癫痫Testing, Diagnosis and Stages

If you think you’ve had a seizure, see your doctor as soon as possible. An early epilepsy diagnosis is important for effective treatment and symptom management. Banner Health’s experienced neurosciences team is here to help you every step of the way. We ensure you receive comprehensive and accurate testing for epilepsy and seizure disorders to get you the answers you need. Banner Health offer consultation with epilepsy specialists (epileptologists) who have specialty training after obtaining neurology board certification.

How Is Epilepsy Diagnosed?

癫痫is usually diagnosed if you have two or more seizures. Your doctor may recommend various epilepsy tests to rule out other seizure causes and confirm epilepsy diagnosis, including:

• Physical exam and evaluation:回顾您当前的健康，病史，出生史和症状。
• Neurological examination:Evaluate your motor skills and cognitive ability.
• 血球计数：确定传染病，毒素，肝脏和肾功能以及血糖水平的迹象。
• Electroencephalogram (EEG):A noninvasive test that uses electrodes on your scalp to record electrical activity in your brain (brain rhythm). It’s common to see different brain wave patterns in people with epilepsy.
• 成像测试：A CT scan, MRI or PET can show tumors or other abnormalities in the brain that may cause seizures. In patients with severe epilepsy dedicated special high resolution MRI scan may be necessary.
• 癫痫监测单元测试（EMU）：For those patients with refractory epilepsy, some patients are referred to inpatient video-EEG recording in the epilepsy monitoring unit, in order to capture the stereotypical seizures and to localize where seizure are originating from. This study would be necessary for those people who are considering elective epilepsy surgery. In addition, EMU can be sued to better characterize seizures when the diagnosis is not clear even though surgery is not considered.

What Are the Stages of Epilepsy?

癫痫以不同的方式影响人们。并非每个人都经历每个癫痫阶段。此外，一个人的癫痫发作症状可能与其他人有所不同。

Before the Seizure – Aura

光环就像警告信号。并非每个患有癫痫病的人都经历了第一阶段，这涉及到气味，味觉，视觉，听力和情感的变化。意识受损的程度可能会有所不同。光环是一个小的焦点（部分）seizurethat can develop into a larger,一般癫痫发作. Auras can last anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour.

Common aura symptoms:

• Arm or leg twitching
• Bitter or acidic taste
• 头晕
• 幻觉
• Head, arm or leg pain
• Nausea
• 耳朵响起或嗡嗡作响
• Slurred speech
• Strange or off smells
• 强烈的幸福感，悲伤，焦虑或愤怒
• Tingling or numbness
• 视力丧失，模糊​​或闪烁

During the Seizure – Ictus

The ictus stage is the seizure itself. Symptoms of this stage depend on the part of the brain affected. Learn more about focal (partial) and generalizedseizures.

常见的ICTUS症状：

• Aimless walking, running or other movements
• Chewing, opening/closing mouth or lip smacking
• 混乱
• Difficulty breathing
• 瞳孔散大
• Drooling
• Hearing loss
• Indifference
• 记忆流逝
• Numbness
• Pale or flushed skin
• 赛车心
• Stiff muscles
• 奇怪的声音
• 出汗
• Tremors
• Twitching
• Unable to move or speak
• Unusual or repetitive activities
• 视力丧失，模糊​​，闪烁

After the Seizure – Postictal State

您的大脑正在康复中。在帖子状态下，您可能会感到疲倦或迷失方向。帖子状态持续多长时间有所不同，有些人几乎立即康复。

Common postictal state symptoms:

• 混乱
• Difficulty finding words
• Fatigue
• Feeling “off” or unwell
• Feeling scared, embarrassed or sad
• 头痛
• 高血压
• Memory loss
• Nausea
• Soreness
• Thirst
• Weakness
• Changes in behavior or anger

什么是癫痫的预后?

Because you never know when a seizure may happen, an epilepsy diagnosis can cause you to lose some independence. Although there’s no cure, early treatment for epilepsy can help you manage your symptoms and prevent injuries, cognitive decline or even premature death.

Learn more about epilepsy treatment.