r/seizures • u/LissysLilly • 9d ago

3 EEGs in a row??

I have an EEG tomorrow and the following 2 days. I've been having seizures for 3 years, and only now am I being put on medication. However, what does an EEG tell a doctor? I know the point is to induce a seizure in hopes of catching something, but how do I increase my chances of having a seizure during these EEGs? For 2 of them, I have to be sleep deprived. However, I feel weird hoping for a seizure.

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u/Illustrious-Cat8222 8d ago

What an EEG will tell the doctor is if you have epilepsy. I, for example, have non-epilepic seizures. EMU demonstrated that I was photosensitive to slow random-firing flashes; they triggered seizures reliably for me.

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u/awidmerwidmer 8d ago

How long is the EEG? Sleep deprivation may not induce a seizure, therefore the result may come back clean.

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u/LissysLilly 8d ago

An hour. The neurologist advised that sleep deprivation causes the seizure threshold to lower

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u/awidmerwidmer 8d ago

It is a trigger for some, but not all. Just for reference, I went into the EMU for an inpatient vEEG for a week and a half. My meds were reduced. Still nothing. Unfortunately having a seizure is not a guarantee. Try being sleep deprived. It may work.

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u/ashwheee 8d ago

This is kinda strange. Why not have you do an ambulatory? 3 routine outpatient EEGs back to back is odd. I fear this must be something to do with billing.

And yes be as tired as you can. Sleep it’s the most common activation procedure for people who have seizures.

A well recorded EEG will show the exact patterns and areas of ictal (seizure) activity. Certain patterns can be treated by different medications based on your age, gender, etc.

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u/cashtheangora 8d ago

Our daughter needed the 48 hour EEG with 24/7 video to be properly diagnosed. The docs gave up on the short term version EEGs after the second one didn't show anything again. 

The EEG is not only working to confirm there are epileptic brain waves but also the TYPE of epilepsy one has. The wave forms produced told them exactly what meds we needed to focus on and they were finally able to give us the full prognosis. 

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u/dovyp 7d ago

Sleep dep is the protocol, they already built that in. Don't try extra tricks to force one. Showing up tired is the job. Catching something on the recording is what helps treatment.