So we've been having a bit of a rough patch over here. I had what appears to be three migraines in two weeks. Each one waking me from sleep at 3 AM and torturing me for the entire day. I had no aura or advanced notice that it was a migraine...only the left side of neck felt odd and swallowing felt difficult. I just assumed I was getting some sort of virus, but woke up instead feeling like my head and neck were being bludgeoned. The first one landed me willingly in the ER where the CT scan was thankfully normal, and meds were administered. They medicated me, then sent me home with an Rx for Compazine, if needed. I spent the entire next day on the sofa feeling like I had been hit by a truck.
The second migraine was like the aftershock and that arrived two days later. This time I made an appointment with a neurologist. He asked a lot of question and did some poking. To his surprise I could not feel the pin he was jabbing me with above my left knee. I explained that the numbness in that leg arrived after my unplanned c-section and 2 subsequent blood patches due to a loss of CSF from the epidural for C-Section. Even so, he ordered an MRI of the brain. It too, is thankfully normal. There were two small patchy areas noted. One, he explained, is typically seen in people who have suffered severe migraines. The other, is kind of like scarring, and likely the result of the migraine. Migraines are not headaches...
migraines are so extreme that they cause damage. He prescribed Ultracet for pain, Skelaxin for the spasms in my neck.
When I got my energy back a few days later, I tried to get our neglected nest back in order... I cleaned the house, did the laundry etc. Then exactly two weeks later I got a third migraine. I told Satch he could watch tv, then phoned the Great Robinsky to come home, then took half the dose of Ultracet as I was afraid to be loopy when I was home alone with Satch. Robert called the neurologist and said that the doctor suggested I take Skelaxin, Ultracet and Compazine. I protested that it seemed like it was too much medicine to take all at once, but I did what was recommended. I just don't understand how meds are dosed the same for adults. Though I am 46 years old, my body is the size and weight of some 12 year old boys. Would you give a 12 year old and adult dose?
Some time after, I began feeling a very strong vibration in my toes and traveling up my body. It literally felt like someone was holding a buzzer to my body...and the next thing I knew my feet and hands twisted up in spasm and I couldn't turn my head. Robert offered to take me to the hospital, but I couldn't move. I suggested he call 911.
I don't know how many people were standing around my bed because I could hardly see. My left eye didn't seem to be working right and I couldn't move or turn my head to get a look. One of the medics asked, "are you having anxiety" and I said, "I wasn't before, but I'm scared right now". There were lots of hands and voices and I was hoisted downstairs like Shamu and placed on a stretcher where I proceeded to toss my cookies. Then I was in the back of an ambulance with oxygen and an IV. I think he said he was giving me Zofran for the nausea. I barely remember the ride to the hospital. I only have snippets of scenes in my head, but not a complete memory.
I was wheeled into the ER, and remember lots of questions from many faces, one of which was a very hostile nurse. I'll never forget her and how nasty she was. I actually remember saying to her, "Trust me, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here". Questions, lots of them, followed my snippy interjections by the hostile nurse, "ONE WORD ANSWER YES OR NO".
Then I heard the doctor say to Robert, "I can tell you EXACTLY what happened to her... after she took the Compazine... Dystonic...Dystonic... I heard this word over and over. Then the hostile nurse came to inject meds into my IV and I asked for the name of the mediation. She wouldn't tell me. She just kept saying, "it's an antidote that will stop the reaction you are having to all the meds". Then she came to inject another med and I asked again. She wouldn't answer. I said, "I need to know because I don't want narcotics...I want to know that you are not giving me a narcotic because I don't want to be spaced out". She said, "I don't think you could be anymore spaced out than you are right now". (Oh, she was so lovely) Robert chimed in and said, "My wife requests the name of the medication", and then the hostile nurse turned and said, "It's Methocarbamol, do you even know what that is?" Robert said, "Yes, actually I do...I practice judiciary law and read medical charts all day". Then sometime after that, she picked up Satch very abruptly and said curtly, "LOOK AT ME". He turned his whole body away from her. He did not want her to touch him (partly because of his tactile defensiveness and partly because of bad vibe). I tried to say something, but I was so out of it. I was hoping Robert would stop her, but I think all three of us were stunned into speechlessness as her actions were so inappropriate, aggressive and utterly shocking.
*Note to self, remind Satch that he can say no to anyone that he doesn't want touching him and we will insure that his boundaries are respected.
Shortly after the meds took affect, I had some relief but was completely out of it. I don't remember the ride home, but I do remember getting out of our car and barfing in our parking lot before finishing the walk to the house. I remember I had no shoes on because sidewalk was darn cold. I remember only snippets.
I had a follow up appt with my neurologist yesterday about the dystonic reaction that landed me in the ER. It turned out that he did not instruct Robert to give me Compazine because it was prescribed by the ER not him. Robert made a mistake. The neurologist told Robert to give me Skelaxin and Ultracet. I nearly broke down and cried, but kept it together because Satch was sitting beside me. I told my neurologist that feel exhausted and that my left arm, neck and back are extremely sore. He said that I should rest and that I may feel this way for up to a week after one migraine. I've had 3 in two weeks and I can tell you I feel pretty terrible....I'm exhausted, queasy and the left side of my body aches so badly that it's actually hard to keep my left arm up to type this.
I need to find out more about my headaches and how to stop them. The pain defies description. I had migraines as a child, but never had them as an adult. As an adult, I only had headaches and they would go away quickly after taking a Motrin. The migraines are quite different...they come out of nowhere and are intense and debilitating. I can't stand up. The left side of my body becomes weak with sort of a numb/tingly/achy sensation. It is horrific. I need to find the right treatment because I need to be functional for Satch, not doped up. I also need to find a babysitter who is loving, fun and trustworthy and would be willing to step in and watch Satch if I have another migraine.
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