I had a 4 day in hospital test. It was very revealing and worth the time. We learned I had seizures on both sides of my brain (bi-lateral). One side could trigger then other! Surgery is not an option-good to know.

I would identify (push a button) when I felt a seizure oncoming. I was correct 75% of the time-so I’m not making this up even if it’s a quick instant!

Not convenient or fun-but very revealing!

@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member
EMU is the acronym for Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. It may have been a while since anyone has mentioned it here but it has been mentioned….now that you have asked about it, it is back in rotation 🙃

The EMU is a wing in a hospital that allows doctors to do extended EEG testing on a patient for different reasons depending on what the doctor is wanting to know. The patients is monitored by video and audio during the time in the EMU as well.

For example, if a patient’s seizures are unable to be controlled by medication, the epileptologist may want the patient to stay in the EMU for an extended length of time, during which the patient is wired up for 24/7 EEG monitoring. In most cases, the patient is to taken either completely off their AED(s) or lowered enough to allow the patient to have seizures. The EEG results are then reviewed so the doctor can determine the best course for the patients treatment.

In my personal visits to EMU “resorts” over the years, I have experienced three different types of testing…my first visit, I was wired up and nitrates off my Trileptal resulting in a nocturnal seizure a few days into my stay. The doctor determined my seizures began in my left temporal lobe region and I had a left temporal lobectomy to remove the scar tissue in my left temporal lobe…unfortunately, the seizures we not stopped completely BUT as long as I remained on Trileptal, the seizures were controlled (which was a 100% improvement in my opinion)

During my second visit to the EMU, I remained on my medication at full dosage because the doctor wanted to better understand what my brain activity was like in my day to day life. It was found that I experience a lot of Epileptiform Discharges (spikes) but no seizures, clinical or subclinical, occurred.

During my third visit to the EMU, EEG wires were implanted, rather than just glued to my scalp, in the regions observed to be hot spots in the past. This allowed the doctors to get a clearer reading of abnormal electrical activity. The amount of spikes detected in this test were increased greatly as the wires were closer to the focal point. After this testing I was implanted with the NeuroPace RNS device which has been a great help in giving me a better understanding of what my subclinical epilepsy is like, what triggers the most spikes/subclinical seizures and steps I can take to improve my quality of life

So EMUs are vital in diagnosing and treating epilepsy

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A MyEpile...

@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member I must admit I've only ever been in the EMU as a child and I'm not sure they had a proper EMU as it was a long time ago. The other hospital I some times go to now does have a Neurology department with a EMU but I've only every been in there to see the Neurologist and do short eeg tests.

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A MyEpile...

I have had 3 EMU's. The goal is for them to capture a seizure. They will do many things to trigger a seizure. The last one gave me Alcohol. I agree agter the week I was exhausted, trying get back to where I was prior.

What I am seeing from Answers is that while a lot of people have experienced time in EMU, there are some who haven't. I myself haven't had more than an hour long EEG, and the basics of MRI and CT. I do know about EMU. Just never been a resident. My EEG was done in a cute little room that had a recliner or a couch I could lay out on, a desk in the corner for the person running the EEG, and looked like a living room. It was in the same area as my Neurologist's office. Just a fancy exam room. So really there are plenty of us who may have never heard of or experienced EMU.