An hour and a half. That's all the sleep I got Tuesday night. Went to sleep late - about 11 (partially because I was out too late and partially because it took me awhile to fall asleep.) By 12:30 AM I was wide awake. I tossed and turned for about an hour. Then I played sudoku and checked email and such for about an hour. (Darn it! Why did I leave my book in the car?) Then I decided to watch some TV. That would use less brain power than sudoku so maybe it would help me relax. Watched a 2 hour episode of Celebrity Apprentice. By this time it is 4:30. I AM actually starting to feel a bit tired, but my alarm is going off in 30 mins since I need to be at work early for meetings. I think I had just shut my eyes and began to drift when it's time for me to get up :(
I can't recall a time when I've ever felt so exhausted before. I felt like a zombie! And one of my co-workers lovingly told me I looked like one, too.
I am experiencing postdrome in addition to the exhaustion - what a lovely combination.
Trapezius is still hurting on the right side in the shoulder region. But no headache in the morning and only a mild one the rest of the day. The exhaustion was enough to deal with anyway.
Showing posts with label occipital neuralgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occipital neuralgia. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Occipital Nerve Block : Day 2
I didn't get much sleep Tuesday night as I had chemistry lab until 10. Felt quite tired all day as a result.
By afternoon I had a serious headache. I took excedrin early but it offered me no relief. As I analyzed the pain and areas of pain I noticed that it was both stabbing and throbbing pains and it was all in my jaw, temples, side of my head (in front of my ears), top of my head, forehead, and behind my eyes. No pain in the occipital area (back of my head). Interesting!
It finally occured to me that I was having a migraine, it just didn't feel like my usual migraines because of the nerve block to my occipital area.
So nerve block not entirely pointless, but clearly I need other areas injected as well.
Took fioricet later in the afternoon. It helped take the edge off. Unfortunately, I am running dangerously low on it. Which I guess I shouldn't be too upset about since it isn't helping as much as it should.
By afternoon I had a serious headache. I took excedrin early but it offered me no relief. As I analyzed the pain and areas of pain I noticed that it was both stabbing and throbbing pains and it was all in my jaw, temples, side of my head (in front of my ears), top of my head, forehead, and behind my eyes. No pain in the occipital area (back of my head). Interesting!
It finally occured to me that I was having a migraine, it just didn't feel like my usual migraines because of the nerve block to my occipital area.
So nerve block not entirely pointless, but clearly I need other areas injected as well.
Took fioricet later in the afternoon. It helped take the edge off. Unfortunately, I am running dangerously low on it. Which I guess I shouldn't be too upset about since it isn't helping as much as it should.
Occipital Nerve Block : Day 1
Monday, May 16 I got the Occipital Nerve Block. It was probably a good day to do it since I'd had some headaches and migraines over the weekend and was having a moderate headache at the time. Paula pressed on the base of my skull on each side until I told her she had hit the tender spot and then injected the blocker. Shortly after the injection I felt tightness in my forehead - almost like I had a rubber band around my forehead. But aside from that everything seemed fine, no faintness or nausea.
I discussed my restlessness and lack of sleep and it was decided that the amitriptyline must not be working and I am being switched to trazodone.
After the shots I had to go to physical therapy to get a massage and some stretching to help the steriod get into my tissues. On my short drive there I noticed a lot of pain and tightness in the shoulder area of my right trapezius. Also sharp pain in my temples and behind my eyes. The tightness in my forehead continued.
After PT my shoulder no longer hurt at all - it felt great! But the pain was still in my temples, behind my eyes, and the pressure and tightness was still in my forehead.
I discussed my restlessness and lack of sleep and it was decided that the amitriptyline must not be working and I am being switched to trazodone.
After the shots I had to go to physical therapy to get a massage and some stretching to help the steriod get into my tissues. On my short drive there I noticed a lot of pain and tightness in the shoulder area of my right trapezius. Also sharp pain in my temples and behind my eyes. The tightness in my forehead continued.
After PT my shoulder no longer hurt at all - it felt great! But the pain was still in my temples, behind my eyes, and the pressure and tightness was still in my forehead.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Headache Log : Info on Occipital Nerve Block
I decided that if I'm going to have it done, but I may as well know what it is. So I did some researching.
You can see for yourself here
http://www.medcentral.org/main/OccipitalNerveBlock.aspx
or you can read my summation.
Basically they inject a type of steroid into the tissues surrounding (and possibly irritating or pinching) my greater and lesser occipital nerves (two nerves that come out of the base of your skull - if you don't want to wiki where the occipital nerves are). The steroid is supposed to reduce any inflammation in those tissues that may be aggravating the nerve.
Obviously there can be some soreness and tenderness at the injection site - the needle goes into some very deep tissues.
But they also apply a local anesthetic to help with the soreness and that will also, at least temporarily, help with any occipital neuralgia.
The steroid is supposed to work anywhere from a few days to a few months. (I suppose this depends on the person, the steroid, and the dosage.)
My hope is that it lasts several months. But my sneaky suspicion is that there is more than one type of neuralgia causing my migraines. I believe a branch or two of my trigeminal nerve is also involved and to blame for some of the pain.
*sigh* At least I'm trying something, right?
You can see for yourself here
http://www.medcentral.org/main/OccipitalNerveBlock.aspx
or you can read my summation.
Basically they inject a type of steroid into the tissues surrounding (and possibly irritating or pinching) my greater and lesser occipital nerves (two nerves that come out of the base of your skull - if you don't want to wiki where the occipital nerves are). The steroid is supposed to reduce any inflammation in those tissues that may be aggravating the nerve.
Obviously there can be some soreness and tenderness at the injection site - the needle goes into some very deep tissues.
But they also apply a local anesthetic to help with the soreness and that will also, at least temporarily, help with any occipital neuralgia.
The steroid is supposed to work anywhere from a few days to a few months. (I suppose this depends on the person, the steroid, and the dosage.)
My hope is that it lasts several months. But my sneaky suspicion is that there is more than one type of neuralgia causing my migraines. I believe a branch or two of my trigeminal nerve is also involved and to blame for some of the pain.
*sigh* At least I'm trying something, right?
Friday, March 25, 2011
Headache Log : Rose Clinic
So yesterday I went to the Rose Clinic and met with Dr. Rose. He's the plastic surgeon who does the Botox injections into the nerves to find out if that's the cause of the migraines and then does surgery to relieve the pressure on those nerves and thus relieve the pain.
http://alifeofpayne.blogspot.com/2011/03/headache-log-plastic-surgery.html
He cleared up a lot of questions and concerns I had. That's not to say that I don't still have a few questions and concerns. The stabbing pain I get behind my eyes appears to be the result of one of three branches of the trigeminal nerve. And, of course, the pain in the back of my head is my occipital nerve. He explained what surgery is performed with each nerve. I feel a little better about going under the knife if that is, in fact, the route I take.
He offered me an injection on the spot, but I declined. I explained that I want to wait and see what results I get back from the cardiologist and the MRA on my neck first. Also, even though I don't want to be on preventative medication for the rest of my life (or any medication at all!), I'd like to see if the Cymbalta is EVER going to start working. Two weeks in and I feel no difference yet.
So I may be following up with Dr. Rose in a month.
Of course, I had not been gone from his office more than 20 minutes when the pain intensified and I was wishing I had just gone ahead and gotten a shot. Just one little tiny shot. :(
http://alifeofpayne.blogspot.com/2011/03/headache-log-plastic-surgery.html
He cleared up a lot of questions and concerns I had. That's not to say that I don't still have a few questions and concerns. The stabbing pain I get behind my eyes appears to be the result of one of three branches of the trigeminal nerve. And, of course, the pain in the back of my head is my occipital nerve. He explained what surgery is performed with each nerve. I feel a little better about going under the knife if that is, in fact, the route I take.
He offered me an injection on the spot, but I declined. I explained that I want to wait and see what results I get back from the cardiologist and the MRA on my neck first. Also, even though I don't want to be on preventative medication for the rest of my life (or any medication at all!), I'd like to see if the Cymbalta is EVER going to start working. Two weeks in and I feel no difference yet.
So I may be following up with Dr. Rose in a month.
Of course, I had not been gone from his office more than 20 minutes when the pain intensified and I was wishing I had just gone ahead and gotten a shot. Just one little tiny shot. :(
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)