Questions posted in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: Fainting, Jerking & Sleeping

Forum: Neurology Forum
Topic: Neurology


My daugher is 16 years old and has for the past 2 months been having jerkiing of her body approximately once every ten days and passing out 3-6 times a week. She is sleeping around 14-15 hours a day and still feels tired. She has been to a neurologist, and a sleep disorder doctor and they have performed various test and all have been negative. What else can we do?
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I do not know what sort of tests have ben performed but presumably an EEG
and possibly a sleep study were part of the work-up, if not they should
be considered.
Jerks are suggestive of certain types of epilepsy , however the frequency of the jerks you describe
is veryrare compared to the frequency of jerks seen in most untreated
epilepsies.
She should ideally have a sleep deprived EEG as myoclonic jerks are most
frequent during the transitions between wakefulness and sleep.
If her problem is with fainting as opposed to convulsions she may be a candidate for tilt
table testing which checks the response of the heart and blood pressure
to changes in posture.
If this response is underactive there is a tendancy to faint easily.
If there tests are all negative and ( ONLY in this case ) the possibility that these episodes
are a physical manifestation of stress should be considered.
16 is a difficult stage stage in life and there may be many pressures you
are unaware of. I would explore this option if physical causes have been
fully outruled.

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