DBS Neuropsychiatric evaluation pretest

[Buddba58]

Can anyone please shed some light on what is involved in the 4-Hour Neuropsychiatric pretest evaluation? I'm scheduled for DBS surgery on the 28th of February. I'm not a great test taker and I'm worried.

[LL23]

Buddba58, in the testing I had, they were doing some memory, some cognitive processing, a few minor physical tests such as grip etc, it was not a test that entailed endurance, pain or embarrassment. Just trying to get a sense of how I was doing overall. It was rather lengthy, but we did finish in less time than the scheduled 4 hours. Hope this is reassuring,. Best to you.

[Buddba58 in reply to LL23]

Am I being timed?

[Cbauer]

I had mine done in the US. They are not looking for mental illness. They have you do many short test that you have probability done in the past. The counting backwards by seven, drawing shaapes, recalling two words that they ask you to remember sometime early in the testing, checking your basic orietation to time and space, who the past three presidents were, all pretty easy. I was very tired by the end of the examination and could not answer as well as I could early on. . I wondered if I could even remember my name. But I did pass. I was not nearly perfect, and you do not need to be. They mostly want to know if the strain of the surgery might be too much for you. That is also why they have age limits. I believe that they want to be confident of success both for you and for themselves. In the US they worry about malpractice should the surgery not go well. They also want it to accumulate good results in order to justify doing such expensive procedures.

My DBS works well and I am glad I did it. I am now 74 and 5 years since the surgery. It was not placed perfectly and the results could have been better if the surgeon had been more expert. I am still able to llive a full life that is not dominated by tremors that were not responding to meds. I feel 14 years older since my diagnosis, probably because I am. I have been told that getting old is not for sissies. I will be thinking of you as you are having the surgery - I am putting it on my calendar because I forget things - HaHa, just my attempt at humor.

[Buddba58 in reply to Cbauer]

Am I being timed?

[Juliegrace]

I've had multiple neuro psych tests as part of research. It is as described above and also to give them benchmarks as to progression. They allow four hours but it generally will not take that long.

[Buddba58 in reply to Juliegrace]

Will I be timed? I'm worried about not answering all the questions.

[Juliegrace in reply to Buddba58]

They time it, but just as a measurement. There is no right or wrong. Please don't worry. It is really nothing to worry about. If you stress it will make your symptoms worse and that's not good for you.

[movinngroovin1]

I would add that if they see depression, they note it. They are looking for significant cognitive decline. DBS makes that worse if it has already begun to happen. The life changes are well worth it though!

[Buddba58 in reply to movinngroovin1]

Will I be timed as I'm worried about not answering all the questions?

[ktbate]

It's normal to be a bit stressed out about taking a test for 4 hrs.

I recommend getting a good nights sleep, have a good breakfast, and bring some water to sip. Take deep breaths and think positive. It worked for me and after it was over I realized it wasn't that bad. You'll do fine.

[Buddba58 in reply to ktbate]

Will I be timed as I'm worried about not answering all the questions?

[quilting46 in reply to Buddba58]

I found the test exhausting. I took it in the afternoon after a morning of neurophysical tests first without my medication and then after taking my usual dose of sinemet. the tests are as described above. in addition they had me take the MMPIii (Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory) which was a 573 (I think) question test which I filled out at home. I think that it was also true or false. when I asked the PA about the results of all this testing, she hemmed and hawed while looking at the computer screen and finally said that they had determined that I wasn't depressed which I told them before they began the test. at one point I begged them to stop, I was exhausted and the neuropsychiatrist was doing a memory test and I couldn't see the point in doing it twenty times when I had al ready done it ten times. the student who was with the doctor told me later that he thought that I was having a panic attack.

I guess that I would advise to get a good night's sleep. You can't really practice for the test, except maybe counting backwards from 100 by 7. I think that as someone else pointed out, they are really interested in whether or not you are depressed. however, I wonder why they do such elaborate testing if that is all they are interested in.

[ktbate]

The tests are less than 5 min. each. Some are timed and some are not. One thing you might practice is having someone tell you a story with lots of details -then retell the story trying to remember as many facts as you can. Then wait an hour and retell the story again without the person retelling it first. Don't worry about answering all the questions. They don't expect you to know all the answers --- unless you are a genius!!!