Cloudy, humid, with definite light-headedness.

Yup. So my new doc has me trying a blood pressure medication that has been used for headaches (i love that - such random meds are used to treat other random things… hey, at least I’m not being prescribed little blue pills that are meant for men only…). Of course, with my system being as sensitive as it is, and with my blood pressure already being on the lower end of normal, it has gone down even more. Monday afternoon was when it really started to hit me (after being on the stuff since Friday AM), and since then I’ve been kinda unproductive. I drove the 2 minutes over to Walgreens so that I could have them take my pressure and then I drove home, so that’s about all the driving I’ve done. I was SUPPOSED to go to my grad class this morning, but that clearly didn’t happen. I wasn’t able to get into the car for just about an hour and then get on the little train and then sit through 3 hrs of class… and then drive again after that.

I managed to do my laundry this morning, but whoa, was that a task! I could have won the award for “Slowest Laundry-Doer Ever”. The laundry room in the building is in the basement and we’re on the 2nd floor, but thank goodness for elevators. Still, my laundry bag was no heavier than normal, but it felt like 10 tons. I took it slow and hadn’t even taken any meds since I was waiting for my doc to call. Hey, when you need clean clothes, what are you gonna do. I also just wanted to get it done with, since the pile has been growing, and I didn’t want to wait til D got home and whatnot. We’re cutting the dosage in half, luckily, and still moving along my taper off of the Topamax.

Tomorrow’s highlight: New carpet for the living room and new kitchen floor. Ya know, since it was, um, flooded. [Sidebar: As embarassing as it probably was at the time, I ended up turning on the waterworks of my own in the management office on Monday and was welling up in tears when I was told that it could be yet another week to wait for the whole recarpeting/flooring business to take place for us. I so kindly reminded them that we are living in half of our apartment right now and can barely stay in the part that was flooded for more than a quick meal's time because of the smell and mold that is probably growing. "We made some calls and can have it all done on Thursday morning." Gee, how prompt. Seeing as how we were told it would be 2-3 days, and now it's been almost 2 WEEKS. end rant.]

 

A little break in a bad cycle of pain = happy me…

So, this past Thursday was the day that I met my new headache doc at the office I’ve been going to for about a year now… the guy I had been seeing there left for family reasons or something (the best part: he wasn’t even going to bring it up until we asked him how long his fellowship was lasting for, and only then did he decide to tell me that “oh yeah, this is probably the last time you will see me”. Oops.).

Anyhoo, this new guy was fantastic, spent just over 2 hours with me (and of course, mommy-dearest). I really needed someone there with me on this visit because of how badly I’ve been feeling and how foggy my mind is in general. I would have just gotten all mixed up with the train schedule to get there and possibly even slept through the stop, and of course, my mom remembered certain things that I failed to (even though we had made a list of things to bring up)… this would be my “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” break-out number, changed to be about mommies and their awesomeness, of course.

We are doing what I am calling a “medication overhaul” — finally saying goodbye to everyone’s “friend” Mr. Topamax once and for all. I couldn’t be more excited, I almost started planning a Bon Voyage party. I think that would happen when my memory and all that jazz returns. I’ll probably talk a bit about the meds once I’ve been on them for a little while (as not to jinx them? not sure). I actually even got some injections while I was at the office, Lidocane and something else that ends in ‘cane (not candycane, I checked on that one!). Back of the head, front of the head, numbed me right up and helped to really lower my headache level right then and there… pretty amazing. A much improved/ happier ride on the train (can we say 3.5-ish hours? eew.).

I was even able to enjoy a weekend at a friend’s lakehouse, which was about a 2 hour drive from where I live. I had been nervous that I would have to cancel, due to the long drive and just generally feeling like junk. I really did feel so much improvement from my visit to the new doc and from starting some new meds/ beginning “The Great Goodbye” to topamax. crossing my fingers that it continues….

hope everyone is well. joanna

This where i sat for the weekend at my friend’s lake house. we moved between here and the dock. and the grocery store about 20 minutes away to get food (and the farm to get fresh eggs!) :

 

Article: Periodontists + Jawbones = Migraines?

http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-headaches.artjun22,0,2228672.story

This article is from the Hartford Courant, and discusses how it can be the jaw alignment that could be causing migraines (the periodontist first mentioned even thinks that King Tut suffered from a jaw alignment problem, causing him severe headaches!).

It’s an interesting read.  I have already visited a TMJ/myofacial pain specialist and had a night guard made because he said that I grind my teeth at night.  I wore the thing for a year and a half straight with no difference. I still have it, of course, but it would just suck the moisture out of my mouth within the first minute of having it in, and I just haven’t been wearing it because I haven’t felt that it was helping me at all.   BUT, you never know — the answer for some people could be as simple as a visit to the dentist