SEIZURE
(fourth installment)
RESULTS, OR LACK THERE OF

The rest of the story gets easier to tell.
 I called and made an appointment with the neurologist my doctor recommended. I actually had to have my doctor call and finagle an appointment because the neurologist didn't really have one available as soon as she wanted. I saw him for an introduction, so we could make the EEG test appointment in his office. We spoke for maybe 15 minutes, some of which was actually the doctor on the pone with John getting the story from him. A week later I went in for the EEG. I now consider it the "little" EEG, as it only lasted 45 minutes. I had had very very little sleep the night before and sort of - what I thought - drifted off a couple of times during it.
 Later that afternoon i got a call from the office saying the doctor wanted to see me for a follow up consultation. Appointment scheduled for a week later.
I was in the doctor's office. He walked in the door. We said the hi-how-are-ya-s and he said "so looking at the EEG there are definitely abnormal brainwaves , so you do have a seizure disorder, and you should consider your driver's license revoked as of now."
COULD YOU HAVE BOUGHT ME A DRINK FIRST?
Anyway, we spoke for a few more minutes, he explained he was increasing the medication I was already on, and expected to increase it again in a couple of months. I would be receiving paperwork from the DMV which I should bring into his office right away when I got it. Whether or not they would permanently revoke my license was up to them and they handle it on an individual basis.Then he went on at length about the way the laws regarding driving and epilepsy were different from one state to another, and didn't make sense, and California is too lawsuit ridden in general and do you see the adds on the backs of buses about injury cases? and blah blah blah.
I went home stunned. And freaked out about not being able to drive.  It all seemed very abrupt and confusing. I had so many questions.
So I got on the Internet.
This is where people start screaming "NNnnooooooooo". But really, it was not a horror fest search. I went to the DMV website. And the official epilepsy websites. Mostly it seemed that diagnosis of epilepsy was after 2 unprovoked episodes. And it didn't seem like I met the DMV specifications for having my license suspended or revoked. Yet.
I called the doctor back. I explained that I was confused about the driving issue.
He said he had to legally report it. I understand that, but how could he say my license was suspended?
"I didn't say that. I can't make that determination. I'm not the DMV." Then came another round of babble about the legal system, the state of California, and the rest of the states and their different laws. if pressed he thought 3 months was a reasonable time to wait and see if the medication was keeping me stabilized.
I did not like the way things were playing out.
I had my follow up with my GP and she said she thought after 2 weeks of being on increased levels of the medication that I should forget about it and go on with my life.
So I decided to get a second opinion.
I found a place in Pasadena that specializes in epilepsy diagnosis and treatment. They seemed respectable and are covered by my insurance policy. Things have been a bit of a struggle with the office side of things, but I trust the doctor.
The first appointment was an hour+ long interview. He said "we don't know yet", and asked me to come in for a 4-5 hour EEG. He said if that didn't show anything he would then want me to do a 48 hour EEG in the hospital.  And we know where I've been for the last two days so that fills in that part of the story. He also seemed to focus on my life-long insomnia as very much a part of this picture, and some of what he has been hoping to discover from this 48 hours is if there's a connection.
so as this was approaching I kept trying to remind myself that I could come out of this weekend with hope of solving the sleep problems as well as ruling out epilepsy.
Now I am just waiting for the doctor to come and write my release order so that the tech can start the unhooking, unwrapping, disconnecting process. They keep asking me if I've noticed any events. No. And I even slept pretty well last night.
  I'm expecting that there was no evidence of seizures, no sleep apnea or other identifiable cause for sleep problems, and therefore, in the end, no idea what happened to me in June.
That's just my guess, though. I won't know anything for over a month. My follow up appointment can't happen before then because my doctor is going on vacation.