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NeuroPsych test...What a day.
Today was the day for my NeuroPsych evaluation testing. It was scheduled for 8AM at the Murfreesboro VA Hospital which meant I would have to get up at 5AM in order to get there on time. I had told my friend Dave that I had to get up at 5AM so what does he do? Calls me up at 4AM to make sure I got up. Oh was I foaming at the mouth mad about that.
Actually I didn't realize the appointment was at Murfreesboro until I was just about to leave so I had to quickly print out direction on how to get there. So I spent 5.5 hours there with all l but about 15 minutes being the testing and then the doctor going over the results with me.
The first hour was an interview type setting where he explained what was going to go on and asking me about the problems I have been having ( memory, vision, OCD stuff, family history, etc). The doctor was real nice and had done his homework in studying my medical charts. He also seemed to be vary knowledgeable about MS.
After about a 5-10 minute break while he set up the stuff for testing me came the real workout. By the time we finished with the tests I could barely focus my eyes and at the end of the last test he said he could have done more tests but could tell I was having trouble with my eyes and getting really burned out.
I forget how many different tests we did, but they cover visual memory, hearing memory, recalling with clues of my memory, Timing the response of each of my hands, Figuring out patterns, etc.
In the end he said my memory was fine once I get things in there, but am very slow at getting them in which is consistent with MS.
He said my right hand was 25% slower than my left even though I am right handed which he expected since I had my brace on my right foot for the foot drop. When I have looked at my MRI pictures I had noticed most of the spots were on the left side of my brain.
I was surprised I did good on the math skills part. They word those word type math problems which he read to me 1 time only. You know the "if you have 3 apples and your friend has 2 apples and you give him one apple how many do each of you have". I missed only two of the questions mostly because I forgot how many where the original amount.
For figuring out complex things I could do it but it took longer than it should have based on my age and background. Again consistent with MS. The brain is just slowed down.
As for the OCD type things I have been experiencing he said there is a component of that happening that could be either anxiety or memory problems, medication, or both. He is going to recommend a review of my medications and talk therapy so that it doesn't get any worse. Since I live so far from th VA hospital he wants to see if he can get something like weekly teleconference therapy and monthly in person therapy.
He was also concerned about my sleep problems and was going to put in for some pain management type stuff to go along with the talk therapy as the OCD stuff is also disturbing my sleep. That sure would be great as I can't remember have even one day free of pain since 1989. I think he said that because I admitted that once last year I was in so much pain and depressed I though of shooting myself in the foot just to get some pain medication.
Speaking of pain about 1 hour before the end of the testing I had another bout of TN start up. Of course I had none of my pain meds with me so by the time I got home I was in agony. I took 2 pain pills immediately;y when I got home so if this is not readable you will have to understand it is the pain meds kicking in. Now I ma going to got to sleep about 20 years as I can hardly keep my eyes open any longer. Besides All that I have written is just a big burr and am just using the spell checker to guess at what I had meant to write. Thank God for the read underlines. :)
Dennis
Actually I didn't realize the appointment was at Murfreesboro until I was just about to leave so I had to quickly print out direction on how to get there. So I spent 5.5 hours there with all l but about 15 minutes being the testing and then the doctor going over the results with me.
The first hour was an interview type setting where he explained what was going to go on and asking me about the problems I have been having ( memory, vision, OCD stuff, family history, etc). The doctor was real nice and had done his homework in studying my medical charts. He also seemed to be vary knowledgeable about MS.
After about a 5-10 minute break while he set up the stuff for testing me came the real workout. By the time we finished with the tests I could barely focus my eyes and at the end of the last test he said he could have done more tests but could tell I was having trouble with my eyes and getting really burned out.
I forget how many different tests we did, but they cover visual memory, hearing memory, recalling with clues of my memory, Timing the response of each of my hands, Figuring out patterns, etc.
In the end he said my memory was fine once I get things in there, but am very slow at getting them in which is consistent with MS.
He said my right hand was 25% slower than my left even though I am right handed which he expected since I had my brace on my right foot for the foot drop. When I have looked at my MRI pictures I had noticed most of the spots were on the left side of my brain.
I was surprised I did good on the math skills part. They word those word type math problems which he read to me 1 time only. You know the "if you have 3 apples and your friend has 2 apples and you give him one apple how many do each of you have". I missed only two of the questions mostly because I forgot how many where the original amount.
For figuring out complex things I could do it but it took longer than it should have based on my age and background. Again consistent with MS. The brain is just slowed down.
As for the OCD type things I have been experiencing he said there is a component of that happening that could be either anxiety or memory problems, medication, or both. He is going to recommend a review of my medications and talk therapy so that it doesn't get any worse. Since I live so far from th VA hospital he wants to see if he can get something like weekly teleconference therapy and monthly in person therapy.
He was also concerned about my sleep problems and was going to put in for some pain management type stuff to go along with the talk therapy as the OCD stuff is also disturbing my sleep. That sure would be great as I can't remember have even one day free of pain since 1989. I think he said that because I admitted that once last year I was in so much pain and depressed I though of shooting myself in the foot just to get some pain medication.
Speaking of pain about 1 hour before the end of the testing I had another bout of TN start up. Of course I had none of my pain meds with me so by the time I got home I was in agony. I took 2 pain pills immediately;y when I got home so if this is not readable you will have to understand it is the pain meds kicking in. Now I ma going to got to sleep about 20 years as I can hardly keep my eyes open any longer. Besides All that I have written is just a big burr and am just using the spell checker to guess at what I had meant to write. Thank God for the read underlines. :)
Dennis
No they don
t do a full neuro exam. They are only concerned with thought processes.
I did forget about one other test he did. He gave me two long lists of words that I had to read aloud to him. After reading the lists I kidded the doctor about some of those words must be fake words. Very hard for me to pronounce.
Also with the tests were he timed how long it took me to do the pegs in the holes for the right hand I had to do the pegs like you read words ( left to right) and with the left hand right to left. So again it was about thought processes.
Dennis
t do a full neuro exam. They are only concerned with thought processes.
I did forget about one other test he did. He gave me two long lists of words that I had to read aloud to him. After reading the lists I kidded the doctor about some of those words must be fake words. Very hard for me to pronounce.
Also with the tests were he timed how long it took me to do the pegs in the holes for the right hand I had to do the pegs like you read words ( left to right) and with the left hand right to left. So again it was about thought processes.
Dennis
Hey, Dennis, has he given you the results yet? Or are you still waiting on his analysis?
These tests are amazingly comprehensive. I expect you'll get some good information on your deficiencies, and what you can do to strengthen them.
Me, I found that my usual methods (nonexistent!) weren't going to work in memorization. I had to make an effort to remember things - either through categorization or word association.
These tests are amazingly comprehensive. I expect you'll get some good information on your deficiencies, and what you can do to strengthen them.
Me, I found that my usual methods (nonexistent!) weren't going to work in memorization. I had to make an effort to remember things - either through categorization or word association.
He gave me some of the results while talking to me for about 1/2 to 3/4 hours after the final test. The final results should be ready in about 1 week.
What is going to be tricky for me is that he said I should repeat ( say again, have repeated to me, write down ) things about 5 times to help me remember things. But he stressed that I should not do this too much because I have an OCD component going on at the same time and this could become a real problem for me. This is the main reason he wants me to get therapy.
He also said I was having a little bit of a problem with getting things categorized in my mind so the categorization / word association thing will not help me much. Doing the categorization gets me into doing too much at the same time so things become harder for me to remember if I do that. The tests show that the more I have to do at the same time with my brain the worse I do ( ie slow down) . So I do fairly well in the controlled environment of the test but it real life with all of the noise and distractions everything becomes a big problem for me. Guess I need to get myself in a bubble to keep life out of my life. LOL
Dennis
What is going to be tricky for me is that he said I should repeat ( say again, have repeated to me, write down ) things about 5 times to help me remember things. But he stressed that I should not do this too much because I have an OCD component going on at the same time and this could become a real problem for me. This is the main reason he wants me to get therapy.
He also said I was having a little bit of a problem with getting things categorized in my mind so the categorization / word association thing will not help me much. Doing the categorization gets me into doing too much at the same time so things become harder for me to remember if I do that. The tests show that the more I have to do at the same time with my brain the worse I do ( ie slow down) . So I do fairly well in the controlled environment of the test but it real life with all of the noise and distractions everything becomes a big problem for me. Guess I need to get myself in a bubble to keep life out of my life. LOL
Dennis
Yup, sounds similar to the problems I have! I've discovered I can't do anything without writing a list of what to do first. I can't figure it out without a list. And distractions can really throw me off.
I find I work better with earplugs in. If there's too much noise I can't concentrate.
I find I work better with earplugs in. If there's too much noise I can't concentrate.
Dennis- I saw on your profile you are un-dx. Does the neuro psych feel this will help with a firm diagnosis of MS (or something else?). How did it come about that you went to have this testing done if I can ask?
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