Ovarian Cysts - trip to ER

This post is a little scattered because I have a really bad headache (surprise), so I apologize in advance if I jump around or don't make sense!

I went to the ER about 2 1/2 weeks ago because I thought I had appendicitis. Five hours and a CT scan later, I found out it was actually ovarian cysts.

It had all started the night before when I woke up with such bad cramps that I got out of bed and onto the floor and pretty much just rolled around in agony. Then I went to the bathroom and dry heaved because the pain was so bad. It was miserable. I took meds to knock me out, felt a little better the next day but had another "attack" that afternoon so I had my husband take me to the hospital.

The nurse gave me Toradol for the pain, which I used to take for migraine but it hasn't helped the last few times. It didn't help my cyst pain either. The CT scan was interesting. Because it was an abdominal one, I had to drink two bottles of nasty stuff not-so-disguised with lemonade flavor; it was gross but I didn't mind it much. Part of the scan was done with contrast and when they inserted the dye, it TOTALLY felt like I was peeing my pants. The tech warned me that would happen, and he said that he's only had one patient actually pee her pants, but then he added that "she was just crazy." LOL.

The pain was so bad that I missed classes and work (luckily I could work from home and spring break started at the end of that week) and even taking my dog out took a lot of effort because walking hurt and I had to hunch over a little. Luckily I could use my condo building's elevator. I couldn't even make it to see my gyno until three days later. She did an ultrasound and told me she would hate to be me and that I must be in a lot of pain. I wanted to hug her because she had real sympathy and compassion. She told me I couldn't exercise for at least two weeks and I'd need to see her in a month for another ultrasound. One of the cysts on my right ovary looks pretty bad and may need to be surgically removed, but I'll find out for sure at the followup.

I know this post doesn't have much to do with headaches, but it's medical related and it's definitely impacted my head. No exercise + lots of pain + lots of Aleve and Motrin + hormones acting up = migraine/headache increase. I'm ready to get past this cyst issue so I can focus on healing my head!

Online Clinical Trial Opportunity

I get a lot of emails through this blog, but a recent one stood out. According to a company representative, "Quincy Bioscience has recently launched a distance trial to study the effects of apoaequorin on migraines after hearing several anecdotal reports that the use of a popular over-the-counter supplement reduced the symptoms of migraines."

"Distance trial" means that the trial is conducted online using migraine assessment surveys. Apoaequorin is a protein found in a type of jellyfish, which I think is neat because I've always believed that the sources to many of our ailments can be found in nature (I credit God).

According to the website, "Intracellular calcium dysregulation has been cited as an important mechanism as a source of migraine headaches. Experts have identified abnormally functioning calcium channels, which transport electrical calcium into the brain cell, as a reason for excessively high levels of calcium and subsequent overstimulation as a key contributor to migraine headaches. Apoaequorin is a safe non-toxic dietary supplement which has been available for over-the-counter purchase in health food stores and pharmacy chains for over four years. Apoaequorin is a naturally occurring calcium-binding protein, which is very similar to endogenous proteins that have been shown to deplete with age. In laboratory experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, apoaequorin proved highly neuroprotective. In human trials of generally healthy adults, apoaequorin have shown to improve cognition, quality of life through reduction of pain, greater mobility, increased energy, better sleep and additional quality of life measures."

If you want to participate, the trial lasts 90 days and no travel is required. Eligibility and other info can be found on this page.

I'm interested to see the results of this trial down the road!