn't pick up any sharp spikes because none happen to occur during the recording. Sometimes they occur but are down too deep in the brain to be picked up by scalp electrodes.

I have temporal lobe epilepsy, and my EEGs show spikes on the left temporal region and also show the "slow" waves there. The slow waves look more like the kind of waves you'd have all over the brain if you were asleep, but since they're happening in one small area even when you're awake, that's what makes them abnormal. They call it "focal slowing" because the low frequency waves are confined to a limited (focused) area of the brain. 

Good luck with adjusting to your meds; give them time, and give yourself time to get used to them.

--jules

 

Hi, BMG. Evanda is right; the epilepsy diagnosis is based more on the recurring seizure activity than anything. Sometimes an EEG doesn't pick up any sharp spikes because none happen to occur during the recording. Sometimes they occur but are down too deep in the brain to be picked up by scalp electrodes.

I have temporal lobe epilepsy, and my EEGs show spikes on the left temporal region and also show the "slow" waves there. The slow waves look more like the kind of waves you'd have all over the brain if you were asleep, but since they're happening in one small area even when you're awake, that's what makes them abnormal. They call it "focal slowing" because the low frequency waves are confined to a limited (focused) area of the brain. 

Good luck with adjusting to your meds; give them time, and give yourself time to get used to them.

--jules

 

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