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EEG questions
Fri, 01/12/2018 - 19:50My daughter’s neurologist is out of town and we can’t get any feedback on her recent sleep deprived EEG. I don’t know enough about EEGs to know how concerned we should be and whether to push for a different attending to call us back, or if it is okay to wait. She has cerebral palsy and we are very worried.
Her EEG was 36 minutes long. It reports under “epileptiform activity” that:
There are four epochs or spike and wave discharges that are left hemispheric predominant, appearing to be coming from the left frontal region. Frequency is 2.5-3 hertz spike and slow waves with amplitude if the slow waves reaching 310 microvolts in FP1. These last for 2-5 seconds, with no clear clinical correlate. However, during the last epoch, there is a notation of a blank stare, which is not clearly related. Clinical correlation is advised.”
She had at least four visible episodes that were concerning in the previous four weeks, as well as some other changes (dystonic type movements, blanking out, tantrums that she only has when she feels poorly / unwell / “funny”).
I know her doctor knows her best, but figured it couldn’t hurt to check in with people who have way more experience in this than me.
It reports under
Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2018-01-14 - 13:16
It reports under “epileptiform activity” that <<<< epileptiform, seizure activity spikes or waves are abnormalities. The first sentence after that shows where the activity came from.Clinical correlation is advised <<< is a medical process physicians use to help them make a diagnosis on a patient to treat his or her condition. It is used after a diagnostic testing. For me my EEG showed abnormalities in the left lobes of my brain. The neurologists then went and looked closer in those lobes on the MRI of the 1960's and that closer look they saw scar tissue in the left lobes. Neurologists want to see abnormalities and where they came from since they are not normal. They are like abnormalities in a ECG showing irregular heart beats. Cardiologists do want to see them before someone has a heart attack. You see I have an irregular heart beat too. Both my epilepsy and heart beat are controlled by medications. Both medications control the electrical output coming from the brain and the number of beats my heart has.In the simplest terms a seizure is "An electrical impulse hitting wrong in the brain" That wrong hit causes a chain reaction which is the seizure itself.Mothers are wonderful people. But relax some and do wait for the neurologist since they will need to look at your daughters history and everything she is going through. They will be wanting to know all the different meds she takes before prescribing meds if that is done. One reason is a medications that is prescribed to treat one issue can counter a medication for another issue. Oh and by medication they should know all medications she takes which include over the counter meds too. I hope this helps. Joe