They took a Sharpie and marked the point on my nose, between the eyes, and the top of my forehead.
They put a white knit-fabric skullcap on my head, and then mark more measurements. Next, they put a framework overlay with eyelets in the ”rays.” And start marking through those holes.
I felt: Puzzled. Why were they calling out numbers to each other and entering them in the laptop?
One picked up a large, black figure-8 looking thing on a metal hose and said, “This is the coil we’ll be using.”
I felt: Like that thing is the size of half my head, and I wondered how much power it has.
They explained that they’re going to apply the coil at the points they’ve marked, and watch my response. The points they’ve been marking are on my median cortex. When one squeezes the pulse button, the other watches my right hand. I stare at the light switch. I hear a buzz, then my 4th and 5th fingers jump. They rated the response and recorded it. The next pulse, I felt a pulse of movement in my core. I didn’t say anything. it isn’t important, because they didnt say anything about it.
The pulsing and evaluating went on for about 20 minutes until they’ve isolated the most responsive points with the strongest finger jumps. These are the gateways into my mind.
Next, they have me sit in what looks lIke a dentist’s chair, but upright. They place the coil on my cap, steady it, and it begins.
I feel: several rubber band snaps per second, every 3 seconds.
The coil is on the left side of my head, and my eyelid feels like it’s twitching. I ask if they can see my eye move. They say I raise my left eyebrow.
I felt: A headache coming on behind my eyes.
The clicking of the pulses seems to go on and on.
In all, the treatment itself lasts about 15 minutes.
The doctor asks about my tremor, and says I should take 1/2 an Abilify. (Oh, yeah, my tremor.)
This procedure will occur at 6 a.m. every week day for 7 weeks. Since this is Friday, I’ll be coming back on Monday – a work holiday.
Oh yeah, work. I tell my boss I’m not feeling as well as expected, and want to work from home for the afternoon. Then I come home, turn on the electric blanket, and call my cat. Somebody just zapped my brain with a high-powered electromagnet for 15 minutes. That’s enough work for today.
Lo Scriviti 