acupuncture
hello everyone!
i’ve had 4 acupuncture appointments – the first had good results, and they lasted for 2 hours. the next day i had less pain relief, and it lasted an hour and a half. and the next day, even less pain relief. the results were very short-lived. and this last appointment (yesterday) we didn’t achieve any noticeable pain relief.
disappointing.
i was very hopeful that this acupuncture would be the *thing*. the thing that finally helped. just need to shake it off and move on to the next thing.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (12)treatment updates
hello everybody! i’m back from chicago and of course we have some new things to try. 
we’re going up to a higher dosage of my current preventative, effexor. we shall see. also i’m trying a different medicine for the weather-related migraines. instead of spironolactone, we’re trying diamox for a while. i’ve heard from other migraineurs who had success with it. i’ll just keep my fingers crossed that i’ll have better results as well!
and additionally, i started trying acupuncture. i’m very hopeful, to the point that i want to shake myself a little bit and remind myself to be realistic. the acupuncturist was recommended to me, and seems very confident that he can FIX this – like i would just be back to normal. i have a hard time even imagining that’s possible, but there’s nothing i’d love more. he says he’s had good results and can nearly always improve migraine sufferers’ frequency. i have to remember that i’ve heard these claims before…over and over again. the proof will be in the pudding.
my first appointment went well, i did have some pain relief. it was not complete, and it lasted a couple of hours. but i think that my pain levels later that night were also better than usual. today the pain levels seem to be back in full force. i will see the acupuncturist 3 times next week. my fingers and toes are crossed!
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (12)off to Chicago for me!
I’m leaving early tomorrow morning and coming home late tomorrow night — it’s off to Chicago for me again! I still feel like i’m recuperating from a busy (but great!) weekend, and wish I didn’t have to go. But I know I need to remain optimistic and look forward to the possibilities! I have quite a few things to talk over with my doctor, and I’m sure there will be a new preventative medicine to try when I get back.
Thanks for your kind comments – and you can look forward to an update soon!
So I’ve already invited you to learn more about Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness week. I hope you will. But in case you haven’t found time yet, I thought I would share some of my story here with you all.
(also? this is going to be long)
This story – my story with chronic pain - all began back in the summer of 2004. I was engaged to my sweetie, and life was as good as it could be. I couldn’t have been happier. We were making wedding plans and I was working full time at an insurance company. Spencer had an internship at Intel that summer, and he had friends there we hung out with. Of course we stayed up late most every night, to spend as much time as possible together. That made mornings come early, and I started to drink a Dr. Pepper every day, to keep awake in the late afternoons at work.
Within a month of moving out to California (and working) I was having more and more migraines. “Normal” for me was one every month or two. Now they were coming weekly. And they seemed to last longer and longer. I think if I were in Utah, where I had seen doctors before, I’d have gone to see someone about it. But since I was in California and I didn’t know who I should see, I just didn’t. I continued on, and figured I should stop drinking so much caffeine. I did, but the migraines continued, like a freight train rolling on.
The wedding planning was more than I could handle, being in pain nearly every day. I was unpleasant and angry – I found myself snapping at Spencer and doing a poor job containing my temper. I still saw this as a passing thing that would soon go away. After all, I was young and healthy. I don’t think I even considered the idea of chronic pain for someone MY AGE. It hadn’t crossed my mind. My mom was a champ and did basically all the reception planning. I was so blessed to not have a headache on my wedding day.
That was October, and still the migraines continued and kept closing in on me. By November, they were every day. I finally went to see an urgent care doctor – I couldn’t stand the pain and I needed help. He helped a little, but I knew I needed to see a doctor regularly – and I would, as soon as I returned to Utah.
So in January I was back in Utah, and started school again. Right away I went to see a general practioner and was soon referred to a neurologist. I spent my days playing the piano for 4 hours, attending class, and the rest of the time just laying in bed, exhausted and in so much pain. Playing the piano just brought the pain to be even more than I could bear, I found myself slacking off on my practice times and struggled to even make it to class.
I was used to being able to rest or sleep off a migraine. Trying to work through a migraine was just unbearable. Luckily, my neurologist seemed optimistic that we’d be able to get things under control. I had no idea this was only the beginning of a very long road.
After receiving the lowest grades of my college career, I knew I needed to take time off until I was better. Unfortunately, although I have been working with good neurologists, we have never hit on a preventative drug that actually prevents my migraines. We have tried so many things and run so many tests – to no avail. It is incredibly frustrating to feel like something is wrong and have no ability to fix it.
The pain is difficult – often I wish I could have a break and really enjoy a normal week. Or be able to really work like I used to. The migraines make it difficult to do much – moving, working, walking make them worse, and the pain makes it hard to think clearly. Worse than the pain is feeling like life is passing me by.
My days now are spent trying to keep up our home and make meals for my husband and I. I am not able to work until my migraines are improved. This invites judgement, and even when I’m not being judged, I hate that it’s one of the first things people learn about me. I don’t want to be defined by this pain, and I don’t want my life to be defined by it. I am very happy and so blessed – I hope I haven’t come across as complaining too much, talking about my pain too much. I’m hoping just to allow others a glimpse into my life – a life with chronic pain.
There are things in my life which bring me great joy – I hope if you read here you’ve sensed that I love my life and that it’s not all doom and gloom. Although this is clearly a long journey, I still have a great deal of hope that my situation will be improved.
So this week is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week! a mouthful, right? Well, I’m excited. For me (and others with invisible illnesses), there are seminars and articles and guest bloggers! I’m looking forward to it – do check out the seminars, after they are over they will be posted to read as well!
For those who DON’T have an invisible illness – consider this: nearly 1 in 2 Americans have an Invisible Illness. And 96% of illnesses are invisible. so the chances that you know someone with an invisible chronic illness? Really, really good. We’re talking about diabetes, cancer, depression, back pain, migraines (hello!), chrohn’s, etc., etc. I could go on and on. There is a lot of information for you – the purpose of the week is to raise awareness about invisible chronic illnesses. So check it out – here is an article about ways to encourage friends or family members with invisible illnesses. Here is a great article about the paradox of looking good but feeling bad. And last but not least, here is a short article regarding one woman’s personal experience with invisible illness. I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to read and maybe learn something new!
I’ll be talking more this week about how invisible illness has affected my life, and am happy to answer questions if you’ve got ‘em. The main website for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is www.invisibleillness.com
what’s going on around here?
it seems i want to blog frequently, but most often have very little to say! i will give you a round-robin update and hopefully i can get back into a blogging groove!
i met the Magical Mama this past week — not that we planned it, but my sister had her birthday party and i finally got to meet her! she is at least as magical in person as on her blog AND she has great skin. such fun times.
the migraines continue, as though i wasn’t doing anything and everything to prevent them. sigh. next on the list of THINGS TO TRY is acupuncture! i’m excited for this, and hopeful. the acupressure was somewhat helpful, but if you know me, that’s much more than we usually get. when i really think about it, i’m kind of blown away that i take so many (preventative) pills – and that they do NOTHING. not only that they don’t prevent my migraines, i just most of the time have absolutely no reaction to them. and these were drugs that have been formulated specifically to DO something in the human body. just weird.
the weather is starting to cool off – i hope fall will stay around for a while! it seems like we in Utah often just go from blazing hot to snow. i LOVE the in-between seasons…wish they could last a bit longer.
and last but not least, my dear husband has completely revamped his website – see what you think of his new look! he also has his first article on Digg; called “Merging Google Syntax Highlighter and TinyMCE“. if you know what that means, check out his article too!
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (5)do i actually blog here? or just share links?
ah well.
this is a great one, not to be missed. shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer has a series called ‘What I’d Like You to Know’ — and this entry is about Chronic Illness. Worthwhile for those who suffer from a chronic illness and for those who know anyone with a chronic illness.
Filed under blogs | Comments (3)
