An Anti Convullllslsssannnnnttttt

I've been taking Zonisamide from June 22, which is just under one week.  Friday I double the dose.

So far I've gone to bed feeling sick two or maybe three of those days in a state of real discomfort. Basically stomach upset.  Now tonight I feel OK, I think so long as I don't have a very heavy meal at night and am careful to take the drug after the meal then I'm OK. 

I've felt a little discomfort off and on tonight but nowhere near the amount I had last night or the night before. 

At this point I have to persevere with the therapy, and it may work eventually, but I think the real success will come when my nerves get blocked at the Pain and Anesthesia Clinic at UNC; and perhaps if the sleep study I am scheduled for in August yields results.

I have some Zofran left over from my R-CHOP days; maybe I should have some of that next time I take my Zonisamide.   

Well, It Does Seem

It seems the headache gets better, and then comes back again.  It came back at the usual time today, but not as bad as usual.

Tomorrow I give up the Meloxicam and take up the Diclofenac when the headaches strike. 

When you have a symptom, it's hard to tell if it's from the drugs for something else.  I've had sinus headache today, and now for that matter, but is it a drug symptom?  Feeling nauseated off and on and my stomach seems easily upset.  That could easily be the Zonisamide.

Actually, the lack of appetite from Zonisamide would be a good thing for me, I might lose weight. I've been a little paunchy since the chemo.

Oddly, I've been on a low carbohydrate diet because Mary's doctor read her the riot act about her eating habits.  My blood sugars have dropped from 150 in the AM to 112 and once a few days ago 101.   Mary's are coming down too.  Good for us!

I got up at 4:50 this morning when a cat decided to wake me up, and didn't go back under the covers at all so I am very tired now, and not feeling so well either.

So good night.

Too Early to Say But

Yesterday, and the day before I woke up with a headache, and except those times covered by Skelaxin, I also had a headache.

The headache seemed to be everywhere except my neck, and I think the Meloxicam kept my neck from bad cramping and the pain that would go up the long muscle in the back of my neck.

So the headaches feel different.  They seem like real head headaches now.  

Naproxin did the same sort of thing to me, moved the headache up to the crown of my head. 

I've had my last Amerge (Naratriptan) today, and tossed the little cardboard and tinfoil thing that it came in out.  I'm wondering how I will feel tomorrow without it.

I have off and on throughout the day felt relaxed; much more so than normal.  My appetite has been suppressed, and I only had a few raspberries and cherries for lunch, with a peanut and chocolate snack later in the day.

So after waking up with a headache today, I took a Skelaxin and eventually a Meloxicam, and I have not had a headache since.

It's about 5:20 in the afternoon, and I think I feel one coming on.  It's late, it's about time it got here.   

The Miraculous Drug

I should say more about treatment I've been going through and the affects it has had on me and my neck/head pain.   Initially I stopped drinking coffee and took one form of Diclofenac or another to deal with the withdrawal headache.

I've noticed how medical people pronounce Diclofenac differently than I do.

Then I started on the Bridge which is Meloxicam 7.5 mg twice daily which is an NSAID and the benefit is that it deals with the arthritis that is in my neck, and for that matter other places.  My hand feels better.

I was also prescribed Amerge (Naratriptan) which is a migraine reliever.  It seems the nerves from the back of the neck (where my problems are) rise up to the part of the brain where migraine headaches originate.

The first Amerge pill I took gave me such a feeling of well being and giddy joie de vivre which unfortunately wasn't repeated by the second pill I took that day.

The Meloxicam keeps my neck from feeling that it has a severe muscle problem that results in pain.  Instead I have headache that comes and goes.  For this I take one, two or three Tizanidine 4 mg. which is a small oval white pill which is a muscle relaxant that can cause drowsiness.  I only take this towards the end of the day when my mental capacities and driving skills are no longer required.

I took Skelaxin this morning because, like yesterday, I woke up with a headache that seemed to accompany a deep unpleasantness in my neck.  I am not used to waking up with a headache; and I can't say that this regimen has helped my headaches anymore than the daily Naproxin and Skelaxin that I took only weeks before.

Where I have noticed improvement is in the Gabapentin and last night's dose of Zonisamide which left me feeling very relaxed.  That is a marked improvement over my usual condition, which is a tenseness bordering on paranoia.

As you probably know,  Gabapentin is an antispasmodic which should aid me in having a truly deep sleep, which I believe it does.  Zonisamide is an anticonvulsant which is normally prescribed for epileptics and after the first bit of grogginess which caused me to fall asleep, made me feel very relaxed.

I'm just waiting for the Zonisamide to build up in my system, that might help with the headache.
  

Gimmi Dat Drug

I popped a capsule of Zonisamide for the first time a couple of minutes ago.

It's an anticonvulsant to go along with the Gabapentin which is an antispasmodic.  Oh how I love to jive and shimmy; well, no more.

I wish this would have been around for my sister Velma when she was thick in the midst of her grand mal seizures.  Well, too late for her.

This and the many other drugs I take are for my headaches, and I am very glad that they are being addressed.   I've had fun with drugs before, I have very fond memories of R-CHOP and how absolutely horrid it made me feel, I would lie to myself and say that I loved it because it was decimating the cancer.   There is nothing quite as debilitating as going for a walk which used to be long realising that you simply don't have the heart muscle to continue. 

My other favourite, lenalidomide was a real trip, and the rather irritating and painful side effects resulted in the headache and stiff neck which I am so desperately trying to deal with now.

I wonder how the Zonisamide will affect me?


 

Missing the Morning Stimulation

Well, I stopped drinking coffee on Thursday.  This doesn't have quite the withdrawal problem that quitting smoking does.  But I love my coffee, and I can't even drink tea.

That with the Gabapentin 800mg, and the occasional dose of Diclofenac/Cambia  is working already and I haven't even gotten to the high powered drugs yet. 


Gabapentin is an anti-spasmodic and it is given to increase the deep sleep that allows your body to heal.  It is a wonderful thing.  I have been getting such good sleep. 


As a result, this morning, my shoulders and neck feel more relaxed than they usually are.  My neck doesn't have the usual crackle, or as much of a crackle when I move it in certain ways. 

 

Searching for the Cure

I stopped  by the Headache Institute and had a long conversation with a Physician's Assistant which was, I think, a rather pleasant way to spend some time.  Once I actually started talking to her, things went pretty well.   She had good interviewing skills and put together a history, gave me what looked like a neurological exam and found the places on my feet where I don't feel so well anymore.

I seemed to be spilling blood sugars because I asked for water and seemed to need several bottles, and of course a couple of trips to the rest room.   And I thought I was being so good with the low-carb diet.

She presented her work to the doctor and that took about half an hour, but they had a very good little book about nutrition by the numbers for free which described so much that I wasn't bored.

I also drank more water.

When she got back to me she submitted over half a dozen prescriptions to my pharmacy, and I found them on my email and went over to pick them up.

One of the drugs is Gabapentin which will help me get better quality sleep, although it is an anti-spasmodic.

I took some about 40 minutes ago and I feel like falling asleep already. My neck feels good too.

I have not analyzed what all the drugs are or what they do, there are NSAIDs, some of which will help me overcome the headache that I am sure to get from quitting coffee which will be very difficult.

That's that old nail in the forehead kind of pain.  Not soon forgotten.

It appears that my headache is like a memory that my brain cannot get out of my head although the doctor didn't use those words.  He said the nerves that line the C2-C4 vertebra (where my little friend was located) lead to the same place in the brain where migraines come from.

I have not entirely digested the sheet of paper that describes how to use the drugs, without which I would be completely lost.   More tomorrow or the day after when I've had time to type that information into a word document and actually digest it.

I think I will be emailing some questions to the young woman who took my life history down.

A little Zantac will do Ya

Yup, the Aleve makes me sick even in small doses.  All though the night.  Of course last time I felt nauseated like this (aside from chemo) was when my liver was on the fritz in about 1983.

And was forced to stop drinking alcohol.  Obviously a blessing in disguise.

I've started to take Zantac on a regular basis.  AM and PM 150 mg dosage.  This is working so far.  I'm also taking one Aleve in the AM and one in the PM.  I don't want to push my luck, but it seems to be working.

The Aleve seems to take more of the edge off now, but I medicate more with the Skelaxin too.

My neck still makes funny noises when I move it in some unusual way, but it's not as loud.

So I am doing OK.

Headache Institute

We have heard from the Chapel Hill Headache Institute and I called them yesterday.  I have an appointment for June 13th with a physician's assistant because I could not get in to see the doctor.

Why is it that whenever I type the word 'doctor' I want to Capitalize it: Doctor.

I'm happy to see her.  Frankly, I feel more comfortable talking to a woman.

I'm doing the minimal Aleve dosage of between two and three a day (not two at once) and that seems to be working out as far as nausea is concerned, it seems that over time my neck is feeling better. 

As long as I stay on the Aleve and dose my sel. 

I went off on my 'drug holiday' and my neck started to stiffen up.  I went back on at a lower dose and it keeps the worst symptoms away. 

I started to work on finishing a history of my headache and a drug list and I'm not quite done.  I plan to mail them in to the Physician's Assistant.

It is a few weeks away.