Howdy!

My Long Term Monitoring was also inconclusive and I had to have Invasive
Monitoring. As for "painful"... see the last paragraph!

Here's a little something that I wrote quite some time ago:

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I was admitted into Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY for Invasive
Monitoring by the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at noon on Sunday Sept. 18,
1994. I was scheduled for surgery with Dr. W. Pilcher at 7:30 am on Monday,
Sept. 19. Dr Pilcher is the CEP Neurosurgeon. I was expecting to get my hair
cut an noon as I was admitted into the 3600 Wing on the 5th Floor but this
did not happen. Apparently there is no set time for the ritualistic shaving
and it can happen at any time; from the time that you are admitted until
just before the anesthesiologist puts you under. In my case, my neurosurgeon
came in and shaved me just before I was taken down to surgery.
The kind of invasive monitoring that I had done was to have three 2" teflon
strips inserted over each temporal lobe. Each teflon strip contains 3
electrodes. The first step was to make a vertical 2" incision at each temple
approximately 1" in front of each ear channel. They then peeled the scalp
away from the skull just like you would use a knife to cut a soft boiled egg
free from it's shell. They then drilled two holes in the skull 1.2 cm in
diameter. One hole was drilled into each temple. Three strips were then
inserted into each hole and the connecting wires were run out of the holes
drilled into the skull. The wires were run from the holes in the skull to 3
holes made in the scalp about 2" above the ear and almost parallel with the
floor. The vertical incisions at the temple were then stapled shut. Much to
my surprise, they did not plug the holes that were drilled into the skull;
instead they just leave them alone and let nature take its course and
naturally plug the holes with scar tissue. Three additional wires with
electrodes were added to the outside of the scalp at the occipital lobe
area. Two of these electrodes were for comparison currents and the third was
a ground line. By using this method, which compares the difference in the
current between the two outside lines and each of the invasive monitors, a
much finer calibration can be used to compare the difference in the
electrical charge at each than could be obtained if calculations were made
which only used one charge. In my case the entire operation took 4 hours.

The next step was to take a C.T. Scan (also known as a C.A.T. Scan) and find
out exactly where each electrode was located. Recision is essential because
the precise location of many irregularities are determined by triangulation.
I must admit that I do not remember having a C.T. Scan taken after surgery.
My first recollection of self awareness occurred after I had been returned
to the recovery room following my C.T. Scan.

Once the electrodes have been inserted between the skull and the surface of
the brain, the procedure is exactly the same as Long Term Monitoring
(L.T.M.) after the electrodes have been connected to the scalp.

If you ever thought that you have had the worst headache that you could ever
have, let somebody drill some holes in your head; because, until you do, you
don't know what a REAL headache feels like! This pain, which is constant and
intense, lasts for 2 or 3 days and shifts around from your temporal lobes to
your occipital lobes.

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