Strobe induced twitching/Normal EEG

Is it possible to have seizures but have a normal EEG?  During an EEG, I was told I twitched in my arms, legs, and head, but that my EEG was normal.  What could cause that twitching if it's not seizures?  Or could it still be seizures?

[rBoulet]

I'm pretty sure that that is possible. I had epilepsy when I was younger and yet all my EEGs were normal, they had no other way to explain what was happening though and whatever it was responded to seizure medications so they decided it was that. All an EEG does is measure your brain waves while you're hooked up to the machine, seizures show up as spikes or "epilepsy waves" on the machine which confirms a diagnosis of epilepsy. However, a lot of people who have seizures have normal brain waves between seizures, and thus when you have the EEG your brain waves will appear normal (unless they provoke a seizure during the EEG, which is why they flash that light at you and sometimes ask you to breath certain ways) but doing all they ask will not always provoke a seizure.
Not all seizures involve "twitching" and there are many other things that can account for twitching such as certain medications and other medical conditions. Some seizures are simply periods of time a person can't remember, hallucinations, feeling confused or afraid, etc..
My seizures varied, usually I would just zone out for a long period of time and remember nothing of it. My friend had seizures where she thought there was a person sneaking up behind her and she would be terrified. My girlfriend had seizures where she hallucinated and became terrified.
It's different for everyone.

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi,
A normal EEG does not at all mean that one did not have a seizure. During a seizure, the electrical activity is abnormal. Once the seizure is over, the brain rapidly returns to normal in most individuals. When an EEG is done several hours or even days later, it misses the changes in electrical activity that occurred during the actual seizure. But you mentioned that during EEG, there was muscle twitching but the EEG was normal. So it is possible that they were muscle twitches and not seizures. The causes of muscle twitches could be- Chronic fatigue syndrome, Aicardi syndrome, Stiff person syndrome, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Acid base imbalance, Hypoparathyoidism, Spinal muscular atrophy, Generalised anxiety disorder and many others. Please consult a physician and get the primary investigations done. It would be better to go for an MRI of the brain and spine and consult a neurologist for examination, investigations and diagnosis. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards!    

[suzyq5981]

MY DAUGHTER N LAW WAS ON A EEG MACHINE FOR 24 HRS SHE HAD MULTIPLE SEIZURES BUT NOTHING SHOWED UP. SHE HAS BEEN TOLD SHES NOT HAVING SEIZURES. WE RECENTLY STARTED LOWERING HER DILANTIN AND NOW SHE IS HAVING THEM AGAIN.  HELP

[caandsa]

Hi,
I have multiple seizures every time I try to fall asleep.  My Dr. also said that I wasn't having seizures and withdrew the keppra I was taking for seizure activity. While taking keppra I finally went 3 days without a seizure , but they started up again now that I am off.  It really ***** and is often painful. My Dr. told me that I am having seizures but are non-epileptic and referred me to a psychologist.  I don't really know what to do because I'm not sure I believe her diagnosis. I know that there are certain types of seizures that don't show up on an eeg, but the Dr. was rather quick to diagnose it with non-epileptic seizures.