Honestly, I've never experienced what you've felt. I did have two EEGs in the past moth that ended up showing seizure activity. During the second one, I remember the muscles on my back were hot, my hands were hurting as were my feet, and my spine at one point was cold. I have Complex-Partial Seizures, but I think I typically feel more sluggish, a feeling of lightness or a... slowing down in my head.

Irregardless, I would highly recommend speaking to your doc/neurologist about this. An EEG isn't supposed to hurt. I can fully understand your concern, and I would definitely be making a call to find out what is going on. I'm not sure if what you felt was seizure related or not, but there are a fair amount of types and my knowledge is fairly limited. ^^; I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help!

Hope you get some answers, and that all goes well!

Hi, The old phrase, everyone is different rings very true for a seizure disorder. Two people rarely experience the same things.

May I ask what prompted you to have the EEG test if you believe you have never had a seizure before? An EEG measures your brain waves and includes activities to induce a seizure.

It certainly sounds like you had some type of episode but the one to definitively tell you what kind of episode is a neurologist. That would be the same type of doctor to prescribe medications too.

It would be very helpful to the doctor if could keep a journal of these spells or episodes and explain their duration, what was happening before it happened and after. It's also helpful to describe the feelingsa you experience afterwards with the headache and badly your body feels. Try to find a good doctor soon and let us know how things go for you.
Good luck and many blessings!!

I was referred to my neurologist after I had been in the emergency room twice in one week(July 16 & 19). The first time I went, my PCP was worried that I had a collapsed lung (I had gone to him due to some very severe back and chest pain, similar to what I had after the EEG). During my visit to the short stay as a nurse was putting in an IV, I told her I wasn't able to move my arm. After some diagnostics (EKG, Xrays, blood tests, & some mobility tests with my left arm), I was told I had "pulled a muscle" and was sent home. I wasn't able to move my arm at all, it just hung at my side. After (again) seeing my PCP for a follow-up, I told him that it really bothered me that I was not able to use my arm. I told him that the back pain and whatnot had not gotten better. He advised my I needed to go to the ER. So I went back and after a CT scan done of my neck and head (again) I was told I "pulled a muscle" and was sent home.

I spent close to two weeks being unable to use my arm. Being a hairdresser and having a boss who doesn't care about my well-being made things hard. I had missed 4 days of work and was told I had to service clients, thought I had a useless arm.

Eventually, at the end of August, I got to see the neuro. By the time I had seen him, the back pain had gotten so bad that I was hunched over like I was 95 years old. I had severe difficulty walking, my response time was very slow. I was living 24/7 in very severe pain. He did some mobility tests and he felt that more of my issue may be rheumatic.

Some background on me:
Long time sufferer of migraines
Several allergies to dyes (natural and synthetic)
Asthmatic
Anxiety issues
Borderline Hypothyroidism

My mother has MS and my father is a dialysis patient in end stage renal failure. Far as I know, none of my blood tests had a high sed rate, ANA was negative/ not high enough for concern... Pretty much there was nothing at the time they could see. Between the time I had left the ER and now, most days I am waking up in severe pain and confusion. Many mornings it takes me about 2 hours to actually find the strength to get up. It's not like sleep paralysis, because I can turn over, but I don't have to muscle strength to get myself out of bed.

I'm not sure if he's just ruling out stuff due to familial history or what. All I know is that something is wrong and I just want it fixed so I can have my life back. All I do is go to work and sit at home. I've gotten really depressed because of all of this. I barely speak to my friends anymore, my parents are worried about me constantly, and I'm not sure that if there's no way to "fix" me, that the career I worked so hard to start will go away. I cannot continue another 6 months like this.

I'm so sorry that you're experiencing all of this! I find myself baffled that they would just tell you that you pulled a muscle on those incidents. Yeah, a pulled muscle can suck out loud, but I haven't heard of someone pulling a muscle in their arm and not being able to move/use it for periods of time like that.

I really hope that you get answers to your questions and that everything gets back on track for you. Try to talk to your friends a little bit about this. I find that having even menial discussions with people close to me make me feel much better/refreshed when dealing with a lot of stress. I think it's important to be able to laugh and have some sources of good things mixed in with the negative crap, when dealing with medical issues or even other things.

I hope the pain fades quickly, the arm behaves so that you can more easily do what you love, and that everyone's worry/stress levels begin to go back down quickly.

Wishing you well!

Sketched

Me too. I was an athlete and competitive dancer for over 10 years and I know what a pulled muscle is. This is past that type of pain. It was/ has been so bad, I even thought I was having a heart attack.

I have been trying to keep in contact with friends and I play a few video games that have a great social scene. I have my days when I'm really depressed and others (like today) where it's not so bad.

I've had several other instances of not being able to use my arm, some times it's only a few minutes, sometimes its a few days. So far, i only had that one instance where it was a long period of time.

Hi, I"m so sorry you are having such a rough time. In many ways I'm experiencing very similar symptoms right now and have a history of seizures and was diagnosed as a child. That's why I asked if you had been seen by a Dr. to make that determination. If you are still experiencing the pain you say you have been in, I would seek another opinion from a diferent neurologist. There are many neurological conditions that manifest themselves with the symptoms you mention. Have you had an MRI and a Transcranial Doppler test? The MRI gives a great picture and the TCD
looks at the blood flow throughout the brain. If there is a problem such as a tumor, even a false one that is created from a hypertensive condition in any area of the brain, this test will pick it up. It's really a sonogram of the brain and shows blockages, strokes, aneurysms etc. Sometimes a swelling in the brain is caused by an infection and can be treated with antibiotics. I'm nor a doctor but I'm being tested for a host of neurological problems because I'd had a sever migraine that won't go away, it stays in my eye ( either one) for the most part, and that's usually where MS begins or so I have been told. You have my prayers and wishes for the best news you can possibly get. Please let us know wht you find out. I should know soon all my results too. I seriously doubt you have just a muscle pull in your arm and your boss sounds awful! I wonder if he/she would feel differently if it were them? Compassion and empathy would be nice....ya' think??

Many blessings filled with hope!
Teach...

I have been thinking about going to another doctor for a second opinion. My neuro is one of the best in the area and normally if you are seeing him (not just another doc in his practice) they don't know what's wrong with you.

I had an MRI on Monday after the EEG. The radiologist asked me some questions about how I had gotten to the situation I am currently in. I had told the radiologist about what had happened earlier this year and what happened at the EEG that day. THE WORST thing that could have done was give me a DVD of my MRI... I noticed a several of the images had places where the images were blurred towards to front of my brain (only in the views that would be from the top of my head), but the rest was clear. I also noticed some inconsistencies within some of the structures where there's nothing at all (left side missing what the right side had. There's a BIG OL' SPACE where I assumed there should have been some brain to scan).

A TCD I have not had. I know some things about it, and I may mention it at my next appointment. I think it may give some better insight to what is wrong.

And my boss, she's a riot. I had gone into anaphylactic shock due to a medication I was taking has a dye in it I never knew I was allergic to (No wonder i never felt better). And after I got out of the ER that afternoon, she wanted me to come into work. Well, I couldn't because I wasn't even able to drive. But i went in the next day. A funny thing about it is, a client I had to reschedule is a nurse and she told me that I should have been at home for a week to recuperate. She just assumes if you're not in a wheelchair or dying of cancer, you're not really that sick. That you can "just suck it up". If she had to live with the pain and whatnot I have 24/7, she'd lose her mind.

Hi, again, I'm sorry you have to deal with people. as we all do who really don't understand what they can't see or feel for themselves.The lack of empathy astounds me at times....
Even after studying neuroanatomy for 2 years, I wouldn't assume to know or try to diagnose what takes place during an MRI as those blurred images could simply mean you moved and nothing else. The space you refer to can only be explained by a qualified doctor and no one else. I saw mine too. My neurologist knows what I know and he figures I have an understanding but I don't assume to diagnose ever, that's his job. I simply describe how I feel and the better the job I do, the better it helps the doc. So please give yourself a chance! There is always hope, prayers and a chance. A TCD does give more information too.
I do know that if you've had a seizure, or that type of allergic reaction as you described, there is no way you should have been at work the next day. The doctor who treated you could have given you a script advising you to take the time off to get better....just a suggestion.
I hope this helps you a little and that you start to feel a little better too!
Many blessings...
Teach