Medical speak help confused please

[roundthebend4]

Ds had EEG after having fits just got report and it states no epileptiform abnormalites some focal slow waves in the left frontal temporal region .suggestion of focal structure

No clue what it means yet dr told me yes he does have epilepsy and have started him on empilem on advice of neuro am confused does he or doesn't he we won't see anyone till middle of may

I'm no good at eeg speak. But till someone who is better comes on, what I think it says is that there were no epilepsy-type readings though there were readings that might suggest that one part of the brain has the potential to start a seizure.

Remember that EEGs are very hit-and miss because they only record what is happening during that 20 minutes or whatever. It's actually quite difficult/rare to catch seizure activity unless it's pretty constant: DD1 has pretty stinky Epilepsy and only came up with anything much on EEG at the third or fourth attempt. So there's no such thing as a "negative" result, you only fail to get a positive one iyswim. They aren't primarily doing it to confirm epilepsy anyway - they are doing it to get more info on where and how in the brain the seizures start, because that gives them more info as to which meds might work best on it.

Famously (and especially if he has seizures at night) a sleeping or sleep deprived EEG has a much better chance of showing something useful. They don't like doing these though because they take longer (depending on the child's disposition to cope with sleep deprivation or fall asleep at will, sometimes they use melatonin, often it doesn't work) and are more of a pita for them. Probably no point asking now, but when you see the neuro push for a sleep EEG.

Ty was confused because they had given the dx before the EEG as ds kept fitting for what seemed like hrs .am going have list of questions long as my arm

My sister has temporal lobe epilepsy - dx in her 20's. Was shown on eeg as slowing over this region of the brain but MRI was clear. She was on meds for a while but has now come off them and so far (touch wood) is clear of any fits.

Ty that kinda makes sense know the MRI showed up damage in several areas so maybe one these areas is the trigger though not sure what's causing the slide downwards in his pd

that list of questions is getting longer for the neurologist next month Invluding WTF I do when he keeps fitting we already beenback in as he had one at home for 5 minutes then another in ambulance lasting couple minutes then another in A &. Before they sedated him

Riven all I got is those 2 lines and bottle of epilem when first happened and sent home only know what point o call for help thanks to you all on here

the MRI I only know as under neuro fir other investigations neuro has ruled out global delay as cause of ds other issues he's pretty sure something else is going on but he's waiting for test results come back first though it's never good sign when asks if coming on my own for nest appoinment and when said no ds coming said not what he meant

Yep I defintley both feet in worried camp .ds used to be able sit straight up from lying down now has to roll on to his side push self up even then his arms give away.

I am hoping it's just Bren caused by the undx epilepsy and once we got that controlled then he stops losing skills"clutching at straw emtions*

roundthebend, make sure you write down all your questions, we are under our third specialist now since dd was diagnosed 18 months ago due to moving and the one thing i have noticed is the variation in autonomy and intelligence they credit us with.

first one accused us of lieing (sp? have had a mental block on that one!) about the fits, second one assumed we knew more than we did and only explained when i burst into tears (early pregnancy hormones are useful for something) and the third one is actually treating us like adults who know our daughter (she is now 3).

its also useful if they copy you in on the letters they send to the gp etc, middle hospital did it as standard and its on my list for when we see consultant again next Tuesday, its very useful to have a written reminder of what was said and see if your take on events matches theirs.

sorry i cant help with the EEG but i know how it is to feel in the dark, i suspect im still woefully ignorant of a lot of what i should know, have you looked at the epilepsy action website?

No but think I should . yeahh they questioned me when ds had first at home was I sure etc but luckily in one way ds has now fitted plenty in front of medical proffesionals so there is no doubt in their mind

Ds neuro we see for otherstuffid pretty good so am going to take the advice write it all down and grill him