Saturday, November 30, 2013

3 days of goodness!

It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I've felt pretty "okay" through this holiday!! HOORAY! Thanksgiving was wonderful AND busy. We ate lunch at my mom's, dinner at my in-law's, and then we spent the evening at a downtown tree lighting about 45 minutes away. I was a little nervous about how such a busy day would make me feel the next morning. Sometimes, actually ALWAYS, my headaches are like a bad hangover. If I have any 'fun', then I end up paying for it the next day.
 
But Friday, I awoke with only a mild headache - probably like a 2-3. So, to celebrate, I spent the day out Black Friday shopping with my husband. And I do mean we spent the ENTIRE day out shopping. I was beat when I came home, but happily so. Feeling somewhat 'normal' two days in a row, and getting to partake in 'normal' FUN things is my dream come true.
 
I should clean my house and/or do some laundry, but all I can think of is what other fun I can cram into today with my family while I can. Who knows when I'll be laid up on the couch again. Just thankful that I'm not laid up today!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Day 4 of this headache

Today's Sunday and, of course, all my weekend has been stolen by this headache. It started Thursday night... Friday I took some meds in hopes that I could make it through work, but by lunch time I was about to fall out of my chair so I came home. I hate having headaches.
 
I've become a recluse. Friends that I used to have, are more like strangers. Places that I used to frequent are distant memories. I live on my couch. Surrounded by my walls. In the dark. And cold.
 
UGH!
 
I try to keep positive. I really do. But it's just so much easier to be discouraged.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

New Changes

So guess who FINALLY called me Friday... My neurology office! My lab work all was fine, although my ammonia level was at the high end of normal. (A side effect with the Depakote is elevated ammonia.) But since the headaches were no better, and I was having such a hard time with nausea and vomiting, my doctor decided to take me off the of Depakote completely and replace it with Verapamil.
 
Now, I was a little surprised. Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker that is most commonly used to lower blood pressure. I don't have high blood pressure! But after I hung up with my doc, I did a little bit of research and learned that Verapamil has shown to be effective in the prevention of migraines. Here's the catch, I have to take it twice every day... and I already have low blood pressure.  Like, really low... Like 100's/60's... Hope the new addition doesn't bottom me out!
 
On a different note, I was looking up stuff on migraine triggers and foods and stuff. One trigger caught me by surprise. Stress letdown, like after a busy work week or a presentation, often triggers migraines. Funny because I'm out for the count nearly every weekend. And here I just thought it was all in my head. Ugh
 
Oh well, let's see if med change # 5,864,782 will be the one!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Think I'm gonna spew.

Ugh. I feel so nauseous. Not sure which I hate worse: debilitating headache or constant nausea.