Saturday, September 15, 2007
This week is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.what a mouthful.
but seeing as how migraines (esp. daily ones) fit well into this category, i'd like to acknowledge it. more information can be found here, here, and here. Plenty of good reading about this week, and invisible chronic illnesses in general.
on a totally related note, i thought i'd give a little summary of my most recent doctor's appointment, to see a headache and migraine specialist. thankfully, this was not just a consultation (like last time), but she's going to continue to see me. hallelujah!
so the things we changed were these:
1- back to only treating w/meds a maximum of 3 migraines per week. sad but true.
2 - changed the tegretol to tegretol extended release. hopefully this will keep a more consistent level of the drug in my blood, and therefore help me feel better more consistently. we'll see.
3 - added nortriptyline. i can take it at night and it makes me sleepy, also she is hoping it helps my mood. could possibly help prevent migraines. we'll see.
4 - i need to spend five minutes 4 times a day exercising - on top of my pilates. usually i walk for 5 minutes. it's such a short time, it's hard to even get into it. she wants me to be more active, and believes it will help me to do more, and possibly help prevent migraines (are you seeing a theme here?)
5 - keeping a headache journal. i hate these, but am willing to do it.
soooo that's a lot of changes. but you know me, i'll try anything if i think it'll help! so far the nortriptyline is definitely improving my sleep - getting to sleep is easier. i feel like i've been able to do more, also. truly, the thing i'm most excited about is that she said she's going to continue to see me - and that she also believes (like me) that migraines which are difficult to treat are not necessarily a result of psychological difficulties. thank goodness.
she also mentioned (as i have been told several times before) that the longer i go on in daily pain, the less likely we are to be able to 'fix' it. that's somewhat discouraging, but honestly i would be ok still being in -some- pain everyday. i just would prefer much less. :)
Labels: headaches, meds, neurologists, pain issues, pain relief
link | posted by Emily at 12:04 PM
3 Comments:
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Sarah Jean had this to say:
I disagree, I think your previous doc definitely had psychological difficulties. I hope he gets help.
- 3:12 PM
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Muum had this to say:
appreciate the update! keep us all posted on how it is going.
- 4:23 PM
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Heather had this to say:
Migraines suck so bad. I get milder ones usually, but the first one I got that really knocked me out was so scary.
- 6:33 AM
