Migraine

I don't post often, and I'm sorry I don't have more time to. I scan most of the new posts daily, but just don't have time to respond to them.

You all have been so wonderful to give me some encouragement in the past that I'm embarassed to ask for a shoulder again. The old things are getting better- work is better and I've actually gotten a couple of days off and things with DH(yes, he's "D" again) are MUCH better.

I just need a shoulder for these stupid migraines! I made it 2 weeks totally pain free on just suppliments(magnesium and alpha lipoic acid), but the last 2 weeks have been almost non-stop pain. I had a major "crash and burn" the week before last. I knew it was coming. When things are hectic, I do whatever I have to go get through them, but when it's over and I have a chance to catch my breath, I crash and burn and usually end up with a doozy of a migraine-hence the 3 day one that week.

I got a 2 day mild reprieve-not totally pain free, but tolerable, and then it hit again. I think the second "crash and burn" was getting things straight and back on good terms with DH. That one lasted 2 more days. I got a 1 day reprieve from that one and company hit along with anything that could go wrong, did.

My company showed up 3 hrs. early(the company was my parents, which is always a challenge). During the course of the next 4 days, I got no more than 3 hrs of sleep at any one time and no more than 5 hrs. total each night. Between that, a major storm front and all sorts of problems, I got hit with a really bad one yesterday. Over the weekend my garage door opener went out, side-by-side refrig. went out, lawn mower went up in flames-literally, and the pool filter motor went out. I was afraid to sit in a chair for fear that it would break with me too! I was out 2 days shopping with my Mom, who is disabled. Every time she sits down, I have to lift her up and get her back in her wheel chair. She never gets to go out, so I try to get her out when they visit-no matter how hard it is. That about covers the Memorial Day weekend for me.

Tues. I returned to work to find what looked like a bomb had blown up! My new help(she's been with me 2 months) hadn't been able to handle things on Fri. and it was a disaster. The minor migraine I woke up with turned into a monster by 7AM. By 7:30 I had already had Maxalt, 600mg Ibuprofin, followed up by 20mg. oral Toradol by 9:30 and was still hanging around an 8 on the pain scale. Work was a zoo-everyone got sick over the weekend and we were covered over with patients. By the time I left at 3:15, I was asking my doc when I could have another toradol. He wasn't too pleased and told me to take another Maxalt(I can't take the second done and function AT ALL) + a second toradol and go to bed. I skipped the second toradol because I could tell he really didn't want me to take it, but I took the Maxalt and hit the bed-after surviving through karate.

OK-I'm crazy that I even WENT to karate, much less participated. I'm 2 weeks out from a belt rank advancement and didn't have a choice. Major mistake there. By the time I got home, the old migraine was so bad I was loosing partial vision in one eye and sick as a dog. I've had both of those happen before so it was nothing new, but made driving home TOUGH.

I'm better today, but the migraine is still hanging in there around a 3-4, sometimes a 5+. I don't want to take anything today because of MOH. I need to write myself in as a patient and talk to my doc about all of this, but I just don't have time. I know he wants to start me on a preventative, but I don't have time to be any less than 100%. I simply can't take the time to worry about me right now to adjust to a new med. I can function with the migraines no matter how bad they get, but working through new meds is something I can't handle. DH and I are much better, but things are still edgy and any mood swings would be terrible. Work isn't much better. My doc depends on me for everything and I have to be 100% there as well. The only down time I have is after everyone goes to bed and DH goes downstairs for a while, which is around 9PM.

I'm just so deflated right now. The suppliements were working so good and I knew they weren't preventatives, but they seemed to be working for me. I'm tired of feeling terrible for the last 2 weeks and having to "pretend" everything is OK, when I know it isn't. I guess I just wish someone understood. That's why I came here. I know you all understand and have been through much worse than what I deal with.

Thanks for letting me vent some-sorry this got so long.
Lynn

Lynn,
I'm very sorry you have had to go through all of this, so very sorry. Stress just makes all of the triggers much worse.

I know you have difficulty being there for yourself. But I would like you to go back over your posting and re-read it. At some point in time you have to be there 100% for Lynn or you will not be able to be there 100% for those people most near and dear to you. Please think about that.

Please make an appointment with your doctor. In your previous postings your descriptions of him lead me to believe he is a good doctor and a compasionate man. Listen and think long and hard about what he has to say. He cares about you as a person, friend and employee. Take his words to heart. There maybe sacrifices now for a much better quality of life down the road.

Take care Lynn.

Cindy

Lynn,



Please make it a priority to take care of yourself. Otherwise, you won't be able to take care of anyone else--perhaps when those others need it the most.

Dear Lynn- Wow-it sounds like you've been under a lot of stress and activity! I think you already know you need to spend time taking care of yourself- otherwise you may suffer further- and migraines are just too painful! It's just not worth it. Sometimes when I'm doing too much like that I wonder what would happen if I absolutely could not function, and you know what? Life would go on! It would have to- someone else would have to take your place at work or help your Mom or whatever it is that "has" to get done.

I hope you feel better soon and can take some time for yourself to rest- you're worth it!

Valerie

Don't be embarassed to ask for a shoulder. That's what we're here for. We've got lots of shoulders at a moment's notice. We're quite glad to do that. No apologies for length, either. You get the space you need for your vents. That's a given around here.

Just keep remembering that these speed bumps are going to happen, but that they're temporary. You've been doing better, and you'll get back to doing better. If you keep taking care of yourself, and looking out for yourself, then those better stretches will get longer and longer. You can do this. You will get there. We will be cheering you on all the way.

How about a plethora of these to oomph you up a bit?

Loads and loads of headed your way! I'm glad to hear you had a good stretch of being pain free and that you and DH are doing much better, that's wonderful news!

Please remember to always take care of yourself too. When you're feeling good, everyone else around you feels good too. Go ahead and make that appointment with your doctor, you guys have a great relationship, take advantage of it for your own sake.

Here's another round of Please keep us posted, k?

Take care!!

Lynn, I hope you're feeling better and were able to get some rest. A bad spell like that can be so frustrating. Just checking in to see if you were feeling any better and how things were going

Valerie

Lynn how are things going? Are the migraines under any better control?

Cindy

update

I cant' thank all of you enough. It seems the only time I have a chance to be here is when I'm at the end of my rope. You all are absolutely wonderful. I needed some support so badly and you all gave it to me.

I'm finally doing better. After almost 3 weeks of almost non-stop headaches, they have been gone for 4 days now. I even survived a bout of sinuses without getting a migraine from it. Once I got a couple of nights of good sleep, things improved dramatically. That just re-iterated to me how much sleep plays a role in my migraines. That's on my list to talk to my doc about also.

I have a slow afternoon with my doc today so I think I'm going to write myself in as a patient and talk with him. I have several questions about what I can and can't take with my migraine meds. I don't mix different types of meds and with summer/sinus season, I want to know what I can take for sinuses that won't interfere with my migraine meds. He will be out of town for a week and I'm scared to death that I'm going to need a toradol shot and can't get to him. I would give anything if he would leave me a shot and have the nurse show me how to use it. I may cross that bridge today too.

I'll let you all know how it goes-keep your fingers crossed that things will go good and my migraines will continue to be gone for a while.

Thanks again for all of your support and help. You all are wonderful!
Lynn

When I get into those stretches of totally cruddy head pain my doc has been doing very small dose cortisone rounds. They seem to help a bit and get my brain back under control. Might be worth asking.

Just keep on remembering ~ all those little bits o' better add up into some mighty big heaps!

I'm glad you finally got some quality sleep and your migraines are giving you a break! Poor sleep is a major trigger for me too. When I finally started getting blocks of solid sleep every night, my migraines became less frequent.

How did your talk with your doctor go yesterday?

Hey Lynn,

I am glad you were able to get some sleep. Just know I am sending you good cyber vibes

Dar