Migraine Headaches Support Group
Migraine is a neurological disease, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head and are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea.
Well, I finally broke down after 30 years and relented to go to the emergency room for the first time and ask for help.
I went both mornings at 4:00 after 5 rough days and nights where my regular regime didn't do a thing. I must say, I sure do like when they put all the morphine into my IV. It was like angels taking me away. But teh head pain stayed.
I just don't know what the hell happened or why it was so friggen severe this time. It started gradually on friday and every day progressed even worse. I was a good girl so I don't think I ate any trigger. A week earlier I got some mild migraines (surprisingly) and thought maybe I was on the mend, and then BAM it was like someone was kicking me in the head repeatedly.
Well, the hospital gave me a IV cocktail of benadryl type stuff and antinausea and stuff to open my vein, something else I forgot and lastly morphine and I slept like a rock. When they woke me, I had to check in deep with myself to see if it was still there and sure enough it was. Under the masking of the drugs was the monster lurking to come out once everything wore off.
I went home the first day and was back again at 4 am. This time they did a ct scan and a series of blood tests and docs talked amounst themselves. They said that the IV drip usually worked on everyone and here I was having my second. I have no tumors, but I do have Graves disease and no one knows how that effects me. They just shook their heads.
Well, I was given a dozen percocet (oxycoton) and if it didnt go away in two days then I should come back for an overnight stay. Last night, it went away.
Oh mercy, I feel like I've won a lottery. I have never been that bad. I am so afraid to eat anything. My hands are still shaking.
Is this what it is like for others in hospitil visits?
I went both mornings at 4:00 after 5 rough days and nights where my regular regime didn't do a thing. I must say, I sure do like when they put all the morphine into my IV. It was like angels taking me away. But teh head pain stayed.
I just don't know what the hell happened or why it was so friggen severe this time. It started gradually on friday and every day progressed even worse. I was a good girl so I don't think I ate any trigger. A week earlier I got some mild migraines (surprisingly) and thought maybe I was on the mend, and then BAM it was like someone was kicking me in the head repeatedly.
Well, the hospital gave me a IV cocktail of benadryl type stuff and antinausea and stuff to open my vein, something else I forgot and lastly morphine and I slept like a rock. When they woke me, I had to check in deep with myself to see if it was still there and sure enough it was. Under the masking of the drugs was the monster lurking to come out once everything wore off.
I went home the first day and was back again at 4 am. This time they did a ct scan and a series of blood tests and docs talked amounst themselves. They said that the IV drip usually worked on everyone and here I was having my second. I have no tumors, but I do have Graves disease and no one knows how that effects me. They just shook their heads.
Well, I was given a dozen percocet (oxycoton) and if it didnt go away in two days then I should come back for an overnight stay. Last night, it went away.
Oh mercy, I feel like I've won a lottery. I have never been that bad. I am so afraid to eat anything. My hands are still shaking.
Is this what it is like for others in hospitil visits?
On both my ER visits, I have been sent home with masked pain. The last ER visit, I was sent home without even any IV fluid because the stint thing was kinked in my arm and no fluid was going in. They took it out and sent me on my way...with blood dripping down my arm to boot! Once home and the dilaudid wore off, I had a horrible rebound migraine. The only thing that saved me was the phenergan I had in the fridge as it kept me from puking my guts out.
With any luck, we won't have to endure something like that again...
It's been two days now and I'm dizzy as hell and deep sighing a lot. Did you have that too? I'm thinking it is the big doses of morphine.
Your're so sweet, saucyb.
When I left, I said the pain had disapated...but I never told them it was gone. I suppose they assumed that I was better because I stopped throwing up and had the towel over my eyes. Same thing with my visit earlier ER visit this year...although the pain did go down to about a three or a four. Just mild pain. Ha! ;D
The following day of this most recent visit I was so dizzy, I had to have my daughter drive me to the grocery store. She asked me to back out of the garage because she didn't want to hit anything; I backed out...right into our split rail fence post! Oopsie! LOL! (better to laugh than cry - even though it damaged my rear fascia of my new Escape - I just shrugged my shoulders and hopped in the passerger seat....onward!)
As a side note - I think we must be some of the toughest folks out there... I mean how many other people could handle a migraine every day (mine come and go throughout the day at various severities) and manage even the most menial task? If only folks could understand that a migraine is NOT a headache. Oh what I would give to pop an aspirin and be pain free!
Hope the dizziness fades soon! (could be from the morphine...or could be our bodies trying to recoup from all the pain?)
Hugs,
Sue
I do agree that migraine pain is one of the worst. Although I have met some people in the chronic pain forum who are suffering pretty bad so I wouldn't downplay the suffering that goes on here.
Tipper posted an article not long ago that said something to the effect that half of the suicidal thoughts belonged to the head pain group and I've been saying that for years. I often think of death but not necessarily as a suicide, but as a better alternative to the life that I have. Other migrainers understand this statement. We don't want to kill ourselves, but it is sometimes just too hard and an early accidental death would be acceptable.
I have to work and function in life and struggle with my words and try to think and be put on the spot, and I can't make plans, or I have to keep plans regardless of how I feel. Like a parent teacher meetings have to be kept and I look like an incoherant reject when I am really quite intelligent.
I do size people up in their statement of pain. I hear someone biatching endlessly about a rash or a sprained ankle as they hobble around on crutches (I remember spraining my ankle) and just for 5 minutes I want to give them my migraine to shut them up. I'm not being mean; I'm just giving them a taste of reality in pain. Ok, maybe I am being a little bit mean. Pain has made me a little mean. It has also made me compassionate. two sides of the same coin.
Angela
So the next time I went to the hospital I explained that they did absolutely nothing to ease the pain the last time. So this time whatever they gave me actually helped ease the pain. I don't know if it was because I told them, or if the hospital office put a note in my chart that they really needed to help me since that one time they did nothing for me.
My point here is...complain to the hospital. They are in this game for money. And unhappy patients are going to tell other people how bad their service is. So they want people to be happy with them.
As for drugs only masking the pain. Yes, that has happened to me on one hospital visit. I could tell the migraine was still there....lurking underneath all the meds.
And two times the drugs actually worked! Ahhhhh, how nice. So from now on when I go to the hospital (maybe once every year or two), I will ask them to give me the same medication they did the last time. I will hope they continue to follow through on that.
I sure wish we could all be pain free. I've had a constant headache for 22 years. Usually it's at migraine level. It gets sooo old.
Angela
They give me a medication cocktail through an IV and it basically masks the pain and leaves me unable to do whatever I need to do the day after.
Please tell them that what they're doing isn't adequately taking care of your pain. You seem to be very strong and try to continue to be.