Migraines might be nothing new to some of you but they are to me. Well I guess not completely new I think I've had maybe 3 in my life before I moved to Arizona. I certainly didn't have chronic migraines and although they were painful they weren't debilitating!
A few weeks ago I started have these terrible migraines! I'm telling you the kind that make you throw up, go blind, and so forth. So naturally the first time this happened for me I decided I would just go to sleep--sleep it off you might say. Well I did that only my "sleep it off" turned into a sort of coma of sorts and I didn't wake up for another 11 hours.
You might be thinking wow that is bad but not that bad if it helped get rid of the migraine--and I would have to agree with you. At least I can go to sleep and wake up without my head feeling like it's about to explode.
The problem--and where the debilitating part comes in when I tell you that I've had 7 migraines in a little over 2 weeks! Each time resulting in pain, sickness (yes throwing up), and then an 11 or so hour "coma" for relief.
So thus my drama with my migraines! I started putting up taglines on my facebook about my migraines and got so many people suggesting things about migraines. I felt that I had joined some club of the sufferers. Seriously though there is way too much info for a migraines sufferer to figure out what is causing their migraine. I mean I stopped eating certain foods, started eating other foods, tried to de stress, then tried to figure out what could have been my trigger etc.
In the end I ended up at the doc's office at my school (I have student health insurance) knowing she would most likely tell me the same things a gazillion other people had told me. Well she listened and actually empathize with me noting, "Yes I can see why you want to figure this out as these migraines seem to be taking away chunks of your life!" ( Isn't it great when you go to the doctor and feel validated for your suffering!). So she gave me a few prescriptions and a referral to see an eye specialist (we both thought this might be the trigger as I had eye issues earlier around the time of my migraines starting).
So I set out to go see an Opthamologist and they wouldn't see me. Seriously I called 3 and they all said that I needed to go to a Neurologist not an Eye Doctor. In fact 2 of the Eye specialists I called referred me to a Neuro-Opthamologist. I didn't even know there was such a doctor (aka Occular-Neurologist).
And so I begin my journey of figuring out what is up with my brain! ( sorry this post is so boring but it is really what is going on in my life these days)
7 comments:
I'm not an expert by any means, but if I had to guess...it could be something with Arizona.
Last year the Salt Lake Tribune added a fantastic beat writer to follow BYU football and basketball. She did an amazing job but had to quit and move back to California because she was getting 2 migraines a month for the 11 months she was living in Utah. The doctors couldn't quite diagnose it, but came to the conclusion that it was something environmental because she never got the headaches anywhere else.
Kylee- It's Meredith, Chris Klomp's friend from Boise! So this comment I am now posting has two objectives:
1) I am follower of your blog. Really don't remember how I found it, but nonetheless I did and I read it often. It's a great read. So now you know you have an Idahoan stalker reading about your adventures all over the US.
2) I want to offer some help to your current dilemma. I am (almost) a nurse, and have had a couple soccer teammates who suffer from migraines. Their triggers? Caffeine and the sun. With you being in AZ, this is a definite possibility.
Hoping an answer comes your way,
Meredith
Kylee,
While searching "migraine" on google, I came across your blog.
Not exactly sure how it happened, but hey ~ it did, so here I am.
I am a fellow sufferer of migraines. Two of my biggest triggers are Swiss Cheese and Long Green Onions (also called shallots.)
Like you, I find that sleep helps as do ice packs along my neck and shoulders. And, for the nausea I take 1/2 of a Dramamine (for motion sickness)
Good luck on your quest to find freedom from your pain.
Happy Friday!
www.snaps2scrap.blogspot.com
Kylee- I went through this same thing after my mission. IT SUCKED! I have never had so many tests, appointments and tried so many medications. Good luck!
Ugh! I am sorry that you are still struggling with this. I hope that someone can help you soon! Let me know if there is anything that I can do.
I'm sorry that you have been having so many migraines. I hope that you can figure out what is causing them, so you can do something to stop them. I don't have any new advice to give you, but hope you will get better soon.
Kylee:
My granddaughter's name is KyLee and I too am in grad school (though I'm much older than you). I used to have alot of migraines and eventually solved the problem. Exactly what causes the problem often seems to be unique to each individual. If you're interested I also have a blog and I two articles related to migraines http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/migraines-causes-and-cures/ and this is something new on the horizon http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/zap-away-migraines/. Good luck with your migraines and good luck at school. Geri
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