Sleep Walking/Altered Perception Dreams

[Pamela__0__0]

  : : Dear Doctors:  I have been told that I sleep-walked as a young child age four.  I have no knowledge of ever doing it since then, until about 4-6 months ago. Your clinic forum recently helped me understand my abnormal EEG-irritable cortex in left temporal area with asymmetry and decrease in voltage. It was suggested that possibly epilepsy was the cause.  I have had several what I assumed were minor closed head injuries.  The last one about six months ago- I was mugged and my doctor said she thought I had a blow-out? fracture right cheek/eye area though I don't think the x-ray said that.  The one prior to that-I fell off the top of a military obsticle course and fell about 15 feet onto my face.(always graceful)closed head injury with retrograde amnesia for the event. The sleep walking is distressing since I found myself 1.outside in the front yard at 3AM, 2.screaming and trying to get something off of me 3. felt something brush against me while I slept. I sat up,saw a bug, grabbed a cup-and as I stared at the bug to capture it-I saw it transform into the bedside stand handle.  There I was-cup in hand feeling REALLY STUPID!  Could any of this sleep walking/wierd dream stuff be from epilepsy or the head trauma?  Is there a way to tell which is the cause? I was hoping my military doctors would do a sleep study or one of those 24 hour EEG's, but they said they want to do another EMG with F? Waves because my last one was borderline.  I have never had a seizure with loss of conciousness to my knowledge; but as I think back over some of my head trauma events-almost all had momentary loss of conciousness with unknown cause for the event.  I have always been thankful for the amnesia-since I figure it is probably not a pleasant thing to remember specifics of falling/getting hurt. I appreciate your 2nd opionion.  Thank-you in advance.
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  : It would appear that your physicians are chasing a different set of symptoms
  : to the ones which are causing your problms, EMG withg F waves is a test
  : of peripheral nerve function and would not be informative regatrding your sleep problems.
  : Sleep walking and epilepsy are quite distinct problems although they are investigated
  : using similar techniques.
  : I think your EEG from what I remember is suggestibve of but not diagnostic
  : of epilepsy, but the episodes you describe sound more like a sleep problem
  :  than epileptic events.
  : The best way to clarify this situation would be to have an overnight sleep study with
  : simultaneous EEG recording, this would allow a prolonged look at brain
  : wave activity and could be correllated with any behavioral abnormalities
  : during the recording.
  : An EMG with F waves will not answer these questions so I would suggest that
  : you request specifically that this issue be investigated.
  Thank-you again.  Is your facility connected with any VA Hospital?  
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