Kate:

Good luck with the seizure study. My daughter had the same test and since she didn't experience one of her episodes spontaneously, they induced it artificially by depriving her of sleep and exposing her to flashing lights. It was determined that she did not suffer from a seizure disorder.

HOWEVER, be careful as we went through another mini-nightmare since the default diagnosis for a non-seizure diagnosis at this particular institution is conversion disorder, a psychiatric condition where emotional issues are manifested in somatic disorders. (We had already considered this several months prior to the test and had her evaluated by 2 psychiatrists, who said she was one of the healthiest adolescents they'd ever met.) Anyway, thank goodness my husband is a pychiatrist and after some effort dispelled them of any notions that this is what was going on. Heck, they almost had ME convinced.

If your results turn out to be positive, then that would certainly be a reassuring breakthrough into understanding what is going on and is treatable. But if it turns out that they are not seizures, consider carefully what the experts offer as their diagnosis. The truth is, as I know from our experience and what I've read over the years on Neurotalk, there is rarely any objective medical test that can diagnose PCS. It's frustrating for doctors because, as a rule, they like concrete evidence and if it's not there then it's hard to substantiate. That leaves them at a loss, feeling powerless and therefore questioning the validity of the patient's complaints.

I don't mean to get all preachy here, and I have nothing against docs (I'm happily married to one and some of our best friends are MDs ;-). It's just that PCS is very hard for them to get a handle on. That's why this forum was so crucial in terms of maintaining my sanity; it validated for us that what she was going through was real and experienced by countless others.

By the way, one test that my daughter took that's supposed to measure brain function is called the IMPACT test. It's done on line. Ideally, the baseline should be taken while still healthy (like to all high school or college athletes before the season begins) and then again if and when they experience a concussion. Since she didn't do the IMPACT until after her concussions, the first one served as the baseline to which to compare subsequent tests. I don't know how useful this was, however, because even while we saw improvement in her concentraion and focus, the later tests didn't reflect this.

Whew! That's a load off my chest. I hope you and others find this helpful.

By the way, since you probably want to know, our daughter has been symptom-free for almost a year now, after almost 3 years of hell. She's a high school senior, just turned 18 and is looking forward to her college career. I'm so pleased to report a happy ending.

God bless.