New Homeschool bookcase and chalkboard

Migraine update

This is the number of days I had migraines in 2018. If anything headaches are getting worse and lasting longer which is hard.

Migraines

Beginning my migraine week I get stressed over making it through, dealing with all the symptoms, doing what needs doing, etc, etc and the Lord reminded me of this quote I read years ago. God gives us grace day by day, I don't have the grace to handle tomorrow and the next day's problems right now, but have to trust He will be there and help me day by day, moment by moment.
#easytosayhardertodo
#migraineweek
#jeremiahburroughs

Migraine feelings

Me, after several days of migraines. They take a lot out of me and leave me exhausted.

I'm fine

I have a tendency to do this so these made me laugh.
#migraineweek

Headache update

This is what life can look like when mommy has a migraine. "Guggles" and a show on the couch so mommy can rest in between jobs.
Sadly, no real improvement. I quit the progesterone since it wasn't helping, it wasn't cheap, and I didn't like the side effects, so I'm not really taking any migraine meds at this time. I have a few Relpax and Sumatriptan left which honesly don't help much, and I sometimes take some ketoralac and promethazine, but that doesn't help much either. Lately I've been having problems with dizziness and fainting during headaches, and by evening on headache days I am falling asleep on the couch!

Migraine madness

So it is time for another migraine update because they are so much fun. In reality I know it could be much worse, and I am trying to have a good attitude knowing this is what God has for me right now....but when the headaches get bad the depression hits, and it is HARD. June was hard because up until this month everything has seemed to run on a cycle and I kind of know when to expect bad days. In June I had 16 headache days, was very down, didn't sleep well, a poor appetite, etc. I don't know if my body is doing something new, or it was stress related. Also in June, actually today, we lose our insurance and will have to pay out of pocket for all drugs. And my Relpax which is the only drug that sometimes works, is $368 for 6 pills. No more Relpax for me, lol! So in the past week I've been refilling #alltheprescriptions, and we went in and got me on progesterone which *hopefully* Lord willing will WORK. It also will be affordable, tho not super cheap either. With any new thing they want me to try 3 months on it, so we'll see.....

Sigh....this was much of June for me.

This is so me.

Migraine update

So on the 27th I had a follow up appointment with Penny Barnards to go over my migraine treatment plan. After all my mapping (see above picture) we've concluded I have regular menstrual migraines, plus a few random easier to treat ones here and there during the month. I'm going off my daily medication. Yes! I hated the side effects, and it didn't seem to be helping anyway. For now we are trying a new supplement, and if insurance approves it an anti inflammatory I will take only certain days of the month, plus I am now using Relpax for hopefully aborting headaches. Other options would be a beta blocker, anti seizure meds, or a hormonal birth control, but hopefully we won't need another option......I'm really struggling with different side effects, etc which isn't a lot of fun. Currently I get my headache shortly before, or shortly after my cycle begins. Then I will have a migraine for the next 5 days or so, sometimes there are breaks, and it  varies in intensity. Most of the time I don't feel good, and don't sleep well, but am functional. As my cycle ends, and a couple days afterwards I will wake up with horribly painful migraines. I just have to sit in the dark and sip coffee till they back off enough to leave me functional. After that I'll have a good day or two, then I have a couple days when I am very down, depressed, and exhausted, Once that is past I'm usually in good shape. It helps to know what to expect and plan for even though it is not fun. I'm trying to have a good attitude and trust the Lord knowing this is a trial He has me in right now. It doesn't mean it will always be like this!

Gluten

So l learned something new this week. I decided to try not eating gluten and see if I got less headaches. What I didn't realize is that there is a thing called gluten withdrawal. Fun flu like symptoms, dizziness, nausea, headaches, feeling down/depressed, legs so weak it's hard to walk up the stairs, fatigue.....it's been fun! Since I'm supposed to see an allergist next week I decided to wait and see what I find out there before messing with my diet anymore. I made a piece of toast, asked John to pick up pizza for dinner, and felt like a new woman :-)

Migraine update

Sadly my daily migraine medication seems to have stopped working and this month is the worst I have been since April when I had to go to the emergency room twice. I'm on day 6 of a migraine now :-(. Thankfully I have pain killers that make me able to function. I'm in the worst shape when I wake up in the morning and the pain is so bad I can hardly move. Just the constant pain and taking lots of drugs is leaving me exhausted. Unfortunately I think I need to call the doctor and start working on a new treatment plan. I'm so thankful for medicine, and doctors, and that I have insurance, but all the options and trying to figure this all out and what to do is seriously overwhelming for me. I just want someone to tell me what to do! And I want it to work! LOL. Sigh.

Apparently migraine time of the month is here. Either that or the storms/weather changes have given me a headache.
Caroline, "But Mama, I don't take pills when I'm happy."
Me, " Not happy. It's a headache, honey."
At least I'm not acting crabby if she thinks I'm happy, haha

So thankful that John offered to bring home pizza since I had a migraine. It was nice not having to worry about dinner and have something all the kids love! Whoever invented "pizza in a box," aka Little Ceasers was a genius, it makes an awesome fast emergency meal that is relatively cheap.

Dark and twisty

I have appreciated this phrase from Grey's Anatomy since I first heard it. To my mind it perfectly describes how I feel sometimes, especially during migraine weeks. I don't know if it is the hormones, or the drugs, or being stressed and worn out by the pain, but feeling depressed seems to be another symptom that comes with the migraines.

Headache update

So yesterday I had an appointment here to hopefully get some help with my migraines. I was impressed by how much time they took on me (tho I can't imagine how much they are probably billing insurance for that!), I didn't feel at all rushed. However it seems like this is just a condition that I will have to learn to manage with medication, not something that can be gotten rid of. Basically we tweaked medications, I'm adding in magnesium lotion daily, and I'm going to be keeping a log, and we'll see what happens. I will have more preventative medication options when I wean Luke. But for now we are hoping a larger dose of immitrex, plus more magnesium will help. I'm due to get one tomorrow or the next day so we'll see.

And since the kids were good during my appointment we got ice cream cones after dinner as a reward :-) They are staring at the big fish tank at Dairy Queen here. Watching the fish is a highlight of going there for them!

Migraines

Emergency room selfie. 
I've been dealing with migraines since I was at least 8 years old. I can't remember further back than that to know if I had them when I was even younger...The thing is for most of my adult years I had mild stress related ones every Sunday (while living at home), but the bad ones only came a few times a year and usually I could throw up, go to sleep, then be fine. But since I got pregnant with Caroline (and I've been pregnant or nursing ever since), they have been horrible. I get them at least once a month, and nothing but time seems to get rid of them. Sadly each one seems longer than the last. The latest one has lasted 10 days. 
This past weekend I finally went into the emergency room (twice). Even their cocktail of drugs didn't get rid of it, though I got temporary relief. The cat scan they ran did come back normal which is great, but also answered no questions. So it looks like I'll have the fun of testing and trying more drugs over the next weeks and months. I'm very thankful for insurance to cover it and the ability to get help, and praying for relief. It's hard to be in pain and exhausted so much, especially with little ones to take care of.