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My neurologist sees brief ictal rhythmic discharges on EEG. She is consulting with someone to read it and see why I don’t feel any seizures

A MyEpilepsyTeam Member asked a question 💭
Cleveland, OH
January 9
 · 
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A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Even my auras, where I don’t lose consciousness, show up on EEG’s-RNS

January 10
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Not everyone knows when they are having a seizure. .

I have Onset Focal Iimpairment Awareness Seizures ( originally known as Complex Partial Seizures ) . Basically meaning that I am unaware when I see her.. I don’t get warning signs or any type of warning sign, that a seizure is coming or happening.

January 9 (edited)
MyEpilepsyTeam

Why might you not feel seizures even though your EEG shows ictal discharges?

It's actually not uncommon for seizures to occur without noticeable symptoms. These are called subclinical seizures, meaning they show up on an EEG but don't produce obvious physical or sensory changes that you'd recognize.

About 50 percent of EEGs Show Full Answer

Why might you not feel seizures even though your EEG shows ictal discharges?

It's actually not uncommon for seizures to occur without noticeable symptoms. These are called subclinical seizures, meaning they show up on an EEG but don't produce obvious physical or sensory changes that you'd recognize.

About 50 percent of EEGs performed on people who experience seizures can appear normal if a seizure isn't happening during the test. Conversely, seizure activity can be captured on an EEG even when someone doesn't feel anything unusual at that moment.

Why this happens:

- The seizure activity may be occurring in a part of the brain that doesn't produce noticeable symptoms
- The electrical discharges might be too brief or mild to cause symptoms you'd recognize
- Some seizure activity simply doesn't reach the threshold needed to cause awareness or physical changes

It's good that your neurologist is consulting with another specialist to review the EEG. This second opinion can help determine whether these discharges represent actual seizure activity requiring treatment, or if they're something else entirely. The interpretation of EEG patterns can be complex, and having multiple experts review the results helps ensure an accurate diagnosis.

January 9
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

There can be multiple reasons why these come up on EEG but you don't actually feel any seizure happen. It's a very common issue with TLE due to TBI.

January 9
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Good post, I agree with the ai mentioned about and other people's opinions here, I have had that happen a few times with my condition of Gen epilepsy, it's dif per person and I would suggest getting people's opinions here and then go to your doc about the situation you have at hand and go from there about it and good luck with your outcome with it my opinion here, hang in there and try to stay pos I do and so can you, my opinion

January 10

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