paroxysmal?

[lrjg]

I am confused by something I read on a medical inpatient report.  There were many of the words that I did not understand what they meant so I looked them up.  The one that I have just looked up is"paroxysmal"  What I have found is that it is an event that is not really a seizure and comes from having pain.  This was mentioned having a VEEG when I remember not having a  complaint of pain.  This confuses me from the report of a VEEG I had done.  I am aware that I had no seizure at the time (7 days) I was in for the VEEG. At three prior VEEG's I had, showed the seizures on the EEG papers.  In this report that I have questions about is made to sound like I am not having seizures.  I have also found on this form from the doctor,..."that possible pre-existing nonepileptic events are likely to persist after epilepsy surgery"   All the ones I pressed a button in the hospital when I felt a seizure coming on was shown as a seizure on the paper recorded.  This seems so strange to me after having the tests for the Temporal Lobe surgery.  When I had the MRI, prior EEG's, and ???(colored scan)  all came back positive to the epilepsy seizures.  When I was in the hospital with the first stage of the Temporal surgery, grids in,  I had a doctor tell me that when I explained how I feel when I have a seizure, that these are not seizures but panic attacks. This is after evidence from prior EEG's that I was having them.   I did have a reaction to the grids, which numbed up my arms and metal feeling in my mouth, unable to speak, and couldn't think straight.  I had a severe pain in the recent surgery area at this time.  I was told later that this showed seizure activity.  
  When I came out of the temporal lobe surgery I was told that the scarred area was removed and that there was hypocampus damage that was removed also.
  I guess my question would be how could a statement about "paroxysmal event" be written with what was said after the surgery.  Or, the other statement saying  "pre-existing nonepileptic events are likely to come back after surgery.  I am just so confused with these things mentioned in a medical report, which I was surprised was sent to me.  Defined on an EEG report and an MRI scan showing scarring, how could these statements be said?  Please help me understand.   Thank you!

[Nicole1111]

I'm by no means a doctor, and think you should call your doctor to talk to him/her about your concerns.  This is obviously troubling to you, and it is well known that anxiety and stress can bring on seizures, so please talk to the people who are familiar with your medical history!

In the meantime, I hope I can calm your nerves by explaining that when they speak of paroxysmal responses alone, they are not saying you don't have seizures.  A paroxysmal response is an electrical response  in the brain that can be seen on an EEG even though no manifestation of seizure activity is seen to the observer (or even the patient.)  Many people experience a paroxysmal response to the strobe light portion of a routine EEG despite having no "seizures."  

In my experience, when doctors speak of epileptic events they are only talking about clinical seizures (ones someone can see and verify.)  Because paroxysmal responses are not always followed by epileptic events they are termed non-epileptic.  They do suggest a tendency for seizures, which earns them the classification of "epileptiform discharges."  They may be from light, pain (often seen in patients with headaches or migraines), auras, or other triggers.  

Please relax!  I don't think they're suggesting you donn't have seizures - they're just saying they didn't see any during your VEEG, and the paroxysmal responses they saw could even have been auras you had that never played out into seizures.  

Nicole

[lrjg]

Please!  I am stressing about the thoughts of others at the hospital.  It is confusing me so much.  I have thought of flying out to the hospital to figure out if I am misunderstanding this word.  It would be a lot easier for me if I could just get an opinion from a medical person who may know if this definition I found is not correct.  Please