Guest guest Posted May 31, 2006 Report Posted May 31, 2006 My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. I have a couple questions... Is the procedure painless? Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and crying? Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? Thanks Lori Quote
Guest guest Posted May 31, 2006 Report Posted May 31, 2006 Your best bet is a sleep-deprived EEG where you keep him up the night before so he will (hopefully!) fall asleep during the EEG. Since many seizures occur during sleep they generally get a better reading. They put sticky stuff and sensors all over the person's head. Find out if it's ok to play a video during the procedure. Some allow this, some don't. From what I understand it is painless. S S My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week.<BR> <BR> I have a couple questions...<BR> <BR> Is the procedure painless?<BR> Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and <BR> crying?<BR> <BR> Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do?<BR> <BR> Thanks<BR> Lori<BR> _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! Quote
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Posted June 1, 2006 Lori, The procedure is painless. You should ask for an instruction sheet or similar to address issues of hair-washing, staying awake, medicines to stop or continue. Screaming and crying interfere with the EEG by introducing muscle artifact into the tracing. It may also eliminate the possibility of a resting sequence. The final result could vary from adequate to useless. There is no reason, a priori, that an EEG could not performed with the child in the parent's arms. If that would reduce screaming and crying, as well as your anxiety, ask if it could be done that way. Jim ________________________________ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of ldbender Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 1:31 PM Subject: [ ] EEG next week My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. I have a couple questions... Is the procedure painless? Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and crying? Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? Thanks Lori ======================================================= Quote
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Posted June 1, 2006 I just received a call from the EEG department at the hospital. They want me to put my son to bed two hours latsr and wake him up two hours earlier than usual. No Rx medications the day before. I'm so worried now. My son needs Clonidine to even go to sleep. Natural supplements will not put him to sleep or even make him sleepy. I placed a call to the doc who ordered the EEG. I have a feeling that this EEG is going to be all for nothing. Idealy they would like him to sleep during part of the test. That's not going to happen. The less sleep he gets the more stimulated he is. He's been known to stay awake for 24 hours or more when he does not get his clonidine. I dont know what to do now. Lori > > Lori, > > The procedure is painless. You should ask for an instruction sheet or > similar to address issues of hair-washing, staying awake, medicines to > stop or continue. Screaming and crying interfere with the EEG by > introducing muscle artifact into the tracing. It may also eliminate the > possibility of a resting sequence. The final result could vary from > adequate to useless. > > There is no reason, a priori, that an EEG could not performed with the > child in the parent's arms. If that would reduce screaming and crying, > as well as your anxiety, ask if it could be done that way. > > Jim > > ________________________________ > > From: > [mailto: ] On Behalf Of ldbender > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 1:31 PM > > Subject: [ ] EEG next week > > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > I have a couple questions... > > Is the procedure painless? > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and > crying? > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > Thanks > Lori > > > > > > > > ======================================================= > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Posted June 1, 2006 Lori, Talk to them specifically about the clonidine. As you probably know, it can be dangerous to stop clonidine abruptly, altho this depends on the dose and how long they anticipate delaying the next dose. Clonidine does cause agitation, nightmares and hallucinations in some people, so there is an outside chance it could affect the EEG, but I'm betting against it. A blanket statement like 'no Rx medications' sounds more like policy than like science and may just be their way of insuring that people don't load up on anticonvulsants or benzodiazepines just before the test. The doctor is just as interested in having your son calm and sleepy as you are and doesn't want to waste the test. If you explain the situation, they may give you different instructions. Another thing to consider is chloral hydrate, which is often used as a hypnotic in conjunction with EEG. If your son is a regular patient of the neurologist ordering the EEG, call the doctor's office to talk to the neurologist directly. If the neurologist is not also the treating doctor, call your regular doctor to express your concerns. Jim ________________________________ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of ldbender Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 2:21 PM Subject: [ ] Re: EEG next week I just received a call from the EEG department at the hospital. They want me to put my son to bed two hours latsr and wake him up two hours earlier than usual. No Rx medications the day before. I'm so worried now. My son needs Clonidine to even go to sleep. Natural supplements will not put him to sleep or even make him sleepy. I placed a call to the doc who ordered the EEG. I have a feeling that this EEG is going to be all for nothing. Idealy they would like him to sleep during part of the test. That's not going to happen. The less sleep he gets the more stimulated he is. He's been known to stay awake for 24 hours or more when he does not get his clonidine. I dont know what to do now. Lori > > Lori, > > The procedure is painless. You should ask for an instruction sheet or > similar to address issues of hair-washing, staying awake, medicines to > stop or continue. Screaming and crying interfere with the EEG by > introducing muscle artifact into the tracing. It may also eliminate the > possibility of a resting sequence. The final result could vary from > adequate to useless. > > There is no reason, a priori, that an EEG could not performed with the > child in the parent's arms. If that would reduce screaming and crying, > as well as your anxiety, ask if it could be done that way. > > Jim > > ________________________________ > > From: > [mailto: ] On Behalf Of ldbender > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 1:31 PM > > Subject: [ ] EEG next week > > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > I have a couple questions... > > Is the procedure painless? > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and > crying? > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > Thanks > Lori > > > > > > > > ======================================================= > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Posted June 1, 2006 Thanks for your feed back Jim. I did call the neurologist this afternoon but had to leave a message with the nurse. They havent gotten back with me yet. I hope they dont think my son will be calm and sleepy when we get there. I will for sure be calling them back tomorrow to get more answers. Lori > > > > Lori, > > > > The procedure is painless. You should ask for an instruction sheet > or > > similar to address issues of hair-washing, staying awake, medicines > to > > stop or continue. Screaming and crying interfere with the EEG by > > introducing muscle artifact into the tracing. It may also > eliminate the > > possibility of a resting sequence. The final result could vary from > > adequate to useless. > > > > There is no reason, a priori, that an EEG could not performed with > the > > child in the parent's arms. If that would reduce screaming and > crying, > > as well as your anxiety, ask if it could be done that way. > > > > Jim > > > > ________________________________ > > > > From: > > [mailto: ] On Behalf Of ldbender > > Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 1:31 PM > > > > Subject: [ ] EEG next week > > > > > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > > > I have a couple questions... > > > > Is the procedure painless? > > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming > and > > crying? > > > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > > > Thanks > > Lori > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ======================================================= > > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2006 Report Posted June 1, 2006 Lori, Do you suspect that your son has seizures? Why is the doctor ordering the EEG? My 3.5 yr old daughter just had one done about a month ago and it was a horrible two hours! She was restrained the whole time since she wouldn't sit still while the technician put the probes on her head (takes 45 min!), cried the whole time, and refused to sleep although she was clearly tired. This is not the case obviously with all kids, and I don't mean to scare you. It's just that the only reason the doc recommended it is because she observed a little spaciness during her evaluation and I reported that she occassionally spaces out for a couple of seconds (common in kids with autism!). The doc actually didn't know her well either, but since she was a developmental pediatrician at Children's Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the country, I trusted her and them to make the process less painful, so went ahead with it. In the end, nothing unusual was found, and I wished that I had trusted my gut, which was telling me that the test was unnecessary! You may want to trust your gut and save your child the trauma. At least look up all the reasons why EEGs are done and go down the list of symptoms of each disorder to see if you suspect an EEG could be helpful. HTH, > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > I have a couple questions... > > Is the procedure painless? > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming and > crying? > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > Thanks > Lori > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Yes I do fear that he is having seizures. Tilting head to one side while body (arms and legs) stiffens. I cant ignore the possibilities. Thank you for warning me about the straps. I've been told by a few doctors that my son is high risk for seizures. His head is abnormal shape and size for this body. (Very small head and flat in the back) MRI scan was normal. We're still planning to go forth with the EEG. If it looks like its going to be too much for him to handle I will stop the procedure. Thank you for your feedback Lori > > > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > > > I have a couple questions... > > > > Is the procedure painless? > > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming > and > > crying? > > > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > > > Thanks > > Lori > > > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Hi, My son was only 17 months old when they did an EEG and it went really well. He wasn't too much bothered by the whole thing. I don't know how much he would have liked these days, but for the stressful moments we bring his ultimate favourite cartoons in a laptop, a whole bag of his favourite " anything " (they are not neccesarily toys)to the doctor's office (and I don't care about the looks I get sometimes). I always make sure that I do something really great and fun afterwards so he knows that a bad time always comes along with a super fun time later on. My two cents! J. Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 We too always take the fun bag of toys to doctor appts. The laptop is a great idea though. I will take that as well. Thanks Lori > > Hi, > > My son was only 17 months old when they did an EEG and it went really > well. He wasn't too much bothered by the whole thing. I don't know how > much he would have liked these days, but for the stressful moments we > bring his ultimate favourite cartoons in a laptop, a whole bag of his > favourite " anything " (they are not neccesarily toys)to the doctor's > office (and I don't care about the looks I get sometimes). I always > make sure that I do something really great and fun afterwards so he > knows that a bad time always comes along with a super fun time later on. > > My two cents! > > J. > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Hi, My son was only 17 months old when they did an EEG and it went really well. He wasn't too much bothered by the whole thing. I don't know how much he would have liked these days, but for the stressful moments we bring his ultimate favourite cartoons in a laptop, a whole bag of his favourite " anything " (they are not neccesarily toys)to the doctor's office (and I don't care about the looks I get sometimes). I always make sure that I do something really great and fun afterwards so he knows that a bad time always comes along with a super fun time later on. My two cents! J. Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Have you ever tried CST (cranial sacral therapy)? Might be worth checking into. S S Yes I do fear that he is having seizures. Tilting head to one side <BR> while body (arms and legs) stiffens. I cant ignore the possibilities.<BR> <BR> Thank you for warning me about the straps. <BR> <BR> I've been told by a few doctors that my son is high risk for seizures.<BR> His head is abnormal shape and size for this body. (Very small head <BR> and flat in the back) MRI scan was normal.<BR> <BR> <BR> We're still planning to go forth with the EEG. If it looks like its <BR> going to be too much for him to handle I will stop the procedure.<BR> <BR> Thank you for your feedback<BR> <BR> Lori<BR> _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! Quote
Guest guest Posted June 2, 2006 Report Posted June 2, 2006 Your welcome and Good Luck! Hopefully it'll be a helpful test for you. No matter how difficult it may be, your son will be ok afterwards. Kids get over trauma alot quicker than parents. My daughter certainly did! Good luck, > > > > > > My 3yo son is going to have an EEG next week. > > > > > > I have a couple questions... > > > > > > Is the procedure painless? > > > Will the doc still get an accurate reading if my son is screaming > > and > > > crying? > > > > > > Is there anything I should ask them to do or ask them not to do? > > > > > > Thanks > > > Lori > > > > > > Quote
Guest guest Posted June 3, 2006 Report Posted June 3, 2006 My son has had two EEGs -- one that lasted a few hours and one that lasted 48 hours. They are not at all painful but can be taxing because the child needs to sit still while they put the electrodes on and can't move around a lot after they're on. For the shorter one, the doctor used a special cap that contained the electrodes in it so it didn't take nearly as long to set up. Getting the metals out of his system eliminated his seizures. Gaylen Quote
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