Not over yet; yet so much to report with Ray's EEG test, and not all good
Entry posted by 1967stingray
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So finally, Ray reported to the hospital Tuesday afternoon to begin his 48 to 72 hour EEG. This is a test for seizures, headaches, that type of thing; it's not for everybody. The psychiatrist insisted Ray have it, plus a test for sleep apnea, the apnea consult is scheduled for next week. I am pretty sure Ray has apnea; both of these tests were ordered because Ray is having early morning sleeping problems. Wakes up to use the bathroom and can't get back to sleep, which really upsets him. He worships his sleeping time. This doctor recommended the hospital he is associated with, which is a very small, high end kind of place. Quite well regarded. I ran it by Ray's neurologist who we saw a week or so later, and he of course wanted it done in his hospital, which is the biggest around and a university type place, which has its advantages too.
First, to be polite, I decided to check out the university. Turns out the doctor that did Ray's Botox is also in charge of sleep and EEG testing. We heard him finish with his previous patient and burst in our room a minute later, much too quickly to have read the twenty pages of forms I had to fill out. Says looks like you need these tests, I will have my place call you. Boom, $120 in his pocket. Turns out it's not the hospital but a warehouse in a seedy neighborhood, and Ray will do the EEG at home. Meaning, we go there, they put all the wires on his head and go back home for a few days. The apnea testing is there too, but that is overnight and he warned me that there are only techicians working there, so since Ray needs help with the bathroom and such, I'd have to stay the whole time with him. I wasn't thrilled, so was happy the place never called to make the appointments. To tell the truth, I was looking forward to having Ray safely in the hospital and a little time to myself to try to relax for a change.
So then I call the psychiatrist's hospital. They immediately set everything up and I felt very comfortable with it all. Totally professional. I find out the EEG doctor is very well known; despite his young age he has written several college textbooks plus tons of published studies and reports, and is connected with the local nuclear science lab. We meet him and he is fantastic. He spent a lot of time going over every detail of Ray's history, as if he was going to include him in his next book.
Ray was mellow enough when we checked in, I kept warning him it would be a few days but he didn't seem upset. He got a private room, right off the nurse's station with a great view of Port Jeff harbor. The food was restaurant quality and the staff couldn't have been nicer. Then the second day, after I left, Ray took a turn for the worse. Turns out they changed his antiseizure meds, which is what the psychiatrist had wanted as opposed to our primary doctor. There was a little power struggle going on there. But it wasn't a gradual change, they just took him off dilantin and put him on depakote. When I questioned that , the doctor said it was OK since he was in a hospital setting. But Ray's reaction seemed to say that wasn't true.
Thursday, I called Ray around 10 and he seemed to say don't even bother coming, I figured because it was starting to snow. I thought of all the things I needed to do around the house and got started. Then an hour later, I got a call from one of the nurses, could I come in right away because Ray was going nutty. I ran over there and then walked in on him having a seizure, which is really unusual for him. They all seemed thrilled that it was caught on the EEG however. Me,not so much. That is not a regular thing with him, it's only happened maybe four times in the last year, since the first one.
So I settle in, obviously I will be staying awhile. After he comes out of it, he becomes argumentative, angry, wants to go home in no uncertain terms. Cursing, yelling, the whole ward is being disrupted. I am trying to calm him down but he is grabbing my arms hard enought to make black and blues, and scratching me in the process. They finally got a strait jacket kind of thing and tied him to the chair. I am truly feeling like the biggest loser! The doctor was luckily in house and was called in; he kept asking me if this was the usual way Ray acts. I honestly said, he can be argumentative, and when he won't give in, then I usually will. But no, not like this. But there was no going home for him tonight and when Ray realized that, he went really beserk.
The gave him xanax, and then they gave him more xanax. They gave him a double dose of remeron early. They asked me to stay until 7 when the night nurses arrived and they would assign someone just to him. There was no calming him down. They were considering a shot of something heavy duty if he didn't stop by 7. Then dinner came, I had forgot to order with all the excitement so he got what was left, turkey. And it did what they say, finally put him to sleep (along with all the drugs I'm sure). I waited 15 minutes until he started snoring and ran out the door to drive home in the blinding snow, feeling so beat up. And here I am, wondering about tomorrow, will Ray get out of the hospital, or get put in the psych ward? And should I cancel the meeting with the daycare people, which I was really looking forward to. The night nurse questioned me before I left, and said she thinks it's a drug reaction, because it came on so suddenly. I knew they were thinking of switching the anti seizure, but not like this. I didn't even know anyone would do it that way, between the mental aspect and the possibility of seizures. Guess I'll find out tomorrow, maybe call my primary although I know it will upset him.
Well we have our next psychiatrist visit Weds (if I can get Ray there, this could have repercussions right down the line) so maybe some answers then. But I am getting tired of all these psych meds being given to Ray like he is a guinea pig!
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