Strange visual evoked potential results

[LAHNC]

I'm Lisa (46, North Carolina) and I just joined the site. I would like to know if anyone can make sense of my VEP report. The doctors are stumped and I'm stressed out and frustrated. I'm having a variety of symptoms and I think they're related to MS. I'm going to wait for replies before I elaborate because the replies haven't been great elsewhere. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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[jreagan70]

Hi Lisa:

I'd like to know what's going on with your VEP, but you'll have to post a link to the report in your profile or just tell us the details ("Just the facts, Ma'am" ) so we'll know what you'd like us to comment on.

What would be helpful to know is who these doctors are who are stumped by your VEP report. Is it your PCP or a neurologist? Is it an optometrist, a general ophthalmologist, or a neuro-ophthalmologist?

Even though neurologists order VEP's, you might be surprised by how many of them don't fully understand why they're doing it or what the results mean. (And good grief, don't show them a visual field report!) Neurologists and ophthalmologists use VEP's for different reasons. So you might also be surprised to learn that neuro-ophthalmologists rarely if ever order VEP's. Mine never orders them.

How much did your ordering doctor tell you about a VEP, how it works, why it was being ordered, and what kind of results s/he was looking for? What were your expectations of the test, and why are you so stressed and frustrated?

A VEP is a very simple test that gives simple, nonspecific information. It can't tell the cause of the results. Because it can't tell the cause, no diagnosis can be made on the test results alone. Knowing that might put into perspective for you the relative importance or nonimportance of your doctors' inability to understand the results of one test.

Another thing to remember is that it's just a simple test, and it has a small error rate. An unusual result always includes the possibility of inherent error.

How many times was your test repeated for each eye? How many test reports were produced for each performance of the test? Was the test done only once and you're asking for comments about one test result for each eye? Or have you had two or more test for each eye and you'd like us to evaluate multiple test results?

The reasonable guideline for any medical test is that a test with a significantly questionable result should be repeated at least once (or as many times as is necessary within reason, which depends on the test and the purpose) to obtain a reliable result. A VEP is a cheap, fast, and easy test to perform, so it's easy to repeat if there's any question about a result.

I hope that knowing that a VEP just one nonspecific test will allow you to put things in perspective, take a deep breath, and relax.

I'm looking forward to finding out the specifics of your VEP.