Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A couple of days without serious drugs.

I managed to stay off the Skelaxin, and that more serious stuff for over a day.  My neck got a little twitchy and seemed a bit stiff when I went out for my walk. But I haven't had a seriously bad headache yet.

I'm applying the Penetrex and some Aspercreme and so far that's been working, at least to keep the real nasty pain away.

I do feel a few uncomfortable twinges in some of the deeper muscles.  



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Paperworked over.

Well, the paperwork for the Headache Institute is done and in the mail.

Thank goodness, it actually gave me a headache!

Naturally, I forgot to put something in, my list of supplements and DRUGS, but they'll call one of these days and they might ask about that.

Presumably once they get the stuff they'll call and I can make an appointment. 

I am so thankful that it is over, although, given my handwriting, they might want me to redo it.  I put several printed pages in so they could contact my many doctors, or send them a report afterwards.  What I wanted to very be clear about I put on a printed page.

All except for that list of drugs. But it is all printed out (except for the ones I forgot) and in a convenient spot for when they call. 

Or I can take it when I go in.


Monday, March 26, 2012

What a wonderful idea it was!

I woke up with a nasty headache this morning.

It was the kind that I can feel along the vertebra of my neck, so when ever I moved my neck I felt little twinges of pain.

Yup, stopping the Skelaxin was a real good idea.

One Advil, and half a Skelaxin later I felt my neck start to recover.

After I fed the cats at 5:30 and breakfast I had another Advil and another half a Skelaxin; and eventually I felt better.

I have a couple of refills of Skelaxin to go, I'm concerned that I'll run out before I get into the headache institute and can get this fixed.


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Once more into the breach!

For the last several days I have been skipping the Skelaxin.

After going through a few days of funny feeling muscle cramps in my left arm, I'm actually feeling pretty good.  Sometimes.

I've been applying Aspercreme in liberal amounts in the hope that the problem is that my muscles are a little inflamed.  It seems to work on the top layer of muscle, but doesn't get down to the muscles deeper and under the skull.  Or the muscles that drop down to my back, but I haven't really been applying it there.




Right now I have some muscles that are sensing a new flexibility and others that are cramping up.

I'm thinking for tonight that I can avoid the Skelaxin if I load up on some pain medicine.  Or maybe I should just take the muscle relaxant, after all, it's my muscle that feels cramped.

I was looking around for some more potent anti-inflammatory to apply topically when I came across something called Penetrex, which is a non-prescription anti-inflammatory and I hope it works better than the Aspercreme.   

It hasn't come yet, but it's supposed to work on the kind of tissues that I'm having a problem with.

Wish me luck, why don't you?

Paperwork

In preparation for meeting my new doctor (the next in a long list) I have been filling out the Questionnaire.  Getting dates for things like lumbar punctures, CT scans and MRIs when I came across this question: "How often do you exercise?"


That was after the section on social history which encapsulates: education, salary level/household income, occupation, caffeine use, eating habits and a few others.


Why don't I just supply my whole life story?

Looking more deeply into the paperwork it looks like I'll be coming close to doing that. 

Since my neurologist said that my daily headache  is probably just a muscle thing, I should find a way to deal with this other than Advil and Skelaxin on a daily basis.

She's right of course.

But I had no idea there would be this much paperwork to fill out.  

It is a real headache!


Sunday, March 18, 2012

What a Headache?

I went outside to bring in the mail and found a large brown envelope from the headache institute to which I have been referred. 

Just a little moist from last nights rain.  The envelope it was on top of was out and out wet.

These things happen. 

The rather large questionnaire was damp in a few spots but otherwise OK.  I am letting it dry after paging though it.

I need to dig out information about the neurologist who referred me; dates on MRI's and CT scans.  But the questions asked assume the scans were about headache/neck pain while in reality they were about lymphoma.

It's a long questionnaire full of little boxes to check and questions about drugs and a whole section that looks like a questionnaire about whether I'm depressed or not.   I suppose it's efficient; it's also a pain.

I will be introduced to another doctor.   Not something I enjoy.

I would like relief from the daily headache and get off drugs if possible.  Or I would like better drugs.  Ones that really work.     

Drugs that I can add to the list of the many drugs I take, just to get by.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Waiting for relief..

For the last couple of weeks my headaches have been pretty mild and somehow I thought I was getting over the bad pain.


I've got a very bad headache at the moment and I wonder, why did it hit now?


Fortunately I can feel the Skelaxin and pain medicine that I took almost an hour ago kicking in and I am beginning to feel a little better, but there must be a better way to deal with this long term.

I've been thinking about the Carolina Headache Institute which is, I believe, the place my neurologist referred me to.   Although they haven't called me yet.

From the web page, it looks like it focuses on all kinds of headache, migraine or cluster headaches for example.

I'm a little concerned that my neck pain may not be quite their bread and butter since it's mostly muscle pain (so my neurologist said) in my neck.

When my headache is bad I feel like I'm suffering the after effects of being hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat without having to endure the initial thwack!

It's those muscles at the back of the head, especially on the right side just behind and beneath the skull.


I hope they can help me.  I'm skeptical, but it would be nice if they could do something so that I wouldn't be stuck taking muscle relaxants and pain pills for the rest of my life. 




Friday, March 9, 2012

A visit to the Neurologist

It has been well over a year since I've seen my Neurologist.   She had changed her hair style and was striking.  We hit it off on the right note when she came to get me and I told her that she looked different, she laughed.

I am however always stymied when a doctor asks me why I am seeing them and I have to start describing my symptoms. 

As it turned out I wasn't in great pain when I was there, I was rested.  I had to wait until I got home and the pain in my back and neck had time to gel.  Pain medication followed.

As I figured out when I went off of the Skelaxin for a while just a few weeks ago, the drugs become less effective as you use them more.   Some of their side effects might start to surface as well. 

The point of this is that over the long term drugs (I have at least two large bottles of Advil to help the Skelaxin) are not good.

So my attractive doctor is referring me to a headache institute right here in Chapel Hill, not associated with UNC Hospitals where they may have therapies that will allow me to come off the drugs.

She suggested one possible therapy which is injections of Botox in my neck muscles.

It would be wonderful if my stiff neck and headaches would go away.  It is almost too good to think possible. 

I could have a glass of wine again without checking to make sure I hadn't taken some drug where alcohol was "contra-indicated".

Maybe the pain will be "contra-indicated".


 



 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Almost Monday

Monday will roll around in the morning and I am wondering if I should shower and then work, or work and then shower.

Although I start work at 8:00 AM or shortly after I usually get up about 7:20.  Since I have been trying to sleep more, and be more rested I've been getting up later.

The schedule goes something like this:  I am sleeping in the big stuffed leather chair again because I hurt my back.  Tipper, one of our dear little kittens (not being sarcastic here) wakes me up whenever she thinks it is time for breakfast.  Since she can't tell time this can be as early as 2:00 or as late as 4:30.  This morning she got me up by making some ripping noises with the newspapers next to Mary's computer.  I felt so relieved, I looked at the clock and it was only 5:10.  I got some sleep.

After I fed the kitties (at 5:30 AM) I wrapped myself in my old yellow blanket and slumped into that same big leather chair for another three hours.

I was well rested today. 

I'm semi retired and I don't think my bosses care when I start work.   I could sleep later.  It's just a question of convincing myself that it's OK.   And I do need the rest.

I am planning to put in six hours on Monday so that I can reduce my hours on Tuesday when I plan to go in.   I do that because I become very tired once I go in.  I have issues with functionality the following day.  I have periods of being brain dead in the morning.

Not a pleasant side effect.  I'm not over the chemo yet, and I have no clue what to do about it.