a medical mystery

okay so where is House when you need him?

i will write a more detailed post about this soon but for now here is the gist of things.

i had an EEG last week (thursday) in addition to the whole mammogram thang to see about some weird symptoms i had been having. as much as i loathe seeing doctors and having tests, i was quite reluctant to mention these symptoms. really...it was at a friend's urging that i did when i had my annual physical. i was at a friend's house and i was slowing down quite a bit, and staring. prior to my "spells" i feel rather disoriented and just strange. she has kids who have epilepsy so she got concerned about it. i feel i was always present the whole time and so i didn't really worry. but at her constant request (nagging), i mentioned this to my doctor as well as other little symptoms such as seeing a zig zaggy aura on the right side of my face a couple of times. and the fact that there are times i feel what i deem to be little electrical zaps in my head.

so i have this EEG and the whole point of it is to induce a seizure. i thought that i would just hurry up....get this over with and go home. i did not expect anything to happen. i thought at most, maybe i would blank out for a second. that...did not happen. instead, i was writhing and muscles were violently contracting on my right side. needless to say...i was frightened by what my body was doing. i was totally conscious but my right side was in spasms. i had never experienced that before.

the neurologist and my regular doctor were supposed to call with results. neither one did. i continued to experience these spasms each day after. they would come on with me seeing some sparkly flashes in my periphery, a feeling of some type of electrical surge in my head which makes my jaw tense and shudder, and then it goes to my right side only making my arm, my back, and my leg (especially) to tense outward as far as the limb can go and then retract and shudder. the episodes last for about 10-15 minutes and then i feel the aftershocks in my head, face, and jaw where i twitch and jerk.

i had to hunt down my regular doctor and was told through the nurse a three second response of "the results were normal. no seizures. you are fine." of course i was like..."but...i am not fine. i am still experiencing symptoms." i was rushed off the phone with a dismissal of "go talk to your neurologist."

well...that is easier said than done. i remember the day i had lost my balance and coordination and my ability to talk without slurring my speech and was told simply to "stay out of the heat." i have called the damn neurologist and nobody has called me yet.

i am grateful i do not have epilepsy (although my friend tells me that her daughter who does in fact have epilepsy never showed much on those EEGs) but what the heck is going on then? why did i have such a reaction during the test? why am i continuing to have these episodes? what are they? what causes them and how do i stop them or prevent them from happening?

any insights anyone?

where is our resident civilian doctor linda? i would really love to hear anyone's take on this.