So, after my previous long and rambling post about the EEG, here's what happened.
I went in for my EEG. Thank heaven I escaped the migraine. I did cheat a little - I think I slept 4.5 hours rather than the four I was supposed to. Anyway... I did not drink any coffee, which for me I think is perfectly rational justification for a Purple Heart. B did have some trouble keeping me awake on the trip over there. (I still think it was cruel and unusual to turn the air conditioner on!)
For those who haven't had the pleasure, I got to sit in a little chair while the tech parted my hair and drew little "X"es on my scalp. Then she took a swab and scrubbed each little place with some sort of abrasive cream. "This will feel like wet sandpaper" she said, "because it scrubs off a little bit of your skin so the electrodes have a better grip." It was slightly uncomfortable, but not overwhelmingly so.
Then I got to move over to the machine, where she dabbed the spots with something cold and attached all the little electrodes to the spots she'd marked. After she'd put on the first three or four, I began to become aware that they burned a little bit. "That's the salty solution that we put on the electrodes." She said. I got the concept - the salinity increases the conductivity of the skin for the electrical impulses to be read, but still - darnit, that smarted! When she was done, I felt as if someone had been dripping hot candlewax on my head. She wrapped my whole head in gauze like a trauma patient, and we were off.
I got to lie back down in a reclining chair, and we did some open-your-eyes, close-your-eyes exercises while the machine took its read. The whole test was pretty easy, but the first five minutes was the hardest part. I was to hyperventilate at a prescribed rate for five whole minutes. By two minutes I was near to passing out. Felt like my hair was standing on end and my whole face tingled, particularly around my lips. But I made it to the next part, which consisted of my falling asleep. The end of the test was about five minutes of watching bright flashing lights strobing at different frequencies, to see if they could provoke a seizure.
I'm pleased to report that I did not have a seizure. I left the testing room with an hour to spare before the consultation appointment, so I went to find B. He was out in the waiting room, like the angel he is, waiting patiently. He sat me back down in one of the chairs and produced a Starbuck's iced macchiatto. "Here, sweetie." He said, stroking my sticky hair. "You sit down and get some of this into you." Awwwwww.......
As an aside to the story, can I simply say that I would die for this man? What did I ever do to deserve such an incredible blessing?
He went back into the room for the consultation with me too, since he'd been there for the last episode and could remember more than I could. The neuro wasn't the one he and the girl had been seeing. This guy was really good. He took the time to take a detailed, very thought out history, listened to everything we had to say, and wasn't condescending in the least. I never got the feeling that he had somewhere more important to be. He showed us the EEG, which looked remarkably normal (thank God).
His best hypothesis, given my history, is that this is what's called a complex migraine. I've suffered from migraines all my life, as has my daughter. These times, however, there was no pain. There is something called an ACEPHALGIC migraine, which means you get all the aura without the classic pain. This was not news to me; I've done a lot of research trying to figure out what was wrong with me. What WAS news to me was the rest of the story. The aura pattern with these couple of episodes was very different from my normal aura, with the exception of the narrowing of the field of vision (looks like you're seeing everything from the end of a long tunnel). The aura pattern in these episodes fits the profile of a BASILAR migraine, which is a lovely beast in and of itself. Basilar migraines can be acephalgic as well.
Check it out:
A basilar migraine is also an unusual migraine type but it too can be associated
with dramatic and frightening symptoms. Some of the dramatic symptoms which are
associated with basilar migraine include complete or partial loss of vision,
ringing in the ears, dizziness or spinning sensation and loss of balance.
Blackouts and confusion can also occur. Children or adolescents may be wrongly
accused of being intoxicated because they may stagger or appear confused during
a basilar migraine episode.
And here's what it looks like. Bolded are all the things B witnessed that day at the restaurant, when I had the last episode:
Aura consisting of at least two of the following fully reversible symptoms,
but no motor weakness:
Tongue numbness
Tingling of lips and around mouth
Speech difficulties/slurring (dysarthria)
Vertigo (sense of spinning), dizziness, lightheadedness
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
Hypacusia (impaired hearing)
Diplopia (double vision)
Visual symptoms simultaneously in both temporal and
nasal fields of both eyes
Ataxia (incoordination and unsteadiness); clumsiness
Decreased level of consciousness; fainting
Pale skin
Sleepiness
Simultaneously bilateral paresthesias (abnormal or unpleasant sensation often described as numbness or as a prickly, stinging, or burning feeling)
May progress to migraine symptoms: headache (usually behind one eye), aversion
to light (photophobia) , nausea/vomiting
You can see where it would look uncomfortably like a seizure, or even a stroke, if you didn't know it was a migraine. And how would you know it was a migraine, without the pain?
The solution is the downfall. I have to wait and see. If I have another, I'm supposed to take a migraine drug to interrupt it. If it works, it's definitely a complex migraine with basilar features. If it doesn't, I'm to go to the ER, because there are several bad things that have similar symptoms. If I have more of them, then they want to put me on antiseizure medication. And we all hope it never happens while I'm driving.
So there it is. Hopefully an answer, and a workable solution. At least there's the relief that I've had the test now and it isn't something terrible like epilepsy. There's a comfort in having a clean bill of brain health.
And now I'm one up on B - he's never had an EEG. LOL.
My beautiful, beloved, incredible man. Thank heavens he's here... and that I don't have to make him worry anymore.
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