Try this: hold your hands in front of your face and spread your fingers. Move your hands in a circular motion. Now pretend each fingertip is a bright flashing light. Welcome to the world of auras.
I'd never been the "migraine with aura" type person until now. I had my second ever aura the other day. The first time it happened I talked myself into thinking I had looked at the light too long and it was my imagination. That was months ago, but the exact same thing happened again. If you're not familiar with aura, read this. I wanted to see if I'd get a migraine afterward so I didn't take any meds, and sure enough, the migraine came.
I still have slight doubts. The lights only lasted maybe 10 seconds. I get migraines or headaches all the time, so who's to say I wouldn't have had one anyway? Plus why don't I get an aura with every migraine? I'm a little freaked out and I kinda want to get an MRI, but I'm going to tell my neuro about it and see what she says. It sucks that I can't get an appointment until the new clinic opens in June.
Meanwhile, I'm tempted to stop all my meds and take out my Nuva Ring. I know that you shouldn't do that without a doctor, but I've been on Lyrica and Lexapro and birth control before and I know to go off them gradually (well not the birth control). My headaches are worse than ever, and I need to do something.
My current migraine is an 8 out of 10 and is heading toward 11, so I'm going to take my emergency concoction (Seroquel, Phenergan and Toradol) and go to bed.
*Update* The medicine combo knocked me out all day, and I slept until 4:30 in the afternoon. I didn't even call in to tell work I'd be out (they called me around 10 to make sure I was ok). I still have a slight headache, and I'm so fed up that I took out my Nuva Ring a few hours ago. No more hormonal birth control for me...my migraines are always worse with it. My neuro's going to be pissed...
Showing posts with label Seroquel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seroquel. Show all posts
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Migraine of the Year, other updates
I wanted to post a few updates. Last weekend, I had what I'm calling the Migraine of the Year. Wow, it was awful. It started last week - I had a headache just about every day, but it went away on Friday. So that night, I went out with some friends for drinks while my husband was chaperoning a church youth group lock-in. My hubby doesn't know this, but I drank and tall glass of beer. I normally don't drink and don't approve of drinking, and neither does my hubby, for various reasons that would take too long to get into, but over the past few years I've had maybe 4 drinks a year. I don't know if that triggered it, but on Saturday I woke up with a migraine...not a headache...a migraine - pounding, throbbing head with every movement, light sensitivity, etc. I took Butalbital (which my neuro wants me to try and stop taking because it can cause rebound headaches) because it's my go-to migraine drug. (Side note - I didn't try Imitrex (the generic version) because I took that a week before and it didn't help and I hate how it makes my throat all tight.) It worked for a few hours but later that afternoon, it came back full force. I took another Butalbital, and it brought my migraine down just a notch. So after a few hours I decided to take my backup: supposedly emergency-room-equivalent drugs that my new neuro gave me - the ones so strong I can't take them more than twice a month: Ketorolac (Toradol), Promethazine (Phenergan), and Seroquel. That knocked me out for the night, and I was too dizzy the next morning to get up for church, so I slept most of the morning. My migraine was gone when I woke up, but then it returned after taking a nap that I couldn't avoid later that evening. Then I had a slight migraine Monday and I felt like I had been in a car accident or been beaten up. I've heard the post-migraine feeling referred to as the migraine hangover. Now I only have a slight headache. It was SO awful, and I am terrified I'll have another migraine and won't have anything to take to get rid of it. I'd rather have headaches every day than migraines like that. I'm never drinking more than a few sips of alcohol from now on, in case that was the trigger.
Of course, I've been spotting more than a month, ever since I started the Nuva Ring, which I'm taking 12 weeks straight with no breaks for periods, so that might have something to do with it also. Could be hormonal.
Needless to say, I'm dying to see my neurologist next week. I'll get my sleep test and blood test results back. And speaking of test results, my previous blood tests to check for Factor V Leiden and hormonal problems came back normal.
Two quick news updates:
Check out this article on migraines - it actually mentions some things I haven't heard of that I might need to look into further.
Also, if you live in Michigan, I received a news release announcing neurologist and headache specialist Dr. Henry Hooker has joined the team of experts at the Michigan Head•Pain & Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor. Dr. Hooker will have a special focus on one of the most challenging head pain conditions – New Daily Persistent Headache. According to the release, New Daily Persistent Headache is unique in that the headache occurs daily from onset, typically in a patient with no prior history. It can continue for years without any sign of alleviation despite aggressive treatment. Various causes are suspected, including viral, metabolic, and neurotransmitter (brain chemical) disturbances.
I think that's it for now...I'll keep an eye out for the Today Show segment (see post below) and will post a link if it's online.
Have a wonderful, headache-free day and remember to take things one day at a time!
Of course, I've been spotting more than a month, ever since I started the Nuva Ring, which I'm taking 12 weeks straight with no breaks for periods, so that might have something to do with it also. Could be hormonal.
Needless to say, I'm dying to see my neurologist next week. I'll get my sleep test and blood test results back. And speaking of test results, my previous blood tests to check for Factor V Leiden and hormonal problems came back normal.
Two quick news updates:
Check out this article on migraines - it actually mentions some things I haven't heard of that I might need to look into further.
Also, if you live in Michigan, I received a news release announcing neurologist and headache specialist Dr. Henry Hooker has joined the team of experts at the Michigan Head•Pain & Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor. Dr. Hooker will have a special focus on one of the most challenging head pain conditions – New Daily Persistent Headache. According to the release, New Daily Persistent Headache is unique in that the headache occurs daily from onset, typically in a patient with no prior history. It can continue for years without any sign of alleviation despite aggressive treatment. Various causes are suspected, including viral, metabolic, and neurotransmitter (brain chemical) disturbances.
I think that's it for now...I'll keep an eye out for the Today Show segment (see post below) and will post a link if it's online.
Have a wonderful, headache-free day and remember to take things one day at a time!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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!
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!
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