I Have Epilepsy
I have just taken my 5th MRI, and will be put in again in May. I must say that the more I go up there, the more tired I get. The travel time from Monterey to Stanford can be a two hour drive, depending on traffic. This last one, we got up there early, earlier than I had expected, so I sat in the waiting room for a considerable amount of time. Luckily, I had thought enough to take my quilting project up with me, just in case.
Of course, all of the MRI’s I’ve taken are different. The last one I had taken in February was a functional MRI, in which I needed to remain awake and identify items on a screen and just what they do and what their functions are in our lives. I almost fell asleep during the ‘breaks’ but they wouldn’t allow it.
This latest one was what they called a PET MRI. During this one, they wanted me to relax as much as I could. They even allowed me to sleep, stating that it would be great if I could. The first half hour that I was there, they put me in a dark room and told me to relax. I was so tired from the drive, that I closed my eyes and was almost asleep when I was interrupted by the gentleman who was assigned to take care of me. He came in with an injection of some kind of radiation, then left me for another half hour, hoping I’d go to sleep again. I was close, but not quite.
He then took me into the room that included the machine and computers, where I was introduced to another technician. When they were laying me on the table, I was so groggy, I had a hard time getting myself settled without help. I just about fell asleep before they got me completely into the machine. I was in there for about an hour, but being that I was sleeping, it didn’t seem like it had been that long when they woke me up.
The ride home was a bit longer than the one up to Stanford. I tried to sleep through it, but for some reason I couldn’t. I just closed my eyes, but there were too many thoughts going through my mind. Mainly what are they going to find, and just how many more tests are they going to put me through before deciding just what they are going to do and where.
I must say that this test exhausted me. Not that the others didn’t but it took me about three days to fully recover, and on the fourth day, I had a seizure at 6:00 in the morning, and when I an writing this 12 hours later, I am still feeling the side affects. I am pretty sure that this is due to lack of sleep the last couple of nights.
I am hoping that I will be seizure free by the end of the year, with either a computer chip implant or laser surgery. I’m tired.
Of course, all of the MRI’s I’ve taken are different. The last one I had taken in February was a functional MRI, in which I needed to remain awake and identify items on a screen and just what they do and what their functions are in our lives. I almost fell asleep during the ‘breaks’ but they wouldn’t allow it.
This latest one was what they called a PET MRI. During this one, they wanted me to relax as much as I could. They even allowed me to sleep, stating that it would be great if I could. The first half hour that I was there, they put me in a dark room and told me to relax. I was so tired from the drive, that I closed my eyes and was almost asleep when I was interrupted by the gentleman who was assigned to take care of me. He came in with an injection of some kind of radiation, then left me for another half hour, hoping I’d go to sleep again. I was close, but not quite.
He then took me into the room that included the machine and computers, where I was introduced to another technician. When they were laying me on the table, I was so groggy, I had a hard time getting myself settled without help. I just about fell asleep before they got me completely into the machine. I was in there for about an hour, but being that I was sleeping, it didn’t seem like it had been that long when they woke me up.
The ride home was a bit longer than the one up to Stanford. I tried to sleep through it, but for some reason I couldn’t. I just closed my eyes, but there were too many thoughts going through my mind. Mainly what are they going to find, and just how many more tests are they going to put me through before deciding just what they are going to do and where.
I must say that this test exhausted me. Not that the others didn’t but it took me about three days to fully recover, and on the fourth day, I had a seizure at 6:00 in the morning, and when I an writing this 12 hours later, I am still feeling the side affects. I am pretty sure that this is due to lack of sleep the last couple of nights.
I am hoping that I will be seizure free by the end of the year, with either a computer chip implant or laser surgery. I’m tired.
