More Tests (EEG take 2, and an MRI)
On June 26th, I went to the hospital for an EEG. The process was very similar to the last one I had done (see here) but it was a little different. Once again I was told to only sleep four hours the night before, and once again I was dead tired. This time the test was done by a woman, and she took me to a different room in the same area of the hospital as the last one. She had me lie down on the bed while she put the electrode things on my head. She had me blow on a pinwheel several times, with controlled breaths before she flashed the lights at my closed eyes, and then let me try to rest for a little while. She had soft music playing - which drowned out some of the other hospital noises, but still made it difficult to actually get to sleep. Personally I think a white noise machine might have been more effective. Anyway, when the test was finished, she removed the electrodes and sent me on my way. The results would be sent to my doctor.
The neurologist also ordered an MRI, and I had an appointment set up in mid July, but there was some difficulty getting that approved by the health insurance, and we had to cancel the appointment. I received notice that the insurance had refused to cover it, but the doctor was going to appeal that decision.
On the night of July 29th, I had another seizure. Steven and I had gone to bed, but I wasn't asleep yet when I felt it coming on. Since I was already lying in bed, I didn't fight it, and next thing I knew, Steven was holding me. He told my I had been shaking. That was new. The following morning I called the neurologist's office. They had an appointment for a peer-to-peer talk with the insurance doctor to get the MRI approved. They also mentioned that they had found something on the EEG, although they didn't specify what it was or what it meant.
Eventually, the MRI was approved, and I was able to get an appointment for last week Tuesday. The MRI was done by another company, and not at the hospital or neurologist's office. I knew going in that an MRI involved being inside a big tube, and I was asked repeatedly if I was claustrophobic. I don't like tight spaces, but I don't think it is a real phobia, and I told them I'd manage.
I arrived at the building, filled out the paperwork, and paid something toward the bill. Then I was called back and brought to a tiny dressing room, where a tiny technician/nurse explained the procedure, asked if I had questions, and told me to remove anything metal I might have had on me (purse, belt, anything in pockets, etc.) and leave it in a locker. Then I was directed to a room with a big machine and a board sticking out of it, like a metal monster sticking out a long tongue. The monster sounded like it was breathing with a soft rhythmic whooshing noise. I laid down on the board, which was actually pretty comfortable. My head was nestled in a frame so it couldn't move too much. An IV was put in my arm, and I was given a blanket and earplugs - "It's noisy in there." I was told. And then I was moving into the mouth of the machine.
It's noisy in there? That was an understatement. It was constant noise. I'd expected whirring of motors maneuvering cameras or whatever is in an MRI machine. I was not expecting the clanks and clangs and whistles and bangs I was subjected to for the next twenty minutes or so. Sometimes it sounded like a hammer banging on wood. *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* Then it sounded like a truck backing up *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*. Then back to the hammer, then the truck, then the hammer... Other times it sounded like the noise I used to make as a kid when I pretended to be an Indian, slapping my hand over my mouth repeatedly. Sometimes I counted the clangs. Sometimes I counted patterns, noticing the changes. I wondered if the sounds were just the machine working, or if they were manipulating my brain waves somehow, so the machine could measure my brain when subjected to specific stimulus. Eventually, I was pulled out, and the tech injected a colorant containing gadolinium into the IV line, and I was put in for another five minutes, with another round of knocks and clangs. Finally it was done, and I was taken out, the IV and earplugs were removed, and I was allowed to recover my belongings and go. the results would be sent to the neurologist's office later that day.
I received a call from the neurologist the following morning. They found "spots" on the MRI. They want me to come in to discuss it. The soonest opening they have for an appointment is next week on the 27th.
So.... I know they found something on the EEG. I know they found "spots" on the MRI. Google tells me that spots on a brain MRI mean brain lesions. Whether the seizures are causing the brain lesions, or if both seizures and lesions are caused by something else, I don't know. I'm anxiously awaiting my appointment on the 27th to find out what everything means, and what will happen going forward. Will I have to take medication? Will they have to do surgery? Are the memory lapses I've experienced recently related? (Yes, I know that I've known you for the last ten years, and I totally know who you are, but what's your name again?) Is this ever likely to go away?
The neurologist also ordered an MRI, and I had an appointment set up in mid July, but there was some difficulty getting that approved by the health insurance, and we had to cancel the appointment. I received notice that the insurance had refused to cover it, but the doctor was going to appeal that decision.
On the night of July 29th, I had another seizure. Steven and I had gone to bed, but I wasn't asleep yet when I felt it coming on. Since I was already lying in bed, I didn't fight it, and next thing I knew, Steven was holding me. He told my I had been shaking. That was new. The following morning I called the neurologist's office. They had an appointment for a peer-to-peer talk with the insurance doctor to get the MRI approved. They also mentioned that they had found something on the EEG, although they didn't specify what it was or what it meant.
Eventually, the MRI was approved, and I was able to get an appointment for last week Tuesday. The MRI was done by another company, and not at the hospital or neurologist's office. I knew going in that an MRI involved being inside a big tube, and I was asked repeatedly if I was claustrophobic. I don't like tight spaces, but I don't think it is a real phobia, and I told them I'd manage.
I arrived at the building, filled out the paperwork, and paid something toward the bill. Then I was called back and brought to a tiny dressing room, where a tiny technician/nurse explained the procedure, asked if I had questions, and told me to remove anything metal I might have had on me (purse, belt, anything in pockets, etc.) and leave it in a locker. Then I was directed to a room with a big machine and a board sticking out of it, like a metal monster sticking out a long tongue. The monster sounded like it was breathing with a soft rhythmic whooshing noise. I laid down on the board, which was actually pretty comfortable. My head was nestled in a frame so it couldn't move too much. An IV was put in my arm, and I was given a blanket and earplugs - "It's noisy in there." I was told. And then I was moving into the mouth of the machine.
It's noisy in there? That was an understatement. It was constant noise. I'd expected whirring of motors maneuvering cameras or whatever is in an MRI machine. I was not expecting the clanks and clangs and whistles and bangs I was subjected to for the next twenty minutes or so. Sometimes it sounded like a hammer banging on wood. *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* *bam* Then it sounded like a truck backing up *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*. Then back to the hammer, then the truck, then the hammer... Other times it sounded like the noise I used to make as a kid when I pretended to be an Indian, slapping my hand over my mouth repeatedly. Sometimes I counted the clangs. Sometimes I counted patterns, noticing the changes. I wondered if the sounds were just the machine working, or if they were manipulating my brain waves somehow, so the machine could measure my brain when subjected to specific stimulus. Eventually, I was pulled out, and the tech injected a colorant containing gadolinium into the IV line, and I was put in for another five minutes, with another round of knocks and clangs. Finally it was done, and I was taken out, the IV and earplugs were removed, and I was allowed to recover my belongings and go. the results would be sent to the neurologist's office later that day.
I received a call from the neurologist the following morning. They found "spots" on the MRI. They want me to come in to discuss it. The soonest opening they have for an appointment is next week on the 27th.
So.... I know they found something on the EEG. I know they found "spots" on the MRI. Google tells me that spots on a brain MRI mean brain lesions. Whether the seizures are causing the brain lesions, or if both seizures and lesions are caused by something else, I don't know. I'm anxiously awaiting my appointment on the 27th to find out what everything means, and what will happen going forward. Will I have to take medication? Will they have to do surgery? Are the memory lapses I've experienced recently related? (Yes, I know that I've known you for the last ten years, and I totally know who you are, but what's your name again?) Is this ever likely to go away?
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