Evoked Potentials

Thank you to everyone for your prayers.

I spent Friday afternoon at the hospital having evoked potential tests done. It was quite interesting. The first test was a visual test. A number of wires were glued to my head and attached to a computer and I was sat in a chair facing a small TV screen with a red spot selotaped to the middle.

I had one eye covered at a time and had to watch the red dot while a black and white chequerboard was flashed on the screen.

You would be surprised at how difficult that was to do! I got the hang of it though-or at least I think I did.

After that they moved the wires slightly and put on my arm just beneath the elbow. Then a two prong thingy was used to put an electric pulse to the median nerve until my thumb twitched.

Then the same was done on the other arm. I was quite surprised that on my 'bad' side I didn't feel much, but it actually hurt on my good side.

I then had to lie down and the same was done to my legs and then I had to wear some ear phones and listen to clicks in each ear.

They are measuring the time it takes for the nerve to take the response to my brain. If there is a difference it can show damage to the nerves, that does not always show up on MRI's.

I have to wait for the results now. The neuro man said about two weeks-but this is the NHS so I am not holding my breath.

The doctor I have at the moment is a locum and he is very good-I hope he stays around for a while. Neuro problems are long winded and long term. It makes life more difficult when no doctor stays around for more than six months!

I am hoping for a proper dx at last...but I know that is not always possible.

This is an area in my life I find very difficult to pray about as I tend to get a bit angry with God over it. I try to remember the wisdom of Blessed Margaret of Castello on these occasions and accept that although God loved her very much-He did not heal her and back then she would not have had the comfort of a diagnoses and treatment either.

I am not unhappy and I do not feel sorry for myself (most of the time), but there are days when it is a bit of a challenge.

Anyway that's evoked potentials for you- electric shocks to make the jelly babies in my brain (as the kids insist I have) jump about.

And hopefully the jelly baby responses will tell the docs why I'm a crip.