Rubyruby,
You can't tell seizure activity from an MRI. You are correct only an EEG can detected seizures.
The one hour EEGs don't use the terrible smelling glue just the 24 hour
ones do and the smell wears off. Over the past few months my ds
(2) has been hooked up to EEG machines too many times and the worst
part is hooking him up and helping him not get tangled up in the wires
for days on end because he is a huge wanderer.
What meds is your child on? I would call the neuro and ask about having an EEG done.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I just posted about tics and one of the reply's made me wonder about something else sort of off that topic. When my daughter saw the neuro about her tics, he did not perform an eeg or anything. Based on history he diagnosed her and medicated her. Is this routine or should I be demanding an EEG? I will say that she had an MRI previous to this appt that he had access to for an entire different problem. However, I think an EEg is the main way that they can see seizure activity right?
My son had the EEG to be sure of no seizure activity. I gotta tell you, it was a terrible experience, but if you need it, you need it. If we were to do it again, I would try to find a hospital with better ventilation. Where we went they used a noxious smelling (and I expect none of use should have been breathing it) glue type stuff to attach the wires to his head, and it was awful. They like to get data from both waking and sleeping (which means you have to keep your child awake for a while before the EEG), my son was almost asleep until he opened the glue, but it was so awful, he ended up not being able to fall asleep. Better ventilation would have made a HUGE difference. I don’t have any idea if the MRI could have been a substitute. That’s my two cents, hope it helps.
If there's something you don't understand or aren't sure about, then you have every right to ask the doctor directly. I personally hate to make those types of phone calls...
I tried to see what I could find out on the internet. Here's what I found, for what it's worth:
This list of the areas of use for EEGs does not include tics. This makes me think that an EEG would only be used if the clinician suspected that the tics might really be seizures.
http://www.doctorslounge.com/neurology/procedures/eeg.htm
I found this about Tourettes, but maybe it applies to regular tics, too. I highlighted the interesting points:
"How is TS diagnosed?
"TS is a diagnosis that doctors make after verifying that the patient has had both motor and vocal tics for at least 1 year. The existence of other neurological or psychiatric conditions[1] can also help doctors arrive at a diagnosis. Common tics are not often misdiagnosed by knowledgeable clinicians. But atypical symptoms or atypical presentation (for example, onset of symptoms in adulthood) may require specific specialty expertise for diagnosis. There are no blood or laboratory tests needed for diagnosis, but neuroimaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), and electroencephalogram (EEG) scans, or certain blood tests may be used to rule out other conditions that might be confused with TS."
Source: http://info.epmhmr.org/poc/center_index.php?id=108
Good luck with everything.
Yes, an EEG is the only way to be sure of seizure activity...it can read if any have recently occured, I think usually within 24 hrs...it can tell if your child may be prone to seizures, because of specific brain patterns...and you can actually see a seizure on an EEG.
With us too, the worst part is getting the leads attached...it's hard for Mason because he is so sensitive to someone touching his head. And yes the long term EEG's are even worse because of the smelly glue they use and they dry it with an air compressor, and it's loud and again with the air blowing on Mason is bad!
I did not read your other post, so I'm going to see what that says!