I am having an EEG and an angiogram next week, and was wondering if anyone could tell me what's going to happen and what the process is. I'm kind of nervous and just want to hear what happens from someone who has gone through it. Thanks!
I've never had the EEG but I can speak to the Angiogram experience.
I was under twilight anaesthetic and was fairly conscious (so I wouldn't move during the Xray). My advice is for you to breath deeply and relax; ask for more sedative if you feel too anxious on the table. They will apply a topical anaesthetic where the catheter enters the femoral artery (in the leg). I had a right side AVM and they used my right leg, I'm not sure if there's a difference.
After they enter the leg, they snake the catheter up to the brain (it sounds worse than it really is) and at that point will perform the dye injection while taking x-rays. Everyone reacts to the dye injections differently from what I've heard. I had a strange reaction which caused me to have a migraine for the following few days and some nausea. Hopefully it will be easy for you. The procedure is fairly quick, and the most annoying part of recovery is the bandage in your leg.
Best of luck and if you have any more questions or just want to talk, I'm available :)
Thanks Matthew! That helps a lot!
Its bothe not as bad as u might think . When they make the eeg they fix some contacts on ur head - doesnt hurt its a bit like an EKG - only on the head. U have to sit or lay then for some time - and a machine will wrtite down the activity of ur brain -its really harmless. The Angio its a bit more difficult - as Matthew said - u have to lay down and they puncture ur groin arteries and bring an catheeder in it - and lead it to ur brain. U dont feel anything from that- Maybe the local anesthesia at the groin and when they close the arterie again, coz it has to be safe closed. And maybe the injection of the dye. In m ycase it didnt really hurt - in fact i was a bit amused coz it felt so weird..bit hot at times, bit dizzy - but harmless too for me. I was wide awkae during the complete procedure - and its really nothing to be afraid of...maybe u´re a little pent up - coz u dont know what to expect and what will happen - or if sth will happen - but u will be ok...worst part of it - in my opinion - is laying flat afterwards for hours.... pls let us know how everything went and take care pls..u will be ok..XXXX
I've had both. Everything Matthew said is almost exactly what I experienced. They tell you not to move. You're mildly conscious, slightly sedated, somewhere in between. It sounds a lot worse than it really is. You don't feel the catheter at all. I don't remember migraines afterward but I was pretty doped up after because it was more of an emergency angiogram; it wasn't scheduled until moments beforehand.
I've had quite a few EEG's. If you're tender-headed, it can hurt but it really depends on your nurse. I've found that the male nurses have a way better touch than female when it comes to EEGs. Females seem to scrub the glue into your head but the males are real soft and gentle and take their time. Both male nurses that did my EEGs even parted my hair evenly for each contact but the females just kind of put them randomly about my head without moving my hair.....so the glue was extra hard to remove and the guys removed most of the glue for me and the females didn't even try! I just remembered that! How awful! Oh, I wonder how that translates to their personal lives LOL!
Thanks for sharing! I'm feeling better about my appointments now :)
I haven't had an EEG, but I've had two angiograms.
I was cranky afterwards because I didn't have my morning mocha & didn't get lunch until a couple of hours later than usual. Not eating on time can be one of my migraine triggers, but luckily, I didn't get one after either angio.
For me, probably the most uncomfortable part was having a male nurse shave my bikini area. He was completely professional, but I'm pretty modest. The funny part was having them mark a big "X" on both feet with Sharpie to mark my pulse points.
I don't even remember feeling the incision. I felt a "warm flush" from the dye. And felt it in different places in my body both times.
The first time, they must have caught a muscle a little funny because I had trouble taking a normal stride for a couple of weeks. After the second, I was walking normally within a couple of days.
I also found that "boy short" underwear was more comfortable than normal womens' undies afterwards so that the elastic didn't rub on the incision site.
I haven’t had an EEG but I have had 2 angiograms. The first one I had to lay flat for 6 hours but it wasn’t a problem because I was already in the hospital for the AVF that bled. The second one, to determine if the AVF was obliterated, I was admitted as an outpatient. They warned me that I may have to lay flat for 6 hours but they were able to close my groin with a closure devise so I only had to lie flat for 2 hours. I was groggy enough not to be nervous but able to follow commands. The nurse would say “you are going to feel a warm sensation…don’t move.” It really wasn’t bad at all. The worrying about the procedure was worse than the procedure itself. Let us know when you are scheduled to have the procedure so we can pray for you.
I've had both but I don't remember the angiograms (comas are good for that :). The EEG is totally painless. The nurse will just attach a bunch of little things to various areas of your head. I didn't have any problems with the glue. It was actually quite relaxing and I fell asleep (which is what they wanted me to do so that was good). Best wishes and let us know how you do.
My Neuro just called me today and they are scheduling my angiogram so thank you for asking this question and to all that answered. I was a bit nervous until I read all of your replies.
Will I have any restrictions after my angiogram and if so, for how long?
Just don't do too much that exerts pressure on your legs and no heavy lifting - the "puncture" for the catheter in your groin has to seal and heal completely (it'll form a large scab).
I didn’t even have a scab at my wound site. I had an exoseal™ vascular closing devise. Sometimes they can’t seal it by this method but they were able to in my case. It was great because I only had to wear a bandaide over it.
My angio was many years ago... I spent the night in the hospital laying on my back. The next day I drove myself home (5 hours away), directly to a Bruce Springsteen concert, where I had to walk pretty far from the parking lot to the venue. I ended up with a huge bruise from my groin to my knee!!! So, I would add large venue concerts to your restriction list for at least 3 days, or at least, get dropped off at the door!!!
I think my angiograms have been a lot easier than others on here it seems.
On both arrived at hospital at 0700am, went into the operating theatre about 0830am, the area where they put the catheter in was numbed but i was fully awake, couldnt really fell it at all, just a slight "pulling" feeling/sensation on my leg was all.
I was able to watch the monitors as they pushed the dye into me brain, it just felt a bit warm was all, going up the back of my head, a few seconds and it was done, they used the dye about 3 times and that was it, then they pushed a pad onto my leg for around 20 mins and then i went back to the Ward.
Had to lie down flat for 3 hours then sit up, then walk around to see if it would bleed and it didnt, just had a tiny scab on hip/groin/leg area, about a 1/4 size of little finger nail and i went home about 4pm.
Had a slight ache in my leg and a little bruise the size of a 20p, the ache went after a day or two.
Nothing to worry about at all really.
Hi Jacey,
I had an angiogram last April without any sedation. It was no problem.
The puncture site (femoral artery)is anaesthetised with a local anaesthetic and the catheter is inserted. The only discomfort I had was when the puncture was closed with an angioseal. This lasted for 10 seconds, previously pressure would have had to be applied to the puncture site for 20 minutes.
In addition you will probably have to lie flat on you back for about 3/4 hours.
Hope the info helps,
Bye for now,
Macker
The EEG is an easy test... It has to be one of the easiest of all of them. The whole thing takes about an hour or less. They put lil electrodies on your head with a bunch of glue, which is gross for long hair people like me. lol Then you lay down on a bed or chair, you can go to sleep. They play ocean music, the lights are out, they do strob light you. Which is not very pleasent, if you have a problem with flashing lights. All of my EEG's I have fallen asleep durning them, its relaxing after the light show is over which only last about 10 mins..
I have an angiogram on Monday.. AGAIN.. Its a needle of dye they put in your arm and do a CT scan..
Good Luck!!
Thanks so much for all the replies! It helps greatly with putting my mind at ease for the tests :)