Why do the do a QEEG for?

A QEEG can be done for a number reasons. The two that are most relevant to anyone suffering from PCS are:

1. for legal reasons - i.e. to win a lawsuit or to get SSDI. In both of these
cases, you are objectively proving abnormalities in your EEG.

2. for neurofeedback therapy - it serves as a roadmap, or guide, for the
trainer

In my humble opinion, I wouldn't get one unless you are going to use it because they are pretty expensive to get and insurance usually won't cover the costs. However, if you have the money, it may be nice just to have an objective test validate how you are feeling.

FYI: There are two other tests are just as sensitive and valid as the QEEG and more insurance companies are starting to pay for. However, you will still have to pay for about 20-30%, which amounts to about $1000. These are the fMRI and SPECT scan. Again, IMHO, to get one won't really do a whole lot for you unless you are planning on using it for therapy or legal reasons.

Thaknks if your EEG came back normal is it really necessary to do a QEEG will it make any difference?

Yes it is. A QEEG is much more sensitive than an EEG.

Why dont most insurance companies cover it?

Not exactly sure why, but it was somehow incorrectly discredited by a psychiatrist a few years back. Mark knows the complete story. However, some insurance companies will pay for it, so check with yours to see if they will.

Yea thanks i probably wont need to get one. I guess well just see how the neuro psych test goes and then go from there. Thanks :)

Insurance companies often do not cover QEEG's for two reasons.

The neuro-therapy crowd has overplayed the usefulness of the QEEG by using it to diagnose conditions. It has not been approved by the FDA as a diagnostic tool in the hands of a non-MD. Many therapists have also claimed it as a treatment outside the approval of the FDA. Lexicor, one of the first to try to commercialize the QEEG, sold many systems and diagnostic services using it. Many therapists with only a BA/BS or MS degree in counseling made improper claims. Thus the FDA shut down or restricted a good part of the industry.

Also, back in 1997, a neurologist, writing in the Journal of Neurology, wrote a scathing negative review of the validity of the QEEG. This was widely published and used by defendants' attorneys to muddy the waters. There have been numerous responses to the unscientific method of analysis used by the discrediting author showing how erroneous his article was. None the less, it has been a long road to get the QEEG to be accepted as valid.

The many statements that continue to be made about using a QEEG for neuro-therapy that go far beyond any scientific basis has kept the waters muddy.

It continues to be sold as a device to direct a patient in patient controlled neuro-feedback. In this situation, the patient is making all of the efforts to change the specific waveform.

The passive patient systems (LENS, ROSHI, and similar systems) have been sold as relaxation devices but have been used to treat head injuries by electronically stimulating the brain with lights or electro-magnetic pulses. In these systems, the patient does nothing and lets the system impact the brain with the various stimuli.

This attempt to circumvent the FDA approval process has also muddied the waters. Again, it has been the overstated claims that have caused the problem. If the practitioners would not make such inappropriate commercial claims, they would probably still be allowed to continue therapy without FDA interference.

Simply put, the claims of fact are only based on anecdotal evidence. If they were based on proper clinical trials and statistics, the FDA may approve them as valid and factual claims

There are databases that have been validated for use as diagnostic references with the QEEG. Most practitioners are still not using them, most likely due to cost.

oh ok that makes sense. how much do they cost?

Hi Hockey

This happened to me once when I was on a cruise with my late wife the summer before she died. We were sitting at dinner, and I didn't notice anything, but suddenly this doctor sitting to my right stated that he was sure that I had just had a petit mal seizure.

I used to take Neurontin for burning nerve pain (from arm injuries and JRA) but it has a side effect of severe edema. I still take it if the burning nerve pain flares up. NSAIDS and narcotics don't touch this pain, but neurontin does. Is that what you're taking? It was originally for seizures....

make sure as the others said to keep a journal of these for your doctor

blessings

gershonb