My doctor called me on Friday to communicate the results of my recent bone scan. "The news isn't good," she said, somewhat dramatically, I thought, though my perception may have been affected by the fact that I picked up the phone while in the middle of an especially emotional scene in an episode of Nashville, my … Continue reading When Body Meets Soul
The day after my thesis defence was scheduled, my supervisor sent me an e-mail to tell me that my thesis defence had been scheduled (I had been cc'ed on the e-mail from my department's business officer, so I was well aware). In a message that was so nice it made me cry—OK, I'm a little … Continue reading “Relaxing”
A week or so after I was discharged from my EMU stay in November, I started experiencing pretty intense pain in my left side, especially at night, and especially with certain movements. As is my way, I decided that the best course of action, at least in the short term, was to ignore it. I've got … Continue reading A Little Roadblock: Chronic Pain, Mysterious Spinal Fractures, the “Joys” of Living with Epilepsy
Something weird happened between the time I started composing this blog entry and the time I'm getting around to posting it. I'll start with what I meant to finish writing a few days ago but, for lack of a better excuse, didn't, probably because I was too busy eating Tim Horton's chicken noodle soup and … Continue reading That Christmas Feeling
Well, this is it: my fourth, and final, weekend in the epilepsy monitoring unit. One of the best parts about being here has been having a medication holiday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm really not a fan of Topamax, one of the anticonvulsants that I take. Since … Continue reading Oh Hey There, Old Friend
Just a quick note to inform you that on Saturday night, after over two weeks of waiting/lounging around the hospital eating bad food and attempting to work, I had a tonic-clonic seizure. Since I’m in the EMU for, you know, epilepsy monitoring, and since my epileptologist needs to capture a certain number of seizures in … Continue reading The Most Welcome Tonic-Clonic Seizure in the World
One of the EMU techs came into my room a few afternoons ago and told me about a new policy: for ten minutes of every hour, I'm supposed to sit quietly, eyes closed, and "chill out." "I'm asking all my patients to do this," she said. "It's so that we get some clean EEG readings." … Continue reading Forced Meditation
Well, it finally happened: I had a seizure last night! Just a complex partial, but I'll take it. I've ever been this happy following an experience that should be semi-traumatic, except for maybe after a seizure the last time I was in the EMU. I had my electrodes changed yesterday, too, so it's basically like … Continue reading At Long Last, a Seizure!
Being in an epilepsy monitoring unit is, it seems, the best anticonvulsant I've tried yet. At home, I have at least a few seizures a month, and that’s while on my medications. Here, I just finished tapering off Vimpat and still haven’t had a single “event.” Gotta get the seizure train rollin’ if I want … Continue reading Best Anticonvulsant Ever
There was a new epileptologist doctor on duty today, and she suggested that I try sleep deprivation to get the seizure train rolling. This means staying up until four in the morning, sleeping until nine, then making it through the day without naps—which, to be honest, is an only slightly shifted and shortened version of … Continue reading Sleep Deprivation for a Cause
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 