August 10, 2009 – It’s been just six days since my MRI experience and only one weekend has passed since hearing the news from my neurologist. My perception of time has clearly changed – hours have turned into days and days have grown into hours. I am becoming increasingly anxious to begin some sort of treatment to relieve my symptoms but, I still need to get through one more week of tests before my doctor prescribes a therapy program for me.
The official diagnosis for multiple sclerosis is mostly made through a process of elimination. Certain tests must be conducted in order to cross off similar-acting diseases and ailments. Specifically, Lyme disease, brain tumors, pinched nerves and slipped disks, diabetic neuritis, thyroid disease, vitamin B deficiency are some of the common disorders producing similar symptoms. If there are no signs of any of these sicknesses, then a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis can generally be made…providing the patient has had at least two ms episodes (Strangely, the medical community insists on at least two attacks lasting a minimum of 24 hours before an ‘official’ multiple sclerosis diagnosis can be made).
Today’s MRIs can clearly show the presence of lesions in the brain and spinal cord, but some of the other disorders can also cause lesions which appear on an MRI. Additionally, some damage can also occur in the white or grey matter and not appear at all on an MRI. This is why I needed to undergo more tests before officially confirming a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
My first test was scheduled for 9 am Monday morning…a morning coming after my longest night. I suffered through alternating and intense feelings of vertigo, odd stretching sensations around my mouth and lips, body pains moving from location to location and the ever-present leg spasms. I began to feel the darkness of depression hanging over me, and for the first time since my ordeal began – I cried.
Hints of morning finally broke through the darkness as I heard the first birds chirp, and after just one hour of sleep I arose to begin a new week.
It’s been a long time since my last hospital visit…and the first time I ever set foot in a Swiss hospital. I wasn’t too surprised as I drew in the familiar sterile scents I’ve always detested as I walked through the front door with Silvia. I was nervous in the elevator as we made our way up to the hospital’s twelfth floor but, I wasn’t interested in sharing my anxiety with anyone. Instead, I kept a confident air about me like I’ve always done in tense situations.
We located the room for my tests…and I was surprised. The room itself was not very big and looked like a room which couldn’t decide whether to be a hospital room or an office. There was a big desk and lots of files on one side, while a hospital bed and a lot of electronic equipment occupied the other end of the room. It wasn’t what I expected…but, it was also much less intimidating…which allowed me to easily carry on with my confidence façade.
The technician was delightful – very warm and personable. She greeted us in a friendly manner and invited Silvia to stay in the room during the tests – which was to last about one hour. She then turned to me and very carefully and clearly explained what she was going to do.
Electrodes would be attached in numerous places on my head and body, which would measure electrical responses to stimulation along the nerve highway. Any location having a loss of conduction would be noted in the instant print out results. The first test is run from the optic nerve to the brain, and the second test is conducted between the fingers and toes to the brain. The objective is to find any areas of diminished nerve capability or damage.
The eye test was fun and strangely, it reminded me of an old video game – perhaps because of the black and white checkerboard screen displayed on the vintage television console.
There were six or seven electrodes stuck to my head with a small dab of some kind of salt solution applied between my scalp and the electrode – ‘just to help with conductivity,’ clarified the technician. Once I was completely attached…and feeling just a bit like the matrix man, the test was ready to commence. All I needed to do was concentrate on the round circle in the middle of the board – and try not to blink too much. The technician placed a patch over my left eye and stood off to the side of the TV console where all of the results would soon be revealed. Suddenly the test was underway…the black and white squares alternated rapidly…black to white, then white to black. This went on for exactly 100 changes and that was that. The technician removed the patch from my left eye and placed it over the my right eye. After a couple of minutes, the test resumed and in a flash (actually 100 flashes) part one of my test ended, and I didn’t feel a thing.
For the second part of the test, I was instructed to lay down on the bed which was wheeled into the room with precise timing. It was a comfortable standard hospital bed – and it was the first time I could ever remember laying down on a hospital bed. The technician hovered over me an began attaching even more electrodes to my back, arms, fingers, legs, ankles and toes…making sure to keep the head electrodes in place. I was really wired.
Again, not wasting any time, the technician explained she needed to find the exact spot on my right wrist which created the nerve impulse. She placed some sort of pin on my arm (I didn’t get a good look at this device because the lack of sleep from the night before was catching up to me and the bed was really comfortable) and a sharp electrical charge resulted. The small electrical shock reminded me of touching an electrical fence – you notice it, but it ‘s not going to hurt a lot. She continued to move the pin around until she found just the right spot – which took about one minute and then we were underway. I would feel 500 charges on my wrist, which became annoying after the first ten or so. There was really no pain involved – just an odd sensation between pressure and shock.
My left wrist would be tested next, as the technician fiddled to find just that right spot. Five hundred more charges and on to round three, which was my right ankle. The feeling in the ankle was a bit more intense than the wrist, but again there was no real pain and I was getting used to the test – I even started to doze off before the end of round three. Round four was my left ankle and before I knew it…well the testing was done…at least part one of my day of testing.
The experience was positive. There were no abnormalities within my optic nerve or throughout my nerve highway, which meant no permanent damage occurred during my exacerbation. I was relieved as I walked out of the hospital with Silvia and feeling positive…but, the afternoon’s test would lead me into a completely different world…
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