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Test issues
Tue, 07/03/2012 - 20:54I have been in the Ep. Video Monitoring Unit 3 times in 11 months. I would have events that would not show up on the eeg. They even wake me up. But, my eeg's are abnormal in more than 2 areas. Is this normal for the eegs not to show partial seizures? Also, I have been on 4 different types of meds. I am on the 5th. My nureo wants me to have a SPECT if 300mg. of Vimpat along with 200 mg. of Topamax does't work. Please HELP!
Re: Test issues
Submitted by jenstau on Wed, 2012-07-04 - 02:12
I have simple partial seizures that are mostly during the night, but also during the day too. I have been through two video eeg stays over the past year and a half and not all of those seizures have shown up on the monitor. I have heard that simple partial seizures can not show up because they are so mild, and also it can depend on what area of the brain your seizures are coming from....for example, some areas do not show up very well on an eeg so it will be harder to detect. I recently had a spect done too, which came back normal, but I suspected it would because my seizures only last about 15 seconds and you have to inject the radioactive contrast within 20 seconds of the start of a seizure...so basically, they'd have to know immediately when I had one. When I did have seizures show up on the monitor, they came from my left temporal lobe, but I had epileptic spikes and waves during times when I wasn't having seizures (the interictal periods). So yes, all of this is possible and I wouldn't freak out, just do the tests and understand that they may not give you the answers that you are looking for. It is very frustrating when you think you will find out from a certain test exactly what is going on and then they say, "well, actually, bla bla bla..." I know, it sucks ,but hang in there and you will find the answers eventually. Also, I've tried about 8 different meds and only one of them partially controls my seizures so no relief yet, but fingers crossed. Hope this helps. :)