[Jenn1fer82]

On Tuesday I'm going to have an EEG procedure and I was told to get as little sleep as possible the night before. They are hoping that if I'm deprived my body of rest then there would be a greater chance of me having an episode during the procedure. If that was to be the case then they would be able to record the activity in my brain and have a better reading of what's happening to me. They are trying to figure out how extreme these seizures are and what anxiety can do to me. It makes alot of sense because I do notice that when I'm feeling restless, not eatting well and stressed it is most likely that I'll get an episode. I was planning on not eatting all day on Monday and Tuesday and to also not to sleep at all Monday night. I'm so desprate for some closure and concrete answers to what's been happening to me for so long now.

[lenjan]

Just do what they tell you, don't go to extremes. If you follow their directions things will work just fine. I had EEGs every 6 months from ages 1 to 18. They stick a bunch of electrodes all over your head and for part of it they want you asleep, which is why they tell you to sleep very little the night before (they used to tell me to stay up till midnight the night before and the appointment would be at like 7 a.m.). Strobe lights are known to induce seizures -- I still have to leave the room immediately every time I'm in a room (or, more likely, a bar) that has a strobe light, as I still have some residual effects even though I haven't had a seizure in years. So they will probably have you look at a strobe light for part of it too.

Good luck.

Candy

its nothing to worry about. Mental dsorders like DID cannot be detected on the EEG because it is a memory storage not chemical imbalance problem Certain ones like bipolor can be detected with blood tests because they are chemical imbalances - Lithium or dopamine for example. if a blood test shows a persons body doesn't have enough natural lithium the brain cant funtion normally. but they dont show up in EEG's. EEG's look for physical brain illnesses like epilepsy, tumors, apnea, and the sleep cycles like REM thats why they want you good and tired. when a person is tired the brain impulses "alpha" and "beta" show up better for the sleep cycle tests. They will ask you at times to keep your eyes closed or open depending on what they are looking for and which brain impulse Alpha or beta they are testing at that moment. They basically use these to rule out physical problems before ruling in a mental disorder.

When I did it they put a sort of cap on my head , kind of like a swimming cap people wear so they dont get their hair wet. only this cap has holed in it. through the holes the technition squirted this jelly goop that was in a tube like tooth paste. then on top of that he put patches and wires. then I just laid there. he told me at time to open or close my eyes so the computer could see how my brain reacted to seeing light and dark. afterwards it was real fun washing that goop out of my hair. I looked like I had taken a bath with vaseline for a few days. My friends son just had his done but they didnt use a cap on him, just goop and patches that had wires attached.