EEG Monitoring Unit

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: EEG Monitoring Unit

Submitted by pan06 on Sun, 2007-07-22 - 21:13

Hey SubflowerPower, I had an EEG video monitoring at UAB a couple of months ago. My EEG monitoring lasted about three days. When I first arrived, they nurses glued the electrodes to my head (boy that glue stunk). Then they did a routine EEG with the lights and hyperventilation. (which the hyperventilation caused one of my seizures). The same night, they kept me up until 4:00 a.m. (that was really hard because I got up at 4:00 that morning). The doctors found that sleep deprivation caused me to have a seizure. When I did have a seizure (my mother stayed with me) pushed a button that caused the tv to cut off and lights to come on (right above the bed) so they could catch you on the camera very well. The nurses then come running in the room to watch me have my seizure and then help me settle back down. The following morning one doctor from the neurology EEG unit came in around 7:00 and let me know what the EEG said. He told me that the EEG showed that I was having a seizure before I had the outward symptoms appeared. He told me that my seizures had come from my left temporal lobe and then told me (what I did not want to hear) that I had to stay up again until 4:00 to have more seizures. That following night I had around 5 or 6 seizures. The next morning my doctor told me that all my seizures came from my left temporal lobe EXCEPT the last one which came from my right temporal lobe. (That stunk). Otherwise, the worst parts to me were: 1. Having my head all wrapped up with gauze to keep the electrodes on. 2. Having to wear a fanny pack the whole time to keep my monitor in. 3. Having to stay up all night. 4. Having to wear a stupid wristband that said "fall risk". 5. Not having any privacy except when I went to the restroom. 6. Not being able to take a shower for a couple of days (man I stunk!) 7. Having to wake up bright and early to see what the neurologist had to say. I don't want to kind-of scare you (or something like that), but I went to my regular neurologist a UAB and I was then told that most of my seizures came from my right lobe and some started bilateral. That was completely different from what I was told (which really made me MAD!!!!) Since my Video EEG, I have had several more tests done and I go back in two weeks to have a WADA test to see what side of my brain my memory and speech are located. My doctor thinks my next step after that is to have intracranial depth electrodes put directly on my temporal lobes (to see exactly where my seizures come from) and then go through the video EEG again (oh boy! how fun!) 8( He then said depending on what this test showed, if my seizures do come from one side, and it is not the dominant side of my brain, they will take me straight to surgery and do a temporal lobectomy. I REALLY hope I can have it, because having seizures stink. I am ready to get on with my life without having to worry about when to take meds and when my next seizure will come. He also told me that if my seizures do come from both sides, they will look at implanting a new device called Neouropace. They will try to see if I am a candidate for that. I am anxious for answers. These next tests determine how I will live the rest of my life. Good luck on your stay!