Abnormal EEG? What does it mean if not epilepsy?

Question

I had an EEG done because of visual disturbances. I had spike and spike wave complexes in my occipital and parietal lobes.

the trouble is that i had this test done abroad and couldnt have things explained properly. they told me i had epilepsy, which i dont think becasue my visual disturbances are 24/7 and get worse each day.

these spike and spike wave complexes occured during the hyperventilation stage and in this time i was getting a VERY tight chest from hyperventilating.

i am awaiting an appt with a neurologist at home to get it analysed or another test done.

any pointers??

what can cause the spikes n spike waves? could it be my tight chest??? i dont know anything.

i have no history of siezure. i am having big issues with circulation and tingling fingers etc. i also had an mri - apparently clear. blood work - fine. heart - good.

could this be epilepsy without seizures? what could it be if not epilepsy?

Answer 1

holymoly,

Well, while your description was helpful, it isn't quite enough to be sure, so I can only give you my first impression.

I would be inclined to think that it is epilepsy.

Generally, spikes in the parietal and occipital lobes might or might not be epileptiform. Though the occipital and parietal lobes are not common places for them, they could be discharges due to a form of epilepsy.

Some questions that must be answered are: Do the spikes interrupt the background waveform? Are they asymetrical? Do they have a descending limb falling below baseline? Do they show a slow recovery? If they do, then they might be indicators of epilepsy. If they don't, and if they are symetrical, then they probably are not. They could be nonspecific transients.

You see, without the actual tracing it isn't possible to tell if it is actually due to epilepsy.

But, since the preliminary diagnosis is epilepsy, let's tentatively agree with them, pending further information. If they are, then they are most likely what are called "interictal epileptiform discharges," or discharges in the brain that occur between seizures. Seizures come in many forms. The father of a girlfriend I once had had a petite mal seizure right in front of me. There was no falling, no convulsing, just a stop in the conversation, and he stared for several seconds. A fellow I still know stopped talking and started drooling. My sister would just get a little dizzy and have to sit down. However, the last two showed me their EEGs, and they showed characteristic interictal spikes and wave complexes. They weren't even having seizures when they were recorded.

Visual disturbances are one possible sign of epilepsy. If yours are, they don't have to be caught on record in order for the doctor to know that you have it.

These interictal complexes are one of the most common pointers to epilepsy that we have, since actually catching a seizure on record is rather rare.

I assume that your neurologist will want to give you another, different kind of EEG test, continuous video EEG, before he tries anything a bit more exotic, like a PET scan. However, he can look at your original test and decide if it's worth pursuing.

It's not fun to be told that one has something like this. I sat with my sister for a while as she digested the news from her neurologist. But she lives a very full and happy life. Her medications control her seizures, and most people don't even know she has it. Certainly none of her students do.

So if I were you I would start thinking it possible that I have epilepsy, and get used to the idea. If you do, it would appear to be a mild case, and medication will probably serve you as well as it does my sister.

I hope that you do not, that these are some kind of transient spike, but epileptiform complexes are pretty distinctive and they are hard to mistake.

On the other hand, once your treatment is started, you most likely won't even think about it much.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It could mean a multitude of things. EEGs are given to monitor the heart for any abnormalities. This could include heart attacks, heart murmurs, tachycardia (abnormally fast heart rate), bradycardia (abnormally low heart rate), ischemia (low oxygen flow), etc. Epilepsy is definitely on the list. And EEG can detect the possibility of epilepsy and seizures.

Answer 3

http://www.send-a-surprise.com/abnormal-eeg-test.htm