Migraine

I recently got out of the hospital, which included a total change of my preventives and abortives. Suffice it to say that my post-hospital life right now is all about med adjustment, side effects, waiting it out ...

The excellent part is that my doctor sent me home with IM injections to use at home. I posted in another thread about that topic, but not about what it's done for me.

When we changed my meds, we sort of "uncovered" some of my symptoms that used to happen frequently and severely, but had settled down. I sort of expected that might happen, and they're settling down again, but meantime it's sort of scary because I haven't been to the ER in three years.

I've had two attacks recently that ought have sent me to the ER. However, with aggressive treatment at home including the shots and the pills, I actually managed both of them over the course of 24 hours, got them knocked down, and after spending two days in bed afterwards, was able to get back up and resume some sort of life.

It was such a good experience to have that kind of control, and not have to go through the uncomfortable waiting of the ER. I would have gone if I'd had to, but it was so much better to just hang out on the sofa bed with my medicine box in hand, iPod in my ear, cat on my feet, and my own afghans wrapped around my head!

So, I'm totally pumped, crazy as that might seem. It makes me feel a lot less scared about future attacks.

Hooray for my new doctor! He's a genius. Thank God he trusts me enough to send me home with needles and vials and good instructions.

Lynne

Lynne,

Yay! Here's a celebration cake for getting a great rescue med regemine in place that works! Yay for getting it under control so you don't have to go to the ER!

I'm so happy for you that you have a great Dr.

Hooray for you!

Kelly

It sounds like you've been able to take charge of your migraines and clobber them with a baseball bat. Good for you for treating aggressively at home. I hate the ER, too!

Gretchen in Mississippi

Thanks, fellow soldiers!

It really does feel like I'm clobbering those attacks. (it feels gooooooooodd!) I kept meticulous logs over the past weeks after I got home, when I was clobbering them but with somewhat poorer success. When I took my logs to my doctor, I was scared to death that somehow I was going to get in trouble for being so aggressive with the treatments, even though I had totally stayed within the limits given me.

I guess I've been chided unexpectedly so many times (especially during my one totally disastrous hospitalizations) for using my own judgment, that I had this knee-jerk fear that I was going to get in trouble.

Instead, my doctor and the P.A. said, "oh, my, those are some really high pain numbers. It looks like you really had to work hard to get relief".

What a nice change. Of course, I'd rather not have the symptoms at all but it's sure nice to have a plan.....

Lynne

Great news!

We love progress! And we love that empowered feeling, too. I'm absolutely positively thrilled for you, Lynne!

Hi Lynne - That is so great! I think that's what we all want - to feel in charge - and you are doing a great job of it.

- megs

Lynne,

What wonderful news! Sounds like your doctor is a gem and has made you a part of your own treatment plan, fantastic!

Awwww. You all are so nice. Thanks for your support.

Now I have to get myself back on my teeny-weeny exercise program again - kind of fell off the wagon over the past five days. That's OK, though. One step at a time.

Lynne

Lynn--

I am so proud of you being able to take control, have a good plan, follow it and then document everything out the wazoo. That's exactly what I do, and until I went to the ER in late March with what I thought was a weird migraine but was the first symptom of atypical pneumonia, I hadn't been to the ER in 2 years. That's in spite of "ER" type migraines approximately every 3 months (that's my average).

This kind of empowerment is exactly the type of teamwork migraineurs and their physicians need to develop. Isn't it fabulous when it works!!!!

Tracie