medical news
As I have mentioned several times before, I have been fighting depression. I am sure that some of this is situational depression, but it seems that at least some of it is ... well, to be honest, I'm not sure what the correct term would be, but it's biological in nature. That is, the disease lives in my brain and I can't always shake it through my own efforts. This may be a result of my accident in 1984, maybe not. Doesn't really matter.
Anyway, I've been seeing doctors to help me treat the biological end of things. Been taking time off from work to do this, which is all good with me -- any time not spent chained to a phone is good time, and there'll likely be another post regarding that whole bloody unsatisfactory issue.
I first went to a general practitioner, who about had a coronary right there when I told him that I have had seizure activity, and I also was interested in anti-depressants again. Apparently one of the major side-effects of many antidepressants is -- you guessed it -- increased risk of seizures. So as to avoid major malpractice suits from my future victims, he wanted me to get fully checked out. Though I later found out this is an unreasonable expectation, given my condition & brain topology, he wanted me to be certified "seizure free" by a neurologist before any drugs were prescribed for me.
So a couple of weeks ago I went to see a neurologist who was very thorough, and took his time with me -- both great qualities to have when you're a nerve doctor. He ordered an MRI scan to be taken of my head. To the tune of about two thousand dollars! Thank god I have good insurance; still, my portion is over $500. And he wanted an EEG as well.
At this point, and as of today, all the tests are done. I go in to the neuro in about 4 days to get the results.
The MRI: I had one imaging session, in which I get to lay in a featureless & claustrophobia-inducing white tube. The tube is only a little larger than I am -- with my hands on my belly, my elbows rest against the sides of the tube. When the session starts, there's a lot of strange knocking and noises coming from the magnetic equipment around me -- to the tune of up to 120 decibels, or the loudness of a chainsaw (roughly). The doctor ordered "contrast" so as to see tumors and lesions more easily; this is accomplished with an injection of a paramagnetic contrast agent. In this case it was a gadolinium solution.
I had to go back today (the first session was last Thursday) because the tech couldn't find my veins properly. I would make a horrible junkie, as I am a difficult draw -- the poor guy stuck me like 4-5 times before he gave up and asked me to come back when a nurse was there. Went back today, and even the nurse had one of my veins explode on her -- she hit it just right, then *pfft*
The EEG was a bit more pleasant -- I got to talk with the girl putting the electrodes on my head, I got to see my own brainwaves on her monitor, and I got to see actions I took -- like moving my eyes, swallowing, etc -- affecting those brainwaves. The downside was all the goop in my hair -- but it's gone, so I reckon I'll live.
Anyway. I went to go see my brain today -- my brain scan, rather. I'll post about that shortly.
Anyway, I've been seeing doctors to help me treat the biological end of things. Been taking time off from work to do this, which is all good with me -- any time not spent chained to a phone is good time, and there'll likely be another post regarding that whole bloody unsatisfactory issue.
I first went to a general practitioner, who about had a coronary right there when I told him that I have had seizure activity, and I also was interested in anti-depressants again. Apparently one of the major side-effects of many antidepressants is -- you guessed it -- increased risk of seizures. So as to avoid major malpractice suits from my future victims, he wanted me to get fully checked out. Though I later found out this is an unreasonable expectation, given my condition & brain topology, he wanted me to be certified "seizure free" by a neurologist before any drugs were prescribed for me.
So a couple of weeks ago I went to see a neurologist who was very thorough, and took his time with me -- both great qualities to have when you're a nerve doctor. He ordered an MRI scan to be taken of my head. To the tune of about two thousand dollars! Thank god I have good insurance; still, my portion is over $500. And he wanted an EEG as well.
At this point, and as of today, all the tests are done. I go in to the neuro in about 4 days to get the results.
The MRI: I had one imaging session, in which I get to lay in a featureless & claustrophobia-inducing white tube. The tube is only a little larger than I am -- with my hands on my belly, my elbows rest against the sides of the tube. When the session starts, there's a lot of strange knocking and noises coming from the magnetic equipment around me -- to the tune of up to 120 decibels, or the loudness of a chainsaw (roughly). The doctor ordered "contrast" so as to see tumors and lesions more easily; this is accomplished with an injection of a paramagnetic contrast agent. In this case it was a gadolinium solution.
I had to go back today (the first session was last Thursday) because the tech couldn't find my veins properly. I would make a horrible junkie, as I am a difficult draw -- the poor guy stuck me like 4-5 times before he gave up and asked me to come back when a nurse was there. Went back today, and even the nurse had one of my veins explode on her -- she hit it just right, then *pfft*
The EEG was a bit more pleasant -- I got to talk with the girl putting the electrodes on my head, I got to see my own brainwaves on her monitor, and I got to see actions I took -- like moving my eyes, swallowing, etc -- affecting those brainwaves. The downside was all the goop in my hair -- but it's gone, so I reckon I'll live.
Anyway. I went to go see my brain today -- my brain scan, rather. I'll post about that shortly.