Posted by headachequeen on October 22, 2004, at 19:04:21
In reply to Re: Re being bipolar II, Civil and on Topamax » iris2, posted by rainy on October 22, 2004, at 18:23:54
> And Kat, I read with great interest about your situation and came back to this one as if I were on a rubber band. The sleep deprivation sounds like pure hell--how do you manage to keep yourself awake and are you off all meds during this "unpleasantness?" Of course, they take their coffee breaks while they write you up, and their naps while you lie awake.
> rainy.
Rainy, the idea was to stay awake the 24 hours before the test then sleep through the six or so hours of the test... and no coffee or soft drinks, no chocolate or other stimulants during the 24 hours prior to the test...
well, now, ask anyone who has ever worked with me, I do not do well without coffee, although I am discovering that it is advisable for people on tegritol, or is that people with epilepsy (I tend to mix the two)?, to avoid caffeine...
at any rate, I managed to suffer through the 24 hours until the drive into Ottawa... and then my husband forgot that he should keep me awake for the drive and I found myself drowsing and I was terrified that I would not be able to go to sleep for the test as when I am tired a very brief nap, even five minutes, will revitalise me for a while...
that was really torture until I found myself wakening around noon and realised that I must have fallen asleep and the tech said I had been asleep for three hours or more...
then I dozed off again...
it was such relief...
I had this fear of having to go through it all again...
and this was the second time of doing the sleep-deprived eeg except the first time was without the telemetry bit and only for about 45 minutes of testing...
now, why not be sensible and do the whole test in the first place???
I know. they have to keep people in work, so they do all these tests separately and who cares how many people are tortured...
the test itself induced seizures... I was awaked during one and that was really an experience I do not care to repeat... so here I am repeating the experience repeatedly... arrgghhh
and lying there trying to go back to sleep as the techs are having their coffee breaks and chatting and having lunch and and and and...I swear I will never do it again....
never
kat
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poster:headachequeen
thread:5053
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041018/msgs/406130.html