Advice to Patients Attending
All of the procedures that we undertake are totally painless. We have the most up to date of recording equipment and all data is stored digitally on either CD or DVD's.
A description with photos of each procedure follows:
Routine EEG
Video EEG
Visually Evoked Response (VER)
Auditory Evoked Response (AER)
Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP)
A Routine EEG is a test for which we place a stretchy cap containing
about 24 recording electrodes onto your head. Some water-based jelly is inserted
into each electrode and you are made comfortable while the recording takes
place. Once set up, a routine recording will take about 20 minutes during which
most patients become drowsy. There is absolutely no pain and no after effects.
During the recording, you will be asked to hyperventilate (deep breathe) for
about 3 minutes and near the end of the recording, a bright flashing light will
be placed in front of you. If you find the light unpleasant, it will not be
continued but many patients report a pleasant relaxing feeling from it.
In the case of children, we normally manage an EEG with parental support, ie the
child sitting on parent's knees. If you do bring a child for EEG, please do
not bring any other children as it is absolutely crucial that there are no
distractions during the EEG. You could bring their favorite book, toy or even
DVD and between us, we can usually entertain them while the recording takes
place.
In some cases (about 1 out of every 10), children will simply not co-operate. In such cases, we will repeat the procedure at a later date after sedation which will be arranged with your family doctor.
If you, the patient or the child
patient is taking any prescribed medicines, these should not be stopped or
altered in any way whatsoever.
If you are an adult, please do bring another adult. If it is possible to bring
someone who had witnessed any of your attacks or problems that have required the
EEG, that would be extremely useful in terms of our being able to obtain a clear
description of the events. Please do not bring more than one other adult as too
many people in the room can be somewhat distracting.
A Video EEG is identical to a Routine EEG except that we will video you during the test. In many cases, this can be extremely helpful, especially if we are able to capture any part of a typical attack that you may have whilst here.