3 posts tagged “headaches”

For me, the weekend actually started on Thursday afternoon when I went to the ER.  I started getting another headache on thursday afternoon, and since the reports from my MRA weren't finished, the nurse on call at the headache clinic recommended that I go to the ER.  Since it wasn't confirmed whether or not I had an AVM, I didn't want to take the risk of a rupture if I did.  Plus, I wanted something for the searing 8 hours of pain I was about to endure.

I got to the ER at 1 pm but didn't get to see a resident until 8 pm.  It was pure insanity.  There was a woman who came in with signs of a stroke who waited almost as long as I did.  That's how backed up they were.  Welcome to Killadelphia.  They gave me touradol for the pain, which barely even took the edge off.

Anyway, FANTASTIC news is that by that time my MRA results came back and they were NORMAL.  WAHHOOO.  I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am.  I mean, aside from the obvious reasons, the cause of my headache is really getting narrowed down.  I have an appointment on wednesday with my neurosurgeon, so hopefully he'll have some more answers.  If it is occipital neuralgia, hopefully I'll be on track to prevention and pain refief.  The ER sent me home with a steroid pack (yucky) and a big dose of Depakote (aka Depadeath).

Needless to say, I haven't spent any money this weekend :)  Actually, that's not true.  Yesterday I bought pet food.  But that's in the budget!

So, my parents came to the ER and then took me to their house where I recovered over the last few days.  The headache was finally gone by Saturday, although I do feel a bit of the burning sensation starting up again in the base of my head.

On a better note, my tax refund was deposited into my acount on Friday and was immediately transferred to my ING savings account.  It kills me not to put that towards a credit card, but I know that I need to start building an emergency fund since I won't be relying on credit cards anymore.

I really can't begin to tell you what a huge relief (and how liberating) this has all been...finally getting to the clinic, finally getting a hold of my finances, learning about finance and investing...I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  It feels like anything is possible.

I've worked my budget so that I have aalmost $800 a month to pay towards my credit cards.  Now, that's some serious frugal living.  How awesoime will it be when I have $800 extra dollars a month to just put into savings?!?!?!?!!!!  Anyway, I'm now paying off my Washington Mutual (evil people) card.  Hopefully that will be completely gone in another 2 months.

So far, the cat has been put on lower quality food.  It bothered me at first, but them I reminded myself that our family cat lived almost 19 years on Friskies and she was just fine.  The dog, however, is still eating the $1.79 cans of Merrick.  But I am switching to making my own dog biscuits/treats, which are ridiculously easy.  Chicken livers/giblets are only .79 at the supermarket.  So I just cook them up or add some flour and bake them and he gobbles them up.  I'm still going to splurge every now and then for a Flossie, though.

I can't begin to tell you how much $ I've saved by bringing my lunch and not buying Starbucks.  It's a strange feeling to go through an entire day and not spend any money.  It's quite easy to do.  I'm sure millions of people have been living financially responsible for years and this is no suprise to them.  But to me, it's all still new.

I'm still selling on eBay (check out my stuff I'm girlandadog).  Right now I'm pretty much just trying to sell off all of my books.  Over the weekend my father gave me some old books to sell to see if I could get anything for them.  My parents have been inspired by my leaf turnover and are beginning to "downsize" themselves.  My father must have 1,000 books (and he's actually read them all).  All hardback.  I'm pricing some of the antique/rare books, but so far I don't think I'm going to get much for them unless I start the auctions at .01, which is always kind of risky for something that is actually worth something.

Still selling my clothes at a nearby consignment shop as well, although that really doesn't make any money.  I've basically been using whatever cash I get as my weekly cash (which I'm actually not spending, but it's cash on hand in case I need it).

The only major expense I've had is a medical expense - I finally had my appointment at the headache clinic, which had an out of pocket uninsurable cost of $400.  I'm okay with it, because the headaches have gotten really serious.  The neurosurgeon feels that I may have an avm.  Best case scenario is that one of the major nerves leading to the brain is inflamed/pinched.  I have an MRA scheduled this week.  In the meatime, he gave me a nerve block (needle inserted into my brain stem area, FUN), which didn't really help that much.  Hopefully it won't be the worst case scenario, which would mean I'd have to go out on disability for awhile and only get 60% of my pay.

I'm worried, but I'm more relieved that I finally found a doctor who took me seriously and didn't just brush me off saying that my "migraines have changed." 

I have another headache.  Ugh.  I hate these headaches.  It feels like it starts in the base of my brain, travels up my jaw and camps out on one side of my head.  I can feel the blood rushing in my ears, pounding.  Sometimes the pain is so bad, I throw up.

I've had migraines since I was 6 years old - I remember the very first time -- I was at Penn State with my dad and brother.  We had gone with him on a business trip.  Every night I had a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.  One morning, I was in the elevator going to the restaurant with my dad to have breakfast.  My vision suddenly became blurred, like I had stared directly into a camera flash.  The zigzag light got bigger and bigger.  I made it to the breakfast table and started to feel sick to my stomach.  My dad got me back in the elevator, and I threw up in his hands.

Now, that's fatherly love for you.

We got back to the hotel room - the maid had just cleaned up the bathroom and I vomited all over the bathroom sink.  By this time, my head started throbbing.

I continued to get migraines, and went to see the doctor who diagnosed it as sinus headaches.  For the next few years, I took Sinutab every time it happened.  Which was a lot.

When I turned 18, the headaches stopped as quickly as they had started.   It wasn't until I was 21 that they came back with a vengence.  This time I saw a neurologist, who insisted I stop the birth control (for those with aura migraines have an increased risk of stroke).  We did the diet test to see if there were any trigger foods.  Checked my menstrual cycle.  Post-Stressful periods and headaches on vacation.  None.  No corralation whatsoever.  My MRI was fine.  My grandmother and great-uncle had migraines, but no one else in my immediate family. 

So, the neurologist put me on Pamelor, a tricyclic antidepressant.  And Fioricet for pain.  The  Pamelor didn't do anything but give me incredibly dry mouth, and I got quickly used to the Fioricet -- taking up to 5 an hour for pain relief during the headache.  When my doctor found out about that, I didn't get any more narcotic prescriptions from him.

Then, there was a new medication available for migraine sufferers - Imitrex.  The first time I used it, I was in college and my roommate held down my leg while I injected myself in my thigh.  Suddenly, I felt like I was on fire.  My heart started pounding like crazy, and out of sync.  The Imitrex didn't work.  At all.

So I gave up.  I gave up.  I stopped the Pamelor.  Didn't use the Imitrex, didn't use anything for pain relief.  Tried some homeopathic remedies.  Didn't work.  Nothing worked. 

But, once again, the migraines stopped.  If I did get one, it was maybe once every few months.  I could tolerate that.

My first year of law school was my first major depressive episode that got me hospitalized.  My psychiatrist (who was also a psychopharmocologist) seemed more interested in my migraines than my depression.  But he asked me questions no one had ever asked me before:  did candles bother me?  flickering lights?  the surface of the road when it is really hot (how it looks wet)?  YES, Yes, and yes.

Since the other doctors hadn't found any connections with the food/hormones/etc. with my migraines, my psychiatrist thought that my migraines were being caused by seizures.  He put me on Dilantin, an anti-seizure medication.  He also gave me Darvocet for pain relief (whoa).  I didn't have a migraine for the entire 4 years I was on Dilantin.

I went off of the Dilantin because of the side-effects and long term potential consequences.  The migraines started again, but were less frequent and much less severe.  Maybe I had gotten so used to them.  I even did a preliminary hearing one day in the midst of having one.  I'm tough.

But about 3 years ago, I started getting different kind of headaches.  To me, there were not and are not migraines.  These are far worse than any migraine I've ever had -- except maybe for the auras because I really hate them.  Now my headaches are searing, burning and last for days.  The migraines would come on quickly.  These headaches build.  I feel it in the base of my neck.  Then the side of my neck.  The next day, it has spread up the side of my head.  If I try to function I vomit, which doesn't help. 

I saw another neurologist at University of Pennsylvania.  He seemed very unconcerned about the changes in the headache.  I had gone to the ER the night before because it was so bad (and I had never, ever gone to the ER for a headache before).  My CAT scan was fine.  The neurologist put me back on Dilantin and prescribed the new medications out for migraines, which didn't work for me.

I was getting these new headaches once a week.  Losing 3 days a week.  Saw the dentist, who said I was grinding my teeth.  Got a retainer, but it didn't seem to matter whether I wore it or not with the headaches.  Finally, I saw a chiropractor.  I was getting adjustments 2-3x a week and became headache free again.

I stopped seeing the chiropractor 3 months ago because of my hand surgery and the play rehearsal schedule just made it too difficult to get to the doctor.  Yesterday a headache started and I had to call out of work today.  I have given up on all pain medications.  Percocet doesn't touch them.  Vicodin doesn't either.  Ice helps, so I usually pack my head in bags of ice and lay in the dark.

Now that the play is over, I'm planning on going back to the chiropractor.  But, I have another MRI scheduled by my endocrinologist who thinks I may have a tumor on my pituitary gland, which can cause, among other things, headaches. 

So to all of those people who laughed at me when I said I must have a brain tumor - I TOLD YOU SO!  :)