Day of Electrodes

So tomorrow is hopefully the last of all my testing. I get to spend hours at the hospital with electrodes glued to my head, woo hoo! I guess the secret will be out that I’m crazy, lol. The fun begins at 9:00 am, and for approximately the next three hours I will have a VER, BAER, and SER done.

VER-Visual Evoked Response

VER's evaluate the visual nervous system for optic tumors, retinal disorders, and demyelinating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis.

As with other testing, the technician will measure, mark, and prep the scalp for the electrodes. Six will be used for the VER, 5 on the scalp and one behind the left ear. Each eye will be tested individually. An eye patch will be placed over the non-test eye, you will be seated in front of a computer monitor and a checkerboard pattern will be visible, this is the stimulus. You will be asked to focus on a small red pulsating dot in the middle of the screen for a few minutes with each eye separately, while in the background the checkerboard squares will be moving.

The procedure takes approximately 15-30 minutes.

BAER- Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response

BAER's are used to evaluate the auditory nervous system (including the brainstem) for acoustic neuromas, brainstem tumors, hearing disorders, demyelinating diseases, etc.

As with all testing, the technician will measure, mark and prep the scalp for the electrodes. Four will be used for the AER, two on the scalp and one behind each ear. Headphones will be placed over the ears to deliver a series of clicks to each ear individually. This sound is the stimulus.

The procedure takes approximately 15-30 minutes.

SER- Somatosensory Evoked Response

SER's evaluate the nerve pathway from the peripheral nerve through the spine to the somatosensory region of the brain. (Somato = body, Sensory = reception and transmission of the sense impressions). SER's evaluate spinal cord injuries or disease, neuro-musclar disease, and demyelinating diseases.

As with other testing, the technician will measure, mark, and prep the scalp and prep various other points along the nerve pathway from the arm and leg to the brain. A small electrical current is applied to the skin overlying a nerve or nerves on the arm or leg. The electrical current is the stimulus.

The procedure takes approximately 1 hour (60 minutes)- 1 ½ hour (90 minutes).

After all that I get to spend another hour or so having an EEG done.

EEG- Electroencephalogram

An EEG is a recording of electrical activity of the brain. It is a diagnostic tool used to evaluate seizure disorder, stroke, infections of the central nervous system (encephalitis etc), degenerative disorders (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's), head trauma (accidents), headaches, brain tumors, etc.

The technician will measure, mark, and prep your scalp and place a small metal disk (electrode) in each of the 27 areas. The disks “pick-up” the electrical activity of the brain. This activity is transmitted through the wires to the EEG computer where they are amplified sufficiently to be seen on the recording.

The procedure takes approximately 45 -60 minutes. Activations will be done to stimulate the brain: Eye opening and closing, flashing a strobe light at different speeds, and over-breathing for about 3 minutes.

I have a feeling that it will be a very long day. To top it all off, they want me to have no more than five hours of sleep for the EEG, but to be well rested for the other tests. Ok, so how do they expect me to do that? I say get normal sleep because come noon when the EEG starts, I will be ready for a nap.

I’m just so ready for some answers. I have done test after test without results from any of them, so thank goodness this is the end.