Migraine

Ok, I ended up taking the afternoon off, and I need some more space to vent, so here goes.

This week has just been pond scummy. Or maybe road killy. Just NOT good, not at all, with the Topa side effects. The moodiness and depression are better, but I still feel like the Topa is contributing to it. My insomnia seems to have come back again. I've been having a lot of trouble falling asleep all week.

Plus it seems like the Topa is worsening the side effects of the nortriptyline I'm also taking. I checked into the side effects of Topa and this can be one of them. In particular, the constipation I always have trouble with has gotten worse suddenly, despite my daily prune juice. I scheduled an appointment with one of the nurses at my PCP's practice (my PCP is booked out for 2 weeks) for Monday to not only talk about this constipation issue, but also see about a tapering schedule for the nortriptyline. I've been on it over a year now, and it doesn't seem to be doing anything other than giving me side effects.

I came home for lunch with DBF and just totally broke down and started crying. I decided I was done with work for the day, and called in to let them know I'd be staying home. It seems like lately, if it hasn't been one thing, it's been another. My body just feels completely out of whack after the past few weeks, between the side effects this week and the severe pain before that.

Still no cancellations with my new doc. It's nice to see my ticker below 20 days, though. I feel much less frantic about waiting to see him, but I still wish I didn't have to wait so darned long.

I just feel so tired and worn out after this week. I don't even feel that bad about leaving work early today. It's nice to be home on the couch with my laptop and my kitty.

Hang in there, MJ. Laptops and kitties are quite different from each other, but I hope both are comforting in their own ways!

Hi MJ,

I wish I had a magic wand to make it all better for you. This land of chronic illness is too much to bear sometimes, I know.

It was a bad, bad week. Maybe tomorrow will be the start of a better one . Let it out, whatever way it comes out, in tears or words. We are here for you.

Do you need my Yukima Fruit Paste recipe for constipation?

Nancy, I know you've given me your fruit paste recipe before, but I can't find where I wrote it down. Do you mind giving it to me again?

MJ,
I'm glad you took the afternoon off. It's been a long week for you. Yes, get off anything that is not helping you at this point, especially if there are unacceptable side effects.

I will tell you I was the slowest person on the planet going off nortriptyline, it took me 3 months. I think I was on 75 mgs. Other than the weight gain, I loved it. But since I wanted to lose weight and couldn't on it and it wasn't helping the migraines, it had to go. I now believe my neurlogist when she explains to me what will happen when I go off a drug. I was very moody. I tried stabbing my sister with a knitting needle when she tried taking it from me without asking, ok maybe I over reacted and it was a whole sister thing and in retrospect it was funny, where was the video?

I hope this is making you laugh and I hope your dosage is not as high.

Take care. I hope you can enjoy some of DBF's fabulous cooking this weekend.

Cindy

MJ,

I'm so glad you took rest of the day off, you deserve it. You had a rough week and needed that R&R.

Your appointment is almost here! Yippie!!

Big Hugs,

Nancy, you were right on - so far this weekend is the start of a better week.

Taking half a day off yesterday really was a good idea. I knew it would be, but it made more of a difference than I thought it would. I napped for a few hours and that seems to have made a difference in how I'm feeling today. I'm still having trouble sleeping, yes, and the side effects are still not as diminished as I would like, but I feel worlds away from where I was the beginning of the week.

Cindy, your story did make me laugh when I read it last night. I was thinking of it again tonight when my cat started chewing on my knitting needles. (I can't ever leave them anywhere near him!) I'm only on 40 mg - actually I reduced it to 30 mg last night - but I was never able to tolerate more than that. I'm giggling again about your story, because I can picture myself doing the same thing to my sister - even though she's much older than me!

I'm continuing to just take it an hour at a time. That's the most I can manage right now, but I'm ok with that. I'm going to bed shortly - but I wanted to stop in here and let you guys know that today was better than the last few days have been. Thanks for all of your hugs and for being here.

The good news is I actually felt pretty decent this weekend, better than I have in a while. My head pain didn't get above a 5-6, and my moods were *much* better than they've been in weeks. I think the Topa may have been affecting me more than I realized.

The bad news is I'm feeling cruddy tonight. I had two doctors' appointments today - well, one with the RN at my PCP's and one with my eye doc - which meant lots of time under buzzy fluorescent lighting in addition to my office lighting. By about 3 o'clock I could feel the pain building, bilaterally, like a fire behind both eyes. Usually a good indication that it will be a bad pain day. The pain is up to a 7 tonight and I'm feeling really run down. I was also running a slight fever at the doc's office so I'm going to keep an eye on that over the next few days - yet another thing to keep an eye on.

I see my new doctor in two weeks from Wednesday, which isn't all that far away. Next week I'm flying to Boston for work, for a conference, which I'm excited about but also rather anxious about the inevitable triggers I'm going to run across, including the traveling itself. Flying is one of my biggest triggers, and I'm going to have a busy week while I'm on the east coast. I'll be flying from Boston to Virginia for a wedding, then back home.

I think I can make it through the next two weeks. I'm just ready, very very ready, to start feeling better already. I'm hoping the new doc has some ideas for me that involve more aggressive treatment, after all of this waiting. I need this migraine to break already.

Ok - time for a shower and bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow.

MJ,

Hooray! A decent weekend, I'm sooo happy for you, you deserved it and you deserve many more to come your way. I'm sorry you started feeling cruddy last night, hopefully your shower and some sleep knocked down the pain for you.

Wow, your doctor's appointment is just around the corner! How excited you must be, I know I'm excited and hopeful for you and wish you the best and most productive visit ever!!!

I hope you are as pain free as possible next week. If you don't mind me asking, where in VA will you be? I'm in Virginia Beach. We got very lucky when my husband was transferred here, it is beautiful and we all love it!

Take care of yourself,

Glad to hear you had a good weekend MJ, and sorry to hear you felt so awful last nite.

I feel your pain about the doc's office. Almost every time I go to my pcp I end up with a migraine before I even get out of the waiting room. (Another reason I love my neuro, her waiting room and office are both quite dark by doctor's office standards )

We are all keeping our fingers crossed for you on that trip MJ Hopefully, you can enjoy the time get to spend with your family between meetings, and enjoy the wedding in VA.

Two weeks will be here before you know it! And I know we are all really looking forward to hearing about your appt!

In the meantime, have some hugs to get you through the day

MJ,
I could tell you enjoyed your weekend, you sounded so much, yes, perkier!1 It's just the word that came to mind.

As much as I like my eye doctor, like you I dread the appointments. Too many lights in my eyes. I can feel great and come out feeling fatigued and my eyes always feel awful. Way too many lights being flashed in them. But they are such nice people!!

Take care. Keep your ice packs with you when you fly, maybe those instant ones they use for injuries to help out so you can enjoy yourself as much as possible.

Cindy

MJ- So glad you had a good week end and are feeling better- I hope you will have a good trip to the East coast. Your doctor's appt is coming up soon! Keep us posted on how you're doing-

Valerie

I'm glad you had a good weekend!

I hope the new specialist can find something that works for you. The topa sounds like it's absolutely horrible for you.

Hope you feel better!

Thinking of you MJ.

Hoping that your pain today wasn't as bad as anticipated and that sleep did you well.

I'm flying next week too. Flying is a trigger for me too, so I understand your concern.


Kelly

Hi MJ

Sorry for the delay for the Fruit Paste. Here ya go:

1 lb. pitted prunes
4 oz. senns tea leaves
1 lb. raisins
1 lb. figs
1 cup lemon juice

1. Make tea (I've use tea bags using 2.5 cups of boiled water, steep for 5 minutes)if using leaves drains tea and remove leaves.

2. Put 2 cups of tea, or whatever is left in large pot add fruit.

3. Boil fruit and tea for 15-20 minutes until soft.

4. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, cool. Use hand mixer/blender to mix into paste.

5. Put in tupperware container, store in freezer. This paste won't freeze, but will keep for a REALLY long time. Use 1-2 tablespoons a day.

"They" say you can put this on toast, bagels, english muffins or rice cakes. I'm thinking now I could have put it on my matzo. But I just put it on a tablespoon and downed it that way.....