We got Lizzie up at 4 AM in order to sleep-deprive her for her 7:30 EEG. They want the patient sleep-deprived for a couple of reasons. First, because lack of sleep stresses a person, and when someone is stressed, they're more likely to have seizures. Second, they like to get brain waves both when the person is awake and asleep; if the patient is sleep-deprived they'll hopefully fall asleep while on the EEG.
Lizzie did fine for the first hour and a half. We talked to her and played a Baby Einstein video, thinking maybe the music would help. By the time we were approaching two hours awake, she was definitely tired and ready to sleep. We used a cool wet washcloth to keep her awake for a while, which of course she wasn't happy about. Finally I took her pajamas off and carried her around in her diaper. Poor baby was very unhappy; she just wanted to fall asleep. When it was time to go we got her in the carseat and she tried to go to sleep again. I rode in the backseat with her so I could keep her awake. I used the washcloth some more, but eventually even that stopped working. I took off her socks and tickled her feet and Tom opened the car windows to let the cold outside air in. It was a constant battle to try to keep her awake all the way downtown. She was so fussy!
When we got there, the EEG tech decided to use a paste to attach the electrodes to Lizzie's head instead of the nasty "super glue" stuff they used the last two times. It's not really super glue, but it smells awful and it's a really strong adhesive. It has to be removed at the end of the EEG with an equally foul-smelling solution, and it still leaves bits of dried glue in her hair for a long time afterward. The tech told us that they're supposed to use the glue for patients under 2 because those ages move around a lot more and the electrodes have a much higher chance of getting knocked away from where they're originally placed. However, she said she would give the paste a try with Lizzie this time, for which we were grateful. The tech got Lizzie all hooked up and started the EEG. After a couple of minutes she said it was okay to let Lizzie fall asleep. We let her sleep about 15 minutes, and then we woke her up and they flashed strobe lights at her. Then they recorded about five more minutes of awake time, and we were done. Removal of the electrodes was MUCH faster and simpler this time around without the glue.
The tech said it would probably be three business days before we heard anything from Dr. K about the results, so now we just wait for Thursday. The waiting is hard.
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