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with all this data, why I am so confused?
Nov. 8th, 2003 12:08 pmOver the last few months, I've heard about friends and acquaintances having long-term medical monitoring of blood pressure or blood sugar, (or various other measurements that weren't even possible in recent memory), usually in hope of figuring out some chronic or recurring problem. It's spinoff technology, that comes from cheap data collection and powerful database manipulation. I don't know if it's cheap enough that health insurance regards it as trivial, or as more efficient than fumbling about with trial-and-error expensive treatments for intractable problems. I kind of doubt it -- systems of paying for health care have trouble recognizing that even the most expensive drugs tend to be lots cheaper than surgery or perpetual disability.
Anyhow, my turn comes next weekend (11/14). The new neurologist couldn't see any seizure activity on the short EEG I had in September, so he wants me to try a longer EEG with a portable recorder. I'm supposed to go to this special clinic where they'll glue the electrodes to my scalp, calibrate the portable recording device, and show me what to do with it. Then they send me home for 3 days, either to observe my normal life electronically...or to observe a frenzied 3 day attempt to trigger as many of my weird neurological symptoms as possible. It's really up to me. The weird neurological symptoms are scary, and often triggered by the same sorts of things that cause my migraines to flare, so I've arranged my life to minimize them. But it would really suck to go to this much trouble and not get any useful information out of it.
I'm terribly anxious about this. The unpleasantness of having wires on my head and not being able to take a shower for 3 days is pretty trivial. The unpleasantness of however many weird neurological symptoms I can bring on (and probably really intense migraine pain from at least Friday evening on) is more daunting, but I can deal with it. What really scares me is the possibility that they won't find anything. Maybe because the weird neurological symptoms aren't really seizures, or maybe because they happen too far from the surface of the brain, and EEGs are only good at detecting seizure activity fairly close to the scalp. I'm even a little dubious about their ability to interpret the results -- people who can't handle voice mail and fax machines reliably really shouldn't be trusted with more complicated electronica.
As flicker and flashing lights are big triggers for me, I'll probably spend a chunk of the weekend watching movies. I have very little experience with movies or tv, having avoided both for so long. I don't know the conventions, or have the skills to "see" what's important and what isn't. (I've been watching the more sedate parts of Babylon 5, with an understanding friend warning me about the bits when I'll need to close my eyes. I often fail to recognize an actor on screen, until a speech or interaction reveals that it's a familiar [even a very familiar] character shown with different dramatic lighting or costuming.) Considering all that, would any of you care to recommend good movies with action or flashiness? Interesting, but not requiring much intellectual power or self-referential familiarity with movie as such?
Boston local friends: let me know if you're interested in joining me at a cinema, or watching videos together. I *will* ask you to explain the bits I don't understand. I will try to behave like a civilized adult in other respects.
Anyhow, my turn comes next weekend (11/14). The new neurologist couldn't see any seizure activity on the short EEG I had in September, so he wants me to try a longer EEG with a portable recorder. I'm supposed to go to this special clinic where they'll glue the electrodes to my scalp, calibrate the portable recording device, and show me what to do with it. Then they send me home for 3 days, either to observe my normal life electronically...or to observe a frenzied 3 day attempt to trigger as many of my weird neurological symptoms as possible. It's really up to me. The weird neurological symptoms are scary, and often triggered by the same sorts of things that cause my migraines to flare, so I've arranged my life to minimize them. But it would really suck to go to this much trouble and not get any useful information out of it.
I'm terribly anxious about this. The unpleasantness of having wires on my head and not being able to take a shower for 3 days is pretty trivial. The unpleasantness of however many weird neurological symptoms I can bring on (and probably really intense migraine pain from at least Friday evening on) is more daunting, but I can deal with it. What really scares me is the possibility that they won't find anything. Maybe because the weird neurological symptoms aren't really seizures, or maybe because they happen too far from the surface of the brain, and EEGs are only good at detecting seizure activity fairly close to the scalp. I'm even a little dubious about their ability to interpret the results -- people who can't handle voice mail and fax machines reliably really shouldn't be trusted with more complicated electronica.
As flicker and flashing lights are big triggers for me, I'll probably spend a chunk of the weekend watching movies. I have very little experience with movies or tv, having avoided both for so long. I don't know the conventions, or have the skills to "see" what's important and what isn't. (I've been watching the more sedate parts of Babylon 5, with an understanding friend warning me about the bits when I'll need to close my eyes. I often fail to recognize an actor on screen, until a speech or interaction reveals that it's a familiar [even a very familiar] character shown with different dramatic lighting or costuming.) Considering all that, would any of you care to recommend good movies with action or flashiness? Interesting, but not requiring much intellectual power or self-referential familiarity with movie as such?
Boston local friends: let me know if you're interested in joining me at a cinema, or watching videos together. I *will* ask you to explain the bits I don't understand. I will try to behave like a civilized adult in other respects.
