posted
Apparently it's what all the "cool" Flarites do now....
I was just discharged from the hospital last night. Thanksfully, 3 days sooner than they were planning on discharging me, but still, any amount of time in the hospital is too long, I've now learned.
It's these migraines. I have them daily, and I usually manage them and even function with them, but sometimes I get one that peaks out and just wont go away, and I crack. That happened last Friday. After a few trips to the doctor and the ER, it was time to admit me for some IV therapy. I'm just happy to be out, though I'm still not at 100%. I'll never be at 100% again, honestly. But anything is better than where I was at. For the first time in my life, I was contemplating suicide, though we found out that was a direct result of a certain medication I was on that was screwing with the seratonin levels in my brain.
Either way, it was a dark place in my life, and the scariest time of my life. I'm glad it's over. Or seems to be.
For now, I'm under orders to take it easy, for fears that the migraine gods will curse me with a repeat visit if I do not. And if the headache shows signs of worsening again, I'm to head straight back to the hospital, where they will be waiting for me.
Joy of joys.
~LOA
-------------------- "You are anal twattypoo who has ruined my good mood" PsyLiam to TSN May 01,2006.
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Da_bang80
A few sectors short of an Empire
Member # 528
posted
Ouch dude. I feel for ya. I used to get such killer headaches in school because of the flourescent lighting. It's wisdom teeth time for me. they got me on Uber-strength Motrin and Amoxycillin for the infection. I've hardly eaten anything this past week because I can't even chew without bleeding. I have to wait 2 or 3 weeks before I can get in to have them removed because the Dentist said they're growing in sideways and that apparently makes them very difficult to remove. That, and they're too close to nerve/blood vessels. I have to go to a specialist. But thankfully the pills are working and the pain and swelling is diminishing
-------------------- Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I cannot accept. And the wisdom to hide the bodies of all the people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
posted
Have you tried floatation tanks, LOA? Works wonders for me and my taxed neck and shoulders, also gives a mental blanket.
Doctors are soon going to be able to give referrals to it here in Sweden, lifting it and acupuncture out of the alt-med swamp.
Registered: Aug 1999
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Jesus H. Christ, Liz! I think that's enough near-death stuff for Flare for the next few years. What made my six weeks in hospital suck so mightily was the fact that I was so weak I could barely shift my legs -- and forget about standing up! -- and my protein levels were so low my vision was going. My new epitome of mind-breaking boredom is having to lie flat on your back and be unable to read or watch TV. Thank the Force you got out early.
I didn't want to intrude when I recently saw you reappear online, but would it be cool to IM and say hi?
--Jonah
P.S. Da_bang, about wisdom teeth... I had mine out a year ago and I have one word for you -- Percocet.
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
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Yeah, it's okay to say hi to me when I'm seen online. If I don't respond, it simply means that my boyfriend is checking my email for me 'cause my head hurts, so don't be offended, and don't worry, he won't ind that some strange dude is saying hi to me
As far as percocet is concerned, I miss the days when that drug was a savior. Now I can pop it with the same frequency as Skittles candy, with no results. Pretty impressive from a little girl like me. My body just metabolizes drugs exceptionally well.
I'm thinking about trying accupunture next. It's been a long time since I've been "well" and maybe it's time to try something new, with fewer side effects than what I get from some of my weird daily maintenance drugs.
So we'll see.
And Peregrinus, I really am so glad you're doing better now. A short stay was too much for me. 6 weeks would have done me in.
-------------------- "You are anal twattypoo who has ruined my good mood" PsyLiam to TSN May 01,2006.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I feel ya on the Percocet doing squat: even the 10/650mg bullets do very little anymore. I'm running on Oxycontin, Percocets and pure hate.
Hey: we should all start going to the same hospital! Last week I was "In" four days and was bored outta my mind.
Have you guys tried sending copies of your medical records to specialists around the country? I'm doing that now and hope someone will have a novel therapy in mind (and not just want to write another paper on my problem.
quote:Originally posted by Nim: Have you tried floatation tanks, LOA? Works wonders for me and my taxed neck and shoulders, also gives a mental blanket. Doctors are soon going to be able to give referrals to it here in Sweden, lifting it and acupuncture out of the alt-med swamp.
Er...is that not a bit claustophobic? I may try oxygen threapy (wherein you're stuck in a pressurized tank of 100% oxygen for several hours a day). I keep picturing those Gemini astronauts...
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Nim: Have you tried floatation tanks, LOA? Works wonders for me and my taxed neck and shoulders, also gives a mental blanket.
Doctors are soon going to be able to give referrals to it here in Sweden, lifting it and acupuncture out of the alt-med swamp.
I *SO* Want to try one of these. These are the same as the sensory deprivation tanks - aren't they?
One of the best nights sleep I had was a few years ago - out in the country of Tasmania... It was weird - I lay in bed and I heard NOTHING... NOTHING. It was so relaxing.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
Jason: No, it's not claustrophobic unless you're a claustrophobic, but then even a restroom stall would feel claustrophobic.
You stop thinking about those things once your mind starts trying to wrap itself around the sensory depravation (Edit: Yes exactly, Andrew) and the fact that you don't need to hold your head up from the surface, then your spine starts easing out. It's not for everyone, sure, but it's the closest thing to earth orbit or the womb without getting up in those diving NASA-planes, and I hear they are pretty noisy.
I'm getting my mom a gift certificate to try it out, her shoulders are torn up and floating works for chronic pain since it lets the nervous system sort itself out, I did a paper on it last semester.
The effect after is special, I walk slowly on the sidewalk and marvel at the things I can pick up now that I've been free from the static for an hour.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I've never even heard of one of those tanks.... but I have to tell you, when I get a bad migraine, my neck starts to kill me soon after because I get so tense from the pain... chronic pain takes a lot out of a person... a lot....
-------------------- "You are anal twattypoo who has ruined my good mood" PsyLiam to TSN May 01,2006.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Wikipedia has a lot on it, you should ask your medical people about it too. In my neighboring university they use floating tanks to treat people suffering from fibromyalgia and arthritis, for a study.
quote:Originally posted by LOA: Yeah, it's okay to say hi to me when I'm seen online. If I don't respond, it simply means that my boyfriend is checking my email for me 'cause my head hurts, so don't be offended, and don't worry, he won't ind that some strange dude is saying hi to me
*chuckle* Hey, if worse comes to worst, I'd just show him a pic of me and my sweetie of seven years.
It's mainly... I wasn't planning on moving back up to Washington, but circumstances dictated it. Now I'm here, my mobility is somewhat restricted until after the surgery, and even if it weren't most of my friends from high school and after have blatantly moved elsewhere (bastards!). So my current goal is to find as many friends online as possible, with an emphasis on trying to find people near me. Charles lives fairly close to Seattle, and Balaam visits from time to time, and if I remember right, you're a Washingtonian, as well. But are you a Seattleite? *heh*
As far as "alternative" therapies go (a bogus term, if ever there was one), I've had the best results from Strain-Counterstrain, energy work of various disciplines, Hellerwork/Rolfing, Bodytalk, and psychotherapy. It's amazing to me how much of what goes on physically is a result of what's going on mentally... Acupuncture has never worked for me because I just can't relax when I have a whole bunch of needles in me. *sigh*
I've had a long time to study and experiment with integrated medicine, and if you'd like I can see what I can dig up about migraines. I've been thinking of doing so anyway, because my girlfriend gets them occasionally, too.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
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Da_bang80
A few sectors short of an Empire
Member # 528
posted
For headaches I found that using a heating pad on my forehead and lying down in a dark room for about an hour completely gets rid of it. Something to do with dialating the blood vessels. I dunno if it works on migranes. But the heat helps lessen the pain anyways.
For chronic pain I recommend Marijuana. It really does work better than the man made pills and other chemical garbage on the shelves these days. I'm being 100% serious here. Just don't use it for headaches. Seems to make them worse for me. If you can get a prescription all the better.
-------------------- Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I cannot accept. And the wisdom to hide the bodies of all the people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
posted
Not to deride you or anything, but there's a guy I work with that has serious, noticible diminished mental capacity from smoking marijuana. He does not really drink, or use other drugs, but smokes every night- and I've watched him get progressivly dumber over the past five years.
I'm certain it has differing effects from person to person though- everything does- but why risk that?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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Furthermore, my chronic pain would be the never stopping headaches. I have Chronic Daily Migraine Syndrome. Translated, I have a migraine of some degree every single day of my life.
So your statement that I shouldn't use the whacky tabacky for the headaches, but I should use it for the pain wouldn't work for me ;-)
Plus, ultimately, I would like to get well enough to be a musician again. So no smoke in my lungs if I can avoid it. Not of ANY sort.
And i don't like the smell of weed anyway. P-U!
But that's just my opinion... thank you for sharing yours though...
-------------------- "You are anal twattypoo who has ruined my good mood" PsyLiam to TSN May 01,2006.
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