Blogging as displacement activity , and Migraine Management

I should be clearing out from under my bed but I really am not in the mood . I had a lovely weekend doing all the sorting and clearing and tidying , or rather I was on the fringes whilst D did it , and making the winter salad and walking the dog excessively , and going to town and blah blah , but I really felt it this morning ... felt like I hadn't had enough weekend and now back to work .
So Im having a rest now and refusing to clear under that bed . Tomorrow will do .

First thing this morning was an emergency appointment at the neurology dept . Not so much an emergency but more of an organised in a rush business .
I waited an hour , reading a migraine magazine and wondering would I want an injection into the head which blocks something , if I was offered . I think not , really , though suppose things are almost bad enough that I'd do anything . then read an article about getting fat hormonally or some such , which said just what Laura did earlier this week , that excercise is the solution . I should be ok then what with all that running about after a fit greyhound .

Then I was seen by the best neurologist Ive seen so far in my neurology career. ... he asked me things and told me things about how it is when I have a migraine that only someone who lives with them would know . Sure enough , he talked about his own experiences and wrote a big list of management strategies for me to take away ,, both acite and preventive strategies , including some new drugs which I will need to get on prescrition , and some stuff available at the supermarket . He also suggested I give the anti epilepsy drugs another whirl despite my beliefs that thats how I ended up ill with chest problems last Winter and this Spring . maybe at a lower dose this time . If I get ill again I can always stop and there are then some new ones I can try .
He also suggested a new Triptan which is in the form of a wafer which dissolves on the side of the mouth unlike my sumatriptan tablets which are wasted if one is already into the puking stage .
So I was there for ages and it all felt worth it . last time I felt I was simply upbraded for over use of triptans ( causing rebound headaches ) but when you are at your wits end with pain its almost impossible just to suffer in silence and ignore your medication thinking well I cant take anything today Ive had three already this month ....Which he of course understood hence the alternate strategies which mean the triptans are the final step on the road rather than the first thing to reach for which Ive been taught by previous doctors ( oh that's unless youve already had your quota ) .
And as a result I feel quite optimistic again , as I usually do when something new is suggested . Each new idea brings the promise of a life with less pain and more normality .
I will get there in the end .

Drowning in a swamp ...

Drowning in a swamp these last few days ....

After eating something at the weekend I then had a migraine arriving so took Immigran which then gives me rebound headaches . Coupled with anxieties about what if ... what if it doesn't clear and I can't manage the Day Job this week when I'm due back , what if it doesnt get better and I have to take more medication leading to more problems , what if what if ?
Problems with my left eye making my usual distraction of reading when the headache is not s bad , or dulled with painkiller , not an option . So the worrying increases .

But oh the bliss of taking Immigran when the head is throbbing and the neck is stiff and its unbearable .... the little pink tablet that you can almost feel dispersing into your veins . The feeling of lightheadedness it brings on is not pleasant but when you start to feel it there 's a sense of relaxation which starts , if you're in a safe place and not trying to drive home or drag to the end of a working day . It starts as you perceive the beginning of the End , the end of pain . It can take minutes to dissipate , or it may not work at all . Usually when there's going to be no relief its because youre already past the point of no return and nothing will help except time and maybe the vomiting which sometimes relieves the pressure that seems to build up . And when the light headedness comes thats a sign usually that its going to help .

I'm still trying to figure out the food allergies or triggers . Eggs is one . Some heavily spiced foods don't help . Dark expensive bitter chocolate is best avoided .

One more day at the Day Job then I can relax , know that even if the migraine persists its ok , CatCalls is quite manageable . Cats in fact seem to know when I am less vibrant than usual ... I do everything slower and sit down with them more and they will often jump up to me and purr and do whatever it is they do to show affection .

I smile at the memory of an afternoon visit some time ago to a fabulous apartment overlooking the sea . It was painted mostly in white and as I walked in, the sun glinting off the white walls caught me unawares and bang I was into a classic migraine where I was unable to see properly and knew I couldn't function sufficiently to drive home . I fed the cats , sat down heavily on one of the leather sofas and next thing I knew it was an hour later and I had fallen asleep . A soft beige throw was across me ( I must have pulled it over myself as I slept ) and a huge grey cat was parked right on top of me , also fast asleep . .....