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S’mores hand Delivered by my Kids

May 1st 2

Last week I had the nerve block done at the trigger point or nerves that are possibly causing the severe migraines and it gave me wonderful relief for about 7 1/2 days. Don’t get me wrong the headache has never left me in the 15 weeks since it all started but it was just at a level that I could mentally and physically handle hence the relief. It was so wonderful to feel free and functional and able to do even small tasks. It really was great. I was able to spend time with my family, eat out, balance my checkbook, worked on my taxes, took walks, and I was even able to make dinner.

The doctor told me that the steroids that they use in the injection would probably last about a week so I kept waiting for the headache to come and it finally did after I went for the walk yesterday. But I was so hoping that when I woke up today I would feel better And that the headache wasn’t really back at a much higher level of pain but I was wrong. I’ve pretty much been down all day nonfunctional in bed resting so that maybe there’s a chance that when I wake up tomorrow it will be a little better.

There are so many things that trigger my headaches or at least increase the level of the headache because the headache is always there. Things like talking for long periods of time with someone or putting my chin to my chest when I’m trying to pick up stuff off the floor or sneezing or coughing or overexerting myself like going for a long walk, and any thing cold. Which is why I just stayed in bed today to give my body a day of rest and like I said earlier I’m really hoping that I will wake up tomorrow and the headache will be at a lower level of pain.

On the bright side the nerve block is often used as a diagnostic tool and the fact that my headache May 1stwas low level and I was functional for that whole week is great news it’s a bummer it didn’t last longer obviously but I think
they’re on the right track and will just have to wait and see when I go back to the doctor on May 12th.

I didn’t feel well at all today and stayed in bed and rested with a pain level of 4 all day.  I did use the Ethyl chloride spray in order to have dinner with the family.  Then went back to bed.

The family decided to do a bon fire, but I was not feeling up to going outside , so my kiddos brought me in a s’more because they know how much I love them:)  And it was yummy!

 

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MHNI visit #1 following Chelsea

On our way back to Ann Arbor for follow up apts. three of them back to back. My back is going to be my biggest challenge, well that and the ever present migraine. Luckily the migraine has been much more manageable the past couple of days but its presence still makes concentration difficult. Weather looks good for most of our trip though so that is a blessing.

Dr. Lake, the pain psychologist:  It was his voice on the relaxation CD that helped get me through some tough times.  I really enjoyed visiting with him again.  I feel like I can truly speak freely and tell him about what is going on in my life…the good and the bad.  I also got to try a little bit of biofeedback to see what it was all about.

Andrea, the physical therapist:  She did some hands on stuff and discovered that a major trigger point for me is in my temple region.  She prescribed Ethyl Chloride spray to help relieve the pain for a brief period.  She also helped me with doing stairs since my back was still in pretty bad shape after back to back Blood Patches.

Dr. Arnaldo DaSilva, neurologist, head pain specialty: On this visit I just met with Gail, the PA and decided to keep all of my meds the same since I had just gotten out of the hospital 2 days ago.  She also thought I had thrush in my mouth, so she prescribed an antifungal in case I needed it.

Ethyl Chloride Spray

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So apparently when you use Biofreeze to sooth post IV arm pain it is not a good idea to put a hot rice bag on afterwards. It was several hours and the Biofreeze didn’t do much. Oops. Off to ice it now!  The red did finally go away but the pain remained.  Nothing could touch my entire forearm on the top…it was pretty awful.

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