Guess Who's Getting A Brain Scan?

I haven't been feeling well at all for the past few weeks and it is getting pretty old!


Like I mentioned before, I had an appointment with Dr. P on Friday of this past week. It was a surprise visit because I called and left a message on their machine after having one of my weird episodes that have been happening lately(see last post) and it freaked me out. Well, apparently it freaked them out, too. Dr. P said I sounded scary on the machine. He said I sounded like a different person, like something was really wrong with me. He also said I just sounded like something bad was happening, so that's why he wanted to see me immediately. Weird, right? Well, after that, Randy confessed that he, too, had noticed that I change when these "things" happen to me. He said lately I have, on occasion, turned into a different person that he just didn't know at all. He said I will act normal, then suddenly it's like a different person is sitting in front of him - someone with no life in their eyes, a monotone voice, no expression, no opinion, and someone who generally talks kind of weird...etc. In the blink of an eye, I'll snap out of it, but I've never noticed it. I've never remembered this happening. So weird.


So Dr. P is my internist, right? And he's an EXCELLENT doctor, right? Yes.
Well, Friday's appointment didn't go so well. He looked me straight in the eye with kind of a scared expression after I told him what had happened to me and he says, "I have literally never had a case stump me as badly as yours. I am out of ideas. We have tried every option, you are on medication, and you just keep getting worse. I don't know what to do...we need to start thinking outside the box here. Bottom line: you NEED to get into a new neurologist. NOW. If you can't find one, I need to find one for you."
So we started talking about possible things that might be poisoning me, but that's impossible because I have had problems in Korea and America and I haven't consistently used the same anything in either country...so the problem is obviously my brain and my epilepsy, right? Maybe? Hopefully?

Well, that's what we're thinking...


So today I had a MRI and a MRA with and without contrast to check my brain out. I wasn't supposed to have it until Friday, but they called to reschedule and basically said to leave the house immediately and come to the medical center. We made the hour drive in 30 minutes...Also, it was SUCH a God-thing that my awesome husband happened to be home sick today. He was feeling terrible, but he was able to be there for me. Also, if he had gone to work today, I would have also gone to class this morning instead of staying with him. Then, I wouldn't have been available when they called me.  

GOD-THING, PEOPLE. 

Anyway, I haven't had either of those tests since last August, and things have gotten MUCH worse since then, so maybe something will be there? I'm definitely not hoping I have something bad, but I'm hoping I can finally have more of an answer. Now, for those of you who don't know, an MRA is like an MRI but it looks at the arteries instead of just the "big picture". For those of you who really don't know, in an MRI, they stick you down a really thin tube that is about the width of your body and you have to lay really still for almost an hour. It's easy as far as tests go, but most people don't like it because of how tight it is.


*Fun fact: the last time I had an MRA was the day that Randy proposed to me.
Hilarious story! I'll tell you later!


It went really well except they couldn't get the IV in for the longest time. I have deep veins that are kind of tricky to find, and the person on the phone told me I couldn't drink anything within 2 hours of the test...but that's mostly because they don't want you to have to use the bathroom because you have to lay still for over an hour. It's crazy, though, because if you're having a brain MRI, they put this cage-like thing around your head so you can't move your head. It's definitely not for the faint of heart. I've had one before, but for some reason it made me anxious today. I think it was because they didn't give me earplugs today. MRI machines are extremely noisy - they make really loud clicking/beeping/machine-ish noises that will almost drive you insane! Today, they gave me headphones with my favorite radio station, but one of the ears was out on them, so they weren't that effective, and once the machine started it kind of drowned out the music. Normally, the sound doesn't bother me at all, and I actually have slept through the 2 MRI's I've had, but this one was awful. My nurse tech was fantastic, though. I love her :) Actually, everyone on staff was great! It was a nice experience, as far as crazy things go, I guess.

As far as the rest of things, I am officially registered for the spring semester, aka my final semester of college! Hopefully, I will be able to make it through! Including mini classes (2 in January) and the regular semester, I am taking 27 hours total, so that will be insanely rough. BUT, I will get to graduate in May if I can finish everything! That is, if I don't wind up with some kind of devastating illness between now and then! Anything is possible with my health! Haha! I hope I can keep my blogging up, but I pray you will forgive me if I lag a little. I can guarantee this will be one of the most enjoyable activities I will have!
OH, and here's a picture of Randy and I in our hammock with the dog in our laps :) This was taken during one of the first nice days of fall. We're loving the nice weather! Although it went from nice to super cold really fast! It was hard to enjoy it! Especially since we're so busy! God is good, though.


I am constantly in pain, and Randy is pretty much always worried about me...I don't see that changing any time soon. We should find out about the MRI either tomorrow or on November 1st. Let me know if you want to hear results! I should be posting them to the blog, but if you want more info, either comment here or contact me if you know how! I'm more than willing to share. I said from the beginning I would be open.


Prayers would be greatly appreciated at this point. We are so thankful for those who have already prayed for us. We covet each one. This may sound strange, but as I mentioned earlier, we are just praying for closure. We want to know what is going on with me, and we want results, so if you could make that your prayer instead of the typical "that the tests will be clear" that people normally ask for. We aren't really hoping they'll come back clear, even if that means something bad will come back as a result. We're tired of tests. At this point, I'm getting much worse and I'm in constant pain. In the words of Randy, "you can deal with anything if you know what it is." Thanks so much!


Today when I was hunting for my picture to put here, it actually found me. God made it 100% evident that this was the one for today. I hope you like this as much as I do.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! I love reading them! I will ALWAYS try to respond!