Hi Guys !  The doctors here in Phx are trying to determine if Cara is having seizures instead of TIA's.  Not sure how the results would come out...about five days we should know.  I did see a note I read upside down that her neurologist requested "no hyperventilation"  (not sure if thats the correct spelling) but must be something they do to prompt some action and he was advising against it.  Maybe too risky with her MM condition.   The doctor wasn't there for me to ask but I will be sure ask when he talks to us about the results.   Since I had to keep her up til midnight the night before then wake her up 4am...she didn't have any trouble sleeping during a portion of it.  I didn't watch the screen until the end....but saw calm brain waves while she was sleeping then when the tech woke her up and she was stretching, laughing...oh man..those waves were frightening staggering up and down and close together and the tech was typing next to it "what Cara was doing".  But Cara seemed calm and normal compared to what the waves were showing...made me think that would make someone have a difficult time to think and talk if they are doing simple things like stretch and laugh.   I am not sure exact what the EEG tells the doctor but I'm curious though to see if "Google" can tell me more.  Will keep you posted.

[smiley=heart.gif] [smiley=hug.gif] [smiley=heart.gif] [smiley=hug.gif] [smiley=heart.gif] CarasMOM

Carol and Cara ... hope that the results come back with good news.  Really glad that Cara was able to sleep and be still for the testing!!!!!  When they did Sean's MRI/MRA/CTA in Des Moines they ended up using concious sedation to keep him still enough!  (Gotta love that 3 yr old!)

Regarding the "no hyperventilation", that is usually a precaution taken when there is concern about blood flow to the brain.  Blowing, whistling, etc., are considered forms of hyperventilation because they can increase pressure (restricting blood flow) in the back of the head.  With Cara's history of MM they most likely are doing this as a precaution.

Right now we are restricting the blowing parts of Sean's speech therapy because the doc in Boston gave us a "no hyperventilation" restriction for Sean.

MedLine Plus defines an EEG as: An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test to detect abnormalities in the electrical activity of the brain.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003931.htm

The reasons to perform an EEG (partial):

EEG is used to help diagnose the presence and type of seizure disorders, to look for causes of confusion, and to evaluate head injuries, tumors, infections, degenerative diseases, and metabolic disturbances that affect the brain.

I would guess that they are looking for abnormal spikes or valleys in brain activity that could help diagnose seizure activity.  In fact, Dr. Scott has told us that they will have Sean hooked up to an EEG monitoring the areas of his brain that they are not working on during his synangiosis (EDAS) surgery.  If they do not detect any abnormal activity, they will do both sides at the same time.  If any abnormal activity is present, they will do one side on the 11th and the other side a week later.



Hope this helps a bit.

Steve

Carol,

Wasn't that 4:00 am wake-up call fun?   I remember back in December when Tara had her first EEG.  When it was time, she was asleep within 30 seconds . . .  the technician told me that she had never seen anyone fall asleep so fast!

I'll be anxious to hear the results of their findings on Cara.  In the meantime, I hope everything is going well with your family!

Hugs,
Jill