Zombie

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.

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.

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.

 

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?

Headache Log : Drug Cocktail

Had my follow-up with the neurologist this week.  No hole in my heart, nothing on the MRI of my neck, nothing on the MRI of my brain (except that little pesky white spot).  So where do we go from here? 
Oh, and the good week was a fluke.  Bad weekend following that good week and a headache every single day since then. 
I could happily report that I am now able to focus and concentrate on homework.  (Unless I have a migraine.  But at least we know the Topomax is no longer affecting me.)  And my mood seemed to have improved.  Those were the only happy reports I could give. 
I was sort of hoping for a sleeping pill.  What I got was another anti-depressant that they said would also help me sleep.   And they asked that I start taking my Cymbalta at bedtime instead - perhaps that would help.  Because the headaches are still not gone and in fact, seem to be worse (at least lately) I was also prescribed an additional migraine preventative.  I have to start taking folate and also baby aspirin every morning.
So in an attempt to get rid of my headaches & migraines I now take 5 different pills a day.  Then I have my pill for my tummy. 
Oh, and the only thing that has been giving me any time of relief (excedrin - if the headache is very light) I am not allowed to take any more.  Or rather, I can't take it more than 10 times a month. :(

Lastly, the neurologist has ordered an occipital nerve block.  Not entirely sure what this does, but my understanding is that it will be similar to the Botox shots.  The doctor wants to try and break my body of this headache/migraine cycle.
I'll be getting those shots later in May.