The First Week at Home After the Week
Of Observation in the Neuroscience Clinic;
My Auras Spread from Visual to My Other Senses
In my first week at home after the week in epilepsy clinic, I had no experiences that I would label as major seizures. There were a few minor episodes. These consisted of a few instances of confusion or momentary absences. Also after looking at a bright light, I would see the fuzzy yellow donuts that I mentioned I saw during my stay in the clinic. After a little research I discovered that many people see these donuts. They even have a name. They are called Weiss Rings. On occasion during this week, the Weiss Rings would start acting like the round Microsoft cursors, with the rings spinning that indicate the computer is processing something.
At other times during the week, I saw things that looked like the Honey Bun sweet rolls that you can buy at convenience stores. Every time I would see the Honey Buns, I was hungry. Here is a “Chicken or egg question.” Did my hunger trigger the images or did the images make me hungry?
Another day after lunch as I settled down to take an afternoon nap on a full stomach, the multi-color whirlpools that spiraled down to their center came back, changing colors as they spiraled. I think I may have just solved my “chicken or egg dilemma.” The whirlpools lasted about fifteen minutes and then they started to fade away. However, they didn’t fade away completely, they transformed into multi-colored conch shells with their distinctive spirals visible beneath the main body of the shells. It would appear that hunger helped induce the aura of a food item.
Oops–back to the drawing board on that one. Two mornings in a row I woke up to food-related auras, and I was not particularly hungry or thirsty for the items in my auras. One morning I woke up smelling hot dogs with chili, mustard and onions. You know that smell that tells everyone what you bought as you walk away from the sidewalk hot dog vendor with a steaming dog loaded with chili, mustard and onions. The second morning, the first thing I saw as I awoke was the lights on my CPAP machine. As I looked at those lights, they reminded me of the shape of a Styrofoam cup. When I took off my CPAP mask, and started swallowing to get the dry sensation out of my throat, I tasted strawberry-lemonade. Neither of those items, a loaded hot dog or strawberry-lemonade, would come anywhere close to my idea of a good breakfast. I may have been thirsty and hungry, but not for those items at that time.
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