Inpatient EEG, possible VNS.

[Nakamova]

my daughter recently did a video EEG and had a handful of mild "auras" while she was in the hospital (very similar to the pre-seizure aura she has, but much milder), but because they did not show up as seizures on the EEG her neurologist says that they are definitely not seizure auras, but are an anxiety or panic reaction.

Her neuro is wrong. A positive EEG can help support an epilepsy diagnosis, but a negative one cannot rule epilepsy out. Partial seizures (which are only called auras if they progress into more complex or generalized seizures) can be too transient or occur too deep into the brain to be picked up on an EEG. And some folks who definitely have epilepsy never produce a positive EEG.

 

[skyfire322]

Her neuro is wrong. A positive EEG can help support an epilepsy diagnosis, but a negative one cannot rule epilepsy out. Partial seizures (which are only called auras if they progress into more complex or generalized seizures) can be too transient or occur too deep into the brain to be picked up on an EEG. And some folks who definitely have epilepsy never produce a positive EEG.

Wow... I didn't know that!

 

[Kgartner]

Her neuro is wrong. A positive EEG can help support an epilepsy diagnosis, but a negative one cannot rule epilepsy out. Partial seizures (which are only called auras if they progress into more complex or generalized seizures) can be too transient or occur too deep into the brain to be picked up on an EEG. And some folks who definitely have epilepsy never produce a positive EEG.

Yeah, I started a thread here on her situation recently that describes what we are seeing and how her neurologist is interpreting it. She had a really strong episode during a class in school on Tuesday - strong experience of things being "weird" with an abrupt onset that lasted about 1 1/2 minutes. Right now we're just continuing to observe her and if needed I will ask for a second opinion.

Skyfire - you might find the discussion there helpful as well, so here's the link: http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/auras-veeg-24280/

 

[skyfire322]

Thanks I'm just filled with so many different emotions right now. I'm super glass I have you guys supporting me. And Kg, I pray that you and your daughter get everything figured out soon!

 

[sunflower]

Oh my gosh, skyfire, I totally understand how you feel in some ways. I had the week-long stay in the EMU and all I got was, "Well, you definitely have epilepsy, but we're not sure what type. We didn't see any lesions on your brain so you're most likely not a good candidate for brain surgery. You might think about the VNS." I went back to my doctor with the results, which we barely discussed. That was back in January. We tweaked my medicines a bit, but nothing is working so now I'm really looking into the VNS. I know how you feel with feeling like you don't have it as bad as others. Some people have hundreds of seizures within months. It's encouraging to hear that some of their results have been great; and then you have people for whom it does nothing. I agree that there is a lot of info on here. Do your research and let us all know. Your positive energy is encouraging.
***And thank you to everyone for their valuable input.

 

[skyfire322]

.... And I just read the notes he left from the EEG results. Pretty much he said that it's all in my head and that none of my auras are real match true epileptiform activity. *sigh*