The Doctor Has Spoken: But Was I Listening?

        A few days ago I posted about getting the results of an EEG. I had posted before about having to go all night without sleep in preparation for the EEG.

        On Sept. 7 the neurologist gave me the results. She told me that there was an indication in one part of the brain of faster wavelengths. This she said would indicate an area prone to seizures and that the incident I experienced June 19th was probably a seizure.

       If you read the post "The Doctor Has Spoken" you will see that I had a very healthy dose of denial. I used one term "iffy" for the diagnosis. I also said that I had seizures as a youngster and what I had June 19th was not a seizure. I was very critical of the neurologist's diagnosis. The neurologist prescribed medication to help prevent seizures. I wasn't comfortable taking this medication but I respected her professional opinion and went along with the prescription.

      Since that time my view has changed. The first medication prescribed did not agree with me at all. I had poor balance, extreme drowsiness, tics in my hands and feet and some loss of appetite. A different prescription was given. I waited four of five days for me to recover from the first prescription, but really I was delaying facing up to the issue. Then I googled seniors and epilepsy. I wasn't expecting to find anything. I was surprised. I found many excellent sites. What I gathered is that in the last ten years researchers have discovered that many of the symptoms shown by seniors are really the results of seizures. So bouts of confusion and memory loss, which is  common in some seniors behavior, is the result of seizures. They have tested and found areas of the brain with increased rate of activity. They put the two things together and come up with the premise that many seniors are having seizures.

      Once I read that research shows evidence of seniors with seizures I sat back and started to accept the truth of my diagnosis. It then made sense for me and why I was taking medication for seizures.It is to  prevent seizures and to allow me to live a normal quality of life. I can carry on with all the activities I normally take part in. Yesterday I ice skated and had no problems whatsoever.

      So it took a while. I had heard  the neurologist but I had refused to really accept what she was telling me. I see the neurologist in October again so I will admit that I had a healthy dose of denial but  since that time I have seen the light.

I Survived the all Nighter

         On my last post I asked for some advice on how to stay awake all night. I had to stay awake all night because I was having a test the next day which required me to not sleep the whole night. I had a number of people who freely offered me some humorous advice on the blog and Face  Book. Thanks for the fun. Others expressed concern for my well being. Thanks for your caring. 

          Well, I did survive the night without falling asleep or screaming or committing some form of mayhem. Until 2 or 3 AM the time passed very quickly as I wasn't that tired and I had lots of things to do. I had three crossword puzzles and a couple other puzzles. I also had things to do on the computer and I played a few games. From 3 to 6 AM the time dragged and I had less to do. I made some toast about 4 AM which helped. From 6 to 7 AM was the very worst. I had to fight every minute to stay awake and had nothing to do. Once my wife got up and we had breakfast it was better as I had something to do.

         I got to the hospital early and it was a challenge to stay sane so I walked the halls a bit. The technician was great. She kept up a humorous chatter as she directed me through the test. I should have brought my camera. They put a hat on you that reminds me of a 1920's bathing cap. There are holes in the cap so that they can put the electrodes in the same place. They squirt some foul goop in each hole which makes electrical conductivity better. They scratch your scalp in eah hole...not pleasant.

        First, they have you open and close your eyes while shining a bright light in your eyes. Then, for three minutes you have to pretend that you're blowing up a balloon. They really make you work at this one as they want to create stress. After that they said I could just lie there and go to sleep if I wanted to. It wasn't a case of wanting to go to sleep. I just conked out and when the test was done they woke me up.

      I got home and to bed about 10:30 and the phone rang at 11:00 so that was my sleep. After lunch I did get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep. So I feel human again.

      When I think back to times when I did overnights for fun I have to give my head a shake. Fun? But that was in another age and maybe I was in much better shape than I am now.

     They have an expert read the test and report to my specialist and my specialist will inform me of the result. An optimist like me never ever thinks that there might be bad news. In all other tests they haven't found anything so I don't think this test will be any different. If it is I'll let you know.