DS needs an EEG at the hospital. Has anyone else gone through this?

Xeri_28 · 03-03-2008, 06:41 PM

Hi everyone,

I really need some advice and support. My son had a head injury last October, and seemed fine at the time, the ER docs gave him a thorough check and said he was okay. Then in January he had some unusual tremors in his hand so he pedi is sending him for an EEG because of the history of the head injury. I did some online research, and got this from Wikipedia:

Electroencephalography (EEG) is the measurement of electrical activity produced by the brain as recorded from electrodes placed on the scalp.

I can read a hundred articles and none will really give me the answers I need. Can anyone help? Have any of you had your children need and get an EEG test? Do you know of anyone else whose kids had it?

What exactly happens? How long does it take? Did they have to be sedated? I'm scared he's going to have to be strapped down and am tempted to cancel the appoinment. I know I shouldn't because it's important to rule out major problems and it will be good once it's over because it will bring peace of mind. I guess my anxiety is about his anxiety.

What can I do to make this as okay as possible for him?

Thanks in advance!

Xeri

BeetleGirl · 03-04-2008, 01:25 AM

I work in a sleep clinic and one of things monitored during sleep is EEG. We also have alot of children go through our lab.
It is not painful at all. They attach various amounts(depending on what they are looking for) of electrodes to ones head using a paste glue or combination of the two. The patient again depending on what are looking for will keep them on for a set amount of time(sometimes over night) and monitor brain waves. A bunch of squiggly lines on a computer screen(or on paper) that actually mean something to trained professionals. Although I am sure the person doing the testing would love to strap your kid down(to save themselves from reattaching the electrodes when your kid rips them off) they won't. It is really one of the easiest tests that can be completed.

Nantucket · 03-07-2008, 03:35 PM

Both my oldest DD(after an unexplained seizure) and my DS(because of his speech issues) have undergone EEG's...one was very very bad and one was a breeze. My DD would NOT settle down. The tech was completely annoying and was almost yelling at her to stay still..uhm she was 26 months old and the test was taking a VERY long time. The results were inconclusive and we went ahead with MRI's etc afterwards. It was also extremely hard to get the glue out of her hair-it took days.

My son's was easy. He was a very calm quiet boy and the tech had no problem getting good readings. Because of his buzz cut it was also very easy to clean him up.

Neither was in any way 'bothered' by the test, no pain etc...it is just hard to get them to stay still.

they were both done while fully awake but there is also what is called a sleep deprivation EEG where they must stay up all night and are VERY sleepy during the actual test.

Not saying you will need to move on to an MRI but both mine did. That was a little scarier because they are put under general anesthetic, but is a fairly short procedure.