Day Two and Side Views

I've been hanging in the house for most of the day. This test isn't painful, it's more of a nuisance then anything. Sleeping last night went ok. The worst part was when the hubs got up at 3am to take Max out and he set off the alarm, again. I wonder how abruptly being awaken by loud, piercing, shrieking sounds shows up on my test?

I had to change my recorder batteries at 10am sharp and actually remembered to do it pretty close to that time. 10:03am. Hubby came home and said, "Did you change your batteries today?" LOL! All I could do was laugh, it just sounded funny.

Yesterday, I realized that the wires that are surrounded by a fabric casing remind me less of a long ponytail and more of an umbilical cord. So freakin' sexy! After the wires were attached to my head, the nurse gathered them all up, put the casing over them, and then taped around the end of the casing to keep it in place. You can see that area above my ponytail. Then I put my hair up in a pony and he wrapped my head.

That's all for now.

EEG: In Progress

I am officially "wired" for my 72 hour EEG test. It took about an hour and a half to get all 21 wires placed in the proper place on my head. No hair was removed and each wire is taped and glued to insure that it stay's in place. The other end of the wires are attached to a recorder which I have to carry around until they're removed.

Here's the educational portion of this post: An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain. Special sensors electrodes are attached to your head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer records your brain's electrical activity on the screen or on paper as wavy lines. Certain conditions, such as seizures, can be seen by the changes in the normal pattern of the brain's electrical activity.

Thank you WebMD for that excellent description. The purpose of this test for me, my Neurologist's wants to review my brain activity, particularly when experiencing headaches, migraines, dizziness and a few other symptoms. Luckily, the wires will come off one day before my daughter's 2nd birthday party. Whew!

So above is my before picture. Most of you know what I look like but that is for my newbie's. And also for myself. Just a little reminder that this is only temporary and my lovely locks will soon be flowing again. And below, well, it's obviously the after photo.



Not so hot. That fancy black strap you see is connected to a small fanny-pack-like bag that carries my recorder. I am the hippest chick on the block right now. Watch out California! Sarah's wired and she feels like freakin' people out. Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! (That was my evil laugh).

It's kind of annoying having people look at you like you're crazy. Rather then crawling into a corner and crying, I'll just stare back at them and maybe make a crazy face and throw my arms in the air. LMAO! In all realness, I have to be pretty chill during this test. It's very sensitive and even a blink is seen on the screen.

Update: Still waiting on my MRI results but once I find something out, I will certainly share.

Fast Forward

Say hello to my brain. Hello Sarah's brain! Or part of my brain I guess I should say. And check out that nose. Much smaller when you remove all that cartilage. ;)

Yesterday, I had my first (and hopefully last) Brain MRI. It wasn't that bad but what everyone told me was definitely true. If you're claustrophobic, it's your worst nightmare. Luckily, I am not. I had it with and without contrast and for those of you who don't know what that means, it's basically with an IV and without an IV. The "juice" in the IV is used to show pictures of structures more clearly.

I was able to prepare myself before the procedure by asking lots of questions and talking to people who have been through it before. One obvious bit of advice, No Metal! So I purchased an acrylic tongue ring so my beloved hole in my mouth wouldn't close up while in the machine. :) Mom would be proud. LOL! And I even remembered to bring a sports bra so I would be nice and comfy while my head was being photographed.

However, I didn't notice that the panties I was wearing sported a very tiny metal ring. So there I am, forced to wear the fashionable medical shorts supplied by the facility just in case a situation like mine should arise. The machine was loud and the knocking was extremely annoying but I managed to close my eyes and relax for the 40 or so minutes it took to complete my MRI.

I was able to get a copy of my scans but have yet to hear the results. Tomorrow I go in to get wired for a 72hr EEG. That should produce some interesting posts and pictures. Luckily, this device will be removed before Bean's birthday party this Sunday. Whew!

So here we are. From a "possible MS" comment to a visit with a Neurologist. From Neurologist to being scheduled for 3 or 4 tests. And from there, who know's. Maybe it's good news and maybe it's bad, but all we can do is wait.

Did I mention that the waiting is killer?

So Long Second Grade!

Today was D's last day of second grade and he was super excited! It's become a tradition that we always take a photo of him with his teacher right before we're leaving for summer break. Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Klein.

He did very well in the second grade and Mr. Hubs and I are very proud of him. We're thinking a Disneyland trip is in order. And I do not oppose. :D

The Wait Is Killer

We're playing catch up but don't worry, we'll get there soon enough. After that dreaded sentence, "I'm going to refer you to a Neurologist, sounds like you have MS..." I really didn't feel much. I didn't think anything of it. Well, that's not true. I thought, I don't have MS! That's crazy. Then I thought, "what the hell is MS?" So I did what any of us curious mid 20-something's do, I googled.

I came across a lot of informative sites but the gist of it is, Multiple Sclerosis is a complex disease of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves) characterized by relapses, remissions and often progression of disability over time. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? Of course not. That's the fancy definition, the one that sticks in my mind most, MS is a chronic, debilitating disease that has no cure and doesn't effect the quantity of life but the quality.

The (possible) news was received a few days before the Hubs was scheduled for a 2 week course halfway across the US. Before he left, I was fine. After he left, I put my finger's to the keys and researched until my hands were sore. I was comparing my life and my newly discovered symptoms to those of MS. Who knew, all these silly things that happen to me on the daily are actually related to something. Huh!

Within a few days, I had a list of about 20 symptoms I currently have or have had at one time that are related to MS. A painful revelation. I take this information with a grain of salt. I have also learned during my research that MS is very difficult to diagnose. So, I'll wait for all my appointments and tests and we'll go from there. I'll get one opinion and then another and depending on how I feel about Doc number two, maybe a third.

Random Stuff

Does anyone else's kid get SUPER excited when they see the garbage truck? Bean screams, "Trash! Trash!" whenever the trash man comes. She's starting to do it when we're just out and about and she see's the big ole' garbage truck driving around. Scares the crap out of me sometimes.

Painting the interior of a house sucks! I painted the family room and kitchen of our new home and I did a crappy job. Not only did it need to be repainted by a professional (thank God for Damon) but I was (and still am) sore for no reason. Even my toes are sore, I guess from squating and standing on my tippy toes.

The patent for my Toss-Me-Not Sippy Cup Holder's went through. Yippee! Now I just need to settle a few things with the attorney and we're good to go! Where are we going? I have no idea, but I'll figure it out.

I need to read more often.

This 60-something degree weather in June is BS I tell ya!

Watching my little angel lay down on the floor with "Ellie" as her pillow and suck her thumb is just the most precious thing in the world right now. Ellie is her Elephant from the San Diego Zoo. Her 2 favorite stuffed animals both came from the zoo, Ellie from San Diego and Bear who's a Polar Bear from the Houston Zoo, both from her G-Ma.

D's last day of school is tomorrow. Bracing myself for summer. Am I ready? Probably not.

And this is where the story begins...

My journey to a MS diagnosis. Maybe. Really. Hold the phone calls. I totally don't want to talk about it, at least not yet. I just need to let some things out and why not do it here? This will become my little "Journey to MS or Something Else" journal. But no need to worry, I will still have crazy pictures of my kiddo's, funny pick up lines from the Hubs and all the silly and unexplained stuff yours truly does on the daily.

Now let's begin, shall we. I learned on May 5th that I may have MS. Or at least I have MS like symptoms. After experiencing Vertigo for 3 hours straight (which ended up lasting a full 24 hours) I scheduled an appointment with my GP. I was seen that day and after being prescribed a medication to clean out my ears, I mentioned that I would like to ask him about something off the subject of vertigo. By the way, he thought there was an issue with the fluids in my ears that was causing everything to be a little a lot off.

I brought up an issue that I've had since my late teens. Heat Sensitivity. A few weeks prior I was out with my son playing putt putt. After about 20 minutes in the heat my eye sight was tunneling and I needed to sit down before I passed out. This is normal for me now and unfortunately, it's getting worse. I use to be able to spend hours outside before getting lightheaded and dizzy. Now, it only takes a few minutes of doing almost nothing before I need to escape the heat. Thus, the reason for me bringing it up to my doctor. I'm starting to worry about what may happen to my children if I should happen to "fall out" when my husband isn't around.

After explaining my recent run in with the heat, I think the Doc put two and two together and immediately said, "I'm going to refer you to a Neurologist, sounds like you may have MS..."