March 20th, 2008
So I survived the EEG – and let me say that it was a rather unpleasant experience. Not as unpleasant as, say, having a limb amputated – but not as good as cookies, either. The opening moves were actually quite interesting, as my skull was measured and marked a number of different ways in order to plot where the electrodes would be placed. It was all downhill from there.
The process is probably too boring to relate in detail here, but I will say I hope I never have to go through it again. There was one part that involved a very intense light being strobed into my eyes from about three inches’ distance, and at various rates (hertz? whatever), that was intensely awful and caused a lot of cringing and squinting and tearing-up. The part where I had to hyperventilate for several minutes was pretty sucky too.
Ultimately I left with paste in my hair and sucker marks on my face from where some of the electrodes were placed. I look like a very small but rather angry octopus was attacking my head. Which is kind of funny, and the best part of the whole affair. I can now officially say I have sensitive skin because the EEG technician, a woman who pastes electrodes to people’s skin for a living, declared, based on those sucker marks, that it is so.