I am a patient (not a medical professional!) who has been dealing with hemicrania continua since 2009. This causes constant head and facial pain on one side of the head 24/7. I am looking into occipital nerve stimulation as a treatment as I have tried everything else.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
More info about the beginning
As far as my comment goes about getting to that later in my first post regarding not being able to eat healthy - My eating habits are drastically changed since February 2010. I had been taking indomethacin since the end of November 2009. This medication was the only thing that gave me days at a time of being pain free. Unfortunately it wreaked havoc in my GI system. It caused ulcerations throughout the GI tract so bad initially I was diagnosed as having Crohn's disease triggered by the indomethacin, then eventually it was decided the medication itself was what caused all of the ulcerations. I could not eat without agony. I spent a couple months basically living off soup or baby food. I was hospitalized twice and almost had a hemicolectomy. Boy am I glad I avoided that! Also added to the first hospitalization my mother was on her way to pick up my oldest daughter and they were coming to visit me in the hospital when she was hit by a drunk/high driver and killed instantly. He still has not gone to trial by the way. Medically and mentally I am not the same. I can never take any type of anti-inflammatory medication again or aspirin. I love to eat lots of vegetables but unfortunately that causes me problems now ever since the damage caused by indomethacin. That is why I am tired of medications and want to go ahead with the stimulator. I am hoping to get off medications. Aside from the head pain I have always been essentially healthy. I have had migraines since age 12 but they would only last a day and I had one maybe once or twice a month until I woke up one day with a headache that would not go away no matter what I did. I don't want medications to mess me up anymore. I cannot live without pain medication at this time, however. If I did not take medications I would be completely nonfunctional. The medications dull the pain enough so that I can still do some of what I need or want to do, but sadly not anywhere near what I want to be doing. I have to limit any time going out into public, driving, being in noisy environment (as much as possible having kids at home!), etc. because afterwards I eventually end up lying on the couch with my ice pack and crying until I go to sleep. This includes birthday parties, holidays, etc. I really would like to get back to a normal life. Hopefully I will not have to fight too hard with the insurance company to get the trial stimulator.
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