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Should I get a second opinion?
Thu, 04/06/2017 - 09:03Hi last December I spent a week in the seizure monitoring unit. My first eeg indicated temporal lobe abnormalities (right after one happened) but the long term one latter did not. My episodes always begin with an odd sensation and a blank stare. I'm always unresponsive. It it happens suddenly while I am talking I will repeat the last sound that came out of my mouth until the episode stops. When it is over I don't remember anything happening. if I have two or more episodes in the same day I just fall asleep wherever I happen to be.
My neurologist told me these were not seizures since the long term eeg was normal. (But it didn't contain and of these episodes). He then suggested I was just stressed but when I saw a psychologist they didn't find that I had any stress issues. When I informed the neurologist my psych evaluation was negative he accussed the psychologist of not being dumb although I have no psych history and have not suffered any abuse as a child. ( I trust the psychologist because she treats a close friend and has done a really good job there)
In general I dislike my neurologist because I feel like he does anything he can to get me out of the office asap and when I was admitted to the seizure monitoring unit he never came by to see me until he discharged me (and he didn't explain why I was there, I firmly believed that I Wasn't having seizures because I only knew about grand mail seizures existing)
Should I go see someone else for a second opinion?
Comments
The first EEG showed
Submitted by just_joe on Fri, 2017-04-07 - 16:52
The first EEG showed abnormalities and where in your brain they came from. The second didn't. Well with what you posted that happened during them most of everything are either seizures or parts of them. Each seizures uses a lot of energy and 2 in a day depending on their length would wear a person out. As for the second EEG welllllllll I'll just say that I had 20-25 different EEG's that came back normal in a period of 2 years. It was that 26th or 27th that came back with abnormalities. So yes a second opinion can be done. If you get a second opinion and like the neurologist then keep them. A lot can be done in a phone call is you have a good relationship.As Tadizo posted find a neurologist that specializes in epilepsy.If they were seizures treatment needs to be started. Delaying will mean they will increase in number and become stronger.
I'm having a really difficult
Submitted by Albreckon on Fri, 2017-04-07 - 18:14
I'm having a really difficult time finding a different neurologist who is in network and doesn't work with my current one. Any tips to find one
If possible, try to get a
Submitted by Tadzio on Thu, 2017-04-06 - 19:26
If possible, try to get a second opinion from a neurologist specializing in epilepsy, an epileptologist, and one who believes in the benefits of preventing longterm epileptic kindling. Many doctors tend to ignore the dangers of epilepsy evolving, while some will weigh such dangers, and others will try to prevent such dangers at all costs.Some neurologists with ride rough-shod over previous revelatory EEGs when another EEG fails simply due to no coincidental detectable epileptic seizures, while also ignoring EEG non-detectable limited epileptic seizures.When epileptic seizures fail to be recorded due to the limitations and pitfalls of even Video-EEG monitoring, one large school of thought embraces the philosophy of: "Additionally, if such symptoms are epileptic, they will sooner or later evolve into more obvious (diagnosable) seizure manifestations."(“Atlas of Video-EEG Monitoring” (Sirven &Stern, 2011), Chapter 18, Winesett & Benbadis, page 347, limitations under item 2); a search in books-dot-google using the sentence sometimes returns a snippet of the book including the item stuck in with limits including “The episodes are consistent with ’simple partial’ seizures that may have no ictal EEG correlate.”Weighing the benefits of ignoring, versus the costs & medical side-effects of not ignoring, such dangers is widely disputed.