Neuro Appointment - More sleep tips

My Headache Clinic appointment got moved because of a scheduling conflict, so I had it last Monday, about two weeks after my last appointment. I thought it'd be a waste of a $40 copay, since I just saw my neuro, but it was actually a good appointment.

I told her how tired I was during the day, but it still takes me about 10 minutes to fall asleep at night. She asked what was going through my head when I was trying to sleep, and I told her mainly the next day's schedule. So here's the advice she gave me:

* Write down a to-do list about 15 minutes before going to bed each night. That gets it out of your head and on paper. Then when you get in bed, block out words and instead visualize a picture, like a beach scene. Thinking in pictures instead of words slows your brain waves which is what happens when you're sleeping.

* My neuro also gave me Ambien (the generic version) again to try for five nights, which I've just finished. I've been sleeping fine, but I'm still exhausted during the day, so I don't think it helped.

She also gave me 800 mg of Ibuprofen to take up to four times a day, no more than two days a week though, for when I have headaches and the Maxalt doesn't work. I had been taking Aleve, which doesn't always work, so she said I needed something stronger. I tried the Ibuprofen for one headache and it didn't work, but yesterday I took it and it eliminated my headache! Woohoo!!

I tried refilling Maxalt and I can't do it yet, so I literally get four a month from my insurance and that's it. I'll have to ask for samples next neuro appt. Speaking of which, my next one won't be until July, because she wanted to give the meds I'm on and my sleep schedule time to work. That will save me some copays, so I'm happy!

New Headache Clinic Visit Part 2

So, back to my kitchen table, full of medications. My new neurologist at the Headache Clinic gave me so many medications that I had to organize them on my table and write when I take each on sticky notes.

First of all, she had me stop taking the natural progesterone. She said that the progesterone wouldn't help my headaches and wouldn't help me get a regular menstrual cycle either. So I took that for a total of 4 nights before stopping. She also wants me to eventually stop the Butalbital (Fioricet), even though I don't take it much. That has been my "emergency" drug for the especially awful migraines.

So here's what she put me on:

* Zolpidem Tartrate (generic Ambien) - I had to try it for five nights to see if I woke up refreshed. If I did, I could cancel my sleep study. I didn't even notice any difference. Sleep study is Monday night. No more Ambien.

* Frova - this is a typical migraine med that you take as needed. I've taken it in the past and it made my migraines worse. I told my neuro this and she said to try it again. She had me take it about 1 1/2 weeks straight to knock out my headache cycle; however, my insurance only covered four pills, so I wasn't able to do that. The whole time I did take it though, I had a headache, but I was also on my first real period in two years (since I got the IUD out) so that could have been it. Anyway, no more Frova.

* Lexapro - An antidepressant. I've been on this before also (see the Lexapro tag in my blog if you want to know more), and I also told my neuro that, but she wanted to try it on me again. Interestingly enough, I just read my old blog posts and realized a side effect was crazy break-your-jaw-type yawning. So that's why I've started yawning like that again!

* Sumatriptan (generic Imitrex) - I've tried Imitrex before, same effects as Frova. My insurance also only covered four pills of this. I haven't taken it yet, but this is what I'm supposed to take when I have a migraine.

* Nuva Ring - A synthetic hormone birth control. After all my posts on natural hormones, I'm obviously not thrilled about this. However, my neuro wants me to be on this 12 weeks straight and then take a week break and use estrogen patches that week. I've tried taking The Pill with no breaks before and had a lot of spotting and still had headaches, but my neuro said the Nuva Ring will be different.

* Emergency concoction: Ketorolac (Toradol), Promethazine (Phenergan), and Seroquel - I combine these three pills if I have an unbearable migraine. My neuro said this is like going to the emergency room and getting a shot. It will knock me out, and I can't do it more than twice a month. These scare me so I haven't done this yet.

* Magnesium Potassium Aspartate - I found this at a vitamin store. I'm to take 400-500mg, but the bottle I found is 600 mg for a 2-pill dose, so I take one pill and figure 300mg is enough. I stopped it for a while because I was having stomach issues, but then I realized it was a stomach bug (I had a fever and it's going around) so I've started it again.

I don't take my neurologist's recommendations lightly. That's why I'm agreeing to take these meds. I don't want to sound like I think I'm smarter than her, because I don't. And I was happy with the appointment. However, I think after trying some of these meds before and seeing so many neuros, I'm having negative thoughts about the whole thing. I'm trying my best to push them aside, and I hope this post doesn't come across as negative.

I've had a lot of headaches lately. I have a dilemma where I try to see if it will pass, and then it gets bad and by that time it's too late to take the Imitrex; I can take Aleve but that doesn't always work either. My neuro said not to take more than 2 Imitrexs a week or more than 2 Aleves a week. So I've been suffering through a lot of headaches. But I was doing that before as well, to avoid rebound headaches.

My next post should be cool, and helpful. I'm going to write about my sleep study experience (and results if I get them that soon). Also, I'm going to post some good sleep habit tips from my neurologist. Speaking of results, tomorrow I'm going to call my old/other neuro about the blood tests I had, so if I find out anything interesting, I'll post that as well.

Have an awesome, headache-free weekend!