In Over My Head

I’m fairly certain I have mentioned diverse variations of the word “poo” in my last three blogs. (Oops. There’s the fourth!) I am thinking I will spare you the excrement in this post, while I move on to a random personal health experience that I bet many of you can relate to. And let me tell you, my eyes have been opened.

A couple of months ago, I started with a mild headache at work. “Headache” and “work” are SO often found in the same sentence; this was nothing new. I popped some Ibuprofen and commenced with my nursing duties. Within a 90-minute period, my headache had severely intensified, forcing me to my locker for the rest of the allowed eight-hour dose of Ibuprofen. In another hour, I was pan-handling for Tylenol among my coworkers but came up with zilch. A kind soul with whom I work offered to run to the convenience store across the street for Tylenol (Crap. Now that I think of it, I never paid her back! She’s probably talking about me. Right...now…) 1000mg of that was sure to do the trick, yes? NO. I was counting down the minutes and standing at my locker near the eight-hour Ibuprofen mark. This has GOT to take the edge off…

Two and a half weeks later, after a pain med injection, several pain med trials, an MRI, numerous work callouts, multiple doctor’s harassments (I cannot rightfully call them appointments because I was a HOT MESS…) and many days of just laying there, staring at the blank wall in my bedroom so I would not have to process ANYTHING, we finally found what worked, my headache broke, and I now treat it immediately when I feel a headache coming on.

I was diagnosed with new onset migraine headaches.

Head trauma? Nope. Family history? Nope. Frequent headache sufferer? Nope. Recent stress? That’s most of us, but nothing new/abnormal. Between ages of 20 and 30 years? I wish! I began the next part of this migraine journey—and that was to hunt down my triggers.

I am so grateful for a husband who snores like a mammoth. We discovered immediately that lack of sleep is a trigger for me. And we also discovered that HE needed a CPAP for sleep apnea. Awww. Something for everyone!

I am NOT so grateful to discover that I need to medicate for headaches after my exercise routines pretty regularly. I had to change some things up a bit—I have reduced the intensity of my cardio and strength training, and I am doing more yoga. I can hear my sister laughing at me right now. I poke fun at her for being a “yogi wimp”, but yoga is no joke. I get the drippy sweats just standing there trying to hold one position!

Wait. Why are these things suddenly triggers for these brain crushing headaches? I concur with my doctor in that, well…I AM 50. And although menopause has not yet completely hijacked my body, there are hormonal changes that are, for lack of better terms, WHACKING ME OUT! My hope is that this is temporary, and that as my body continues to change, things will balance out. That’s my story. I am going to WILL it to be true. HA.

My story doesn’t end there. A newly discovered trigger is muscle tension. I slept funny on my neck on a Friday night, woke up sore on Saturday, felt quite head “foggy” on Sunday at work, was taking headache meds by 7am Monday morning, and was ugly crying to my boss at 10:30am, who promptly sent me home. This time, I was able to get things under control in a few days as opposed to a few weeks, and I am now taking a daily maintenance medication to prevent headaches before they happen.

A couple of takeaways here: 

1. Chronic pain sufferers-I HEAR YOU. I understand why you get grumpy. I understand why you feel depressed. I understand the frustration. Just know that you have one more person on your side. Don’t give up! Find the right combination of medication and therapy that works for you. 

2. The value of an engaged, caring, invested primary care physician (PCP) cannot be overemphasized. I have been seeing my PCP for at least 25 years, and I have a file as thick as a medical textbook to prove it! He KNOWS me, and knowing that my doctor trusts ME is just as important as knowing I can trust him.

New medical diagnoses can take you by surprise, but they don’t have to take you DOWN for the duration. Listen to your body—don’t be afraid to make changes if you need to. Make sure you find the right PCP—one that will take the time to get to know you—that will trust you, advocate for you, and help you to…

Be well! 

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