Sweet Migraines

Friday I had an appointment with my PCP and found out I was doing awesome with my diabetes. My A1C was at a normal persons range of 5.4. I had also lost 23 pounds since April. Talk about exciting news!

I also had my appointment with my HA Specialist Dr. B., He was just wonderful. My whole appointment lasted 2 hours. He went over all my prior history,and listened to every detail that I could possibly pour out. He upped my Topamax and put me on Zomig. He also gave me Cataflam to use when the Zomig doesn't knock out the migraine for the first dose and Zofran for nausea.

I have been having a lot of stress at work that I cant write about until later, incase anyone from work is reading this, so I will update that when I can.

I am off to lay down with what I thought was just going to be a dull headache that has now turned into a full blown migraine. Lets keep our fingers crossed for the Zomig!

I have had a great migraine free week. I don't know really what I have done. My last migraine was a week and half ago that lasted three terrible days. I was able to find another trigger in aged cheese. I have now cut deli meat, aged cheese, nuts, alcohol, aspartame, and NutraSweet from my diet. Of course just when I really made a true commitment to keep my headache journal up to date, I have only had one migraine to document. Granted that migraine was painful as hell and I thought it would never go away no matter how many triptans I took. I ended up taking 2 Maxalts and a couple of Vicodin. I could go check my journal for the exact doses, but I am lazy and don't feel like getting up. I thought for sure I would end up with a migraine this week as I am having a bit of anxiety due to the fact that I should find out if I got my new job, and it never fails that when my stress level is up a migraine is sure to follow. I guess I am kinda laid back about whether or not I get the position as I blogged about before, so maybe I am not stressed out as I normally would be. Work has been busy busy busy and that for sure will bring out a migraine in people that may have never experienced one before, so again I am left asking myself...what is different. I wish I could just say, who cares. Part of me wants to believe that, maybe they will never come back, maybe that was my last one, but the realist in me knows better. I cant help but wonder is this the calm before the storm, is the next one going to be the worst migraine I have ever had? What if I cant manage it, what if I have to go to the hospital and be treated like a drug seeker for drugs I don't even like, because of the way they make me feel. I do not enjoy the out of my mind feeling, or the so drowsy feeling that I must sleep or pass out, or the way my face goes limp like I have had a stroke. On top of all that the drugs usually do not make the migraine go away, when the drugs wear off the migraine is still there, yes it is less on the pain scale and I can tolerate it for the next day or so until it is completely gone. I am very appreciative of the anti-nausea drugs though. Without those I know I would not battle those fluorescent lights, that for some reason can't be turned down. Anyone else wonder why there is no light switch in the ER rooms, or at least a dimmer?

I had to have another A1C test, which is a blood test that tests my blood sugar over a three month period of time. It was only a couple of hours that my doctor's office was calling to schedule an appointment to discuss the results, so I am sure it was not great. I really have been watching my carbs and my sugar intake, so if my blood sugar is still high then I am going to have to start taking Metformin. I really hate having to get my blood drawn. I am one of those people that my veins are not easy to find and will roll and blow out. Needless to say when I went in on Friday to get my test done I had the nurse stick me three times digging for my vein, then she looks at me as my face I am sure is turning white and asks, "Are you ok?" Umm Nope! She then goes and gets another RN and she finds a vein in my hand that she has no trouble getting the blood out of, but as she pulls the needle out, my vein blows and swells like 2 inches above my hand. I have a solid black and blue bruise all down my hand. I really hope that I don't have to have my blood drawn again anytime soon.

My husband got me an early anniversary gift! I finally got my laptop. He really is better than Santa Claus.

Everyone knows the old saying. It never fails. It seems like every person that I have come in contact with who has heard about my recent diagnoses has an opinion of something I could do or something else that I could have. Enough people! I am seeing a dietitian and nutritionist. I do not have to eat 6 small meals a day no matter if every single diabetic you have ever known has done this. Yes I know that I do not need to go 6 hours without eating something to maintain a healthy sugar level, but seriously I am not waking myself up in the morning to eat. Thank you for reminding me that the drugs that I am using for my migraines are chemicals and are not healthy for my body, and that I need to get a second opinion to see if I really need to be on them. Hell yes I need to be on them. I can already tell the frequency of my migraines has decreased. Sometimes I wish I could just say all the these things on my mind, but I am totally a non confrontational person and I will just grin and bare it until I am able to write about it.

I have been walking anywhere from 1 to 2 miles a day and really getting my heart rate up. Still drinking lots of water, a gallon or more. I am staying way under my daily 180 carb intake. I feel like a making lots of progress, however my sugar is still remaining high. I am seeing my OBGYN tomorrow for some more testing and talking. I am really trying to stay positive.

I had a Migraine on Saturday that I was able to treat with Maxalt well enough to visit some friends. We haven't seen them in a while. Craig and Julie had a baby in February, and boy o' boy or should I say girl o' girl has she grown. She is cute as a button. Thank goodness she looks like her mother, just kidding dad. We watched a movie called You Don't Mess with the Zohan. It was really funny and even I manged to chuckle despite my migraine. Craig can make a mean grilled chicken. In fact he make a mean anything when it comes grilling food. He also makes the best and I mean best salsa I have ever eaten. Good news is I don't have to worry with my diabetes with the salsa or the grilled food, all in moderation I know, I know. I just have to watch out when Julie gets her hand in the kitchen because she can make some delicious gooey butter cookies. Those will be ever so hard to resist. We left kinda early for the night because my neck was still so sore from sleeping on it wrong last Tuesday. However, Julie had one of those messager things and my wonderful husband(who I plan to blog about later because he deserves an entire entry) got the kink out and it was all fixed up by Sunday.

Sunday was a lazy day, even though I felt really great. I really need to start making myself do stuff when I feel good. I did get to clean up the house some.

Just a disclaimer in case I have any readers not that I do, but whatever..here it is..I am probably not going to be this active of a blogger in the future. I am just trying to play catch up so that when I feel like I need to blog about current events such as my neighbor at work painting her nails or the department that sits a few yards away from me decides to pop balloons in spirit for going green..oh yes people these entries will be soon to come..I can do so freely and timely without the need for anyone to have to backtrack.

So yea..diabetes. First word that came to my mind when I heard that lovely diagnoses. SUGAR I love sugar, who doesn't. In fact even when I thought I was doing good things like drinking the ever so yummy Vitamin water I was filling my body with lots and lots of sugar. Now I have never been a health nut, but I would have like to have said I was at least health conscience. Now maybe I am thinking not so much. I have always knew that I could stand to lose some weight, drink lots more water and exercise a whole lot more, but I have always just thrown those ideas to the place where I put things in my mind that I don't like to think about too often, you know that same place where you store your spring cleaning lists. I knew my biggest cut back was going to be soda. I am pretty sure if I were truly honest with myself, and if I cant be honest with myself on this blog then there is no point in writing it, I drank soda all day long and nothing else. What was I going to do? Could I realistically just cut out all soda. I knew I couldn't switch to diet soda because NutraSweet is a poison when it comes to my migraines. When I started the Topamax it came with strict instructions to drink as much water as I possibly could, or I could get kidney stones. Great!.. something as small as drinking water has defeated me so many times in the past I thought I was doomed for failure. Guess what though, water has become a necessity. The slightest bit parched and I am feeling queasy and shaky. I am up to a gallon of water of day with no struggles. I do want to mention that I did find Diet Coke with Splenda, so when I am feeling like I need some caffeine I can have a can of soda. I feel Triumphant!

Migraines are defiantly not sweet, but this is about my new journey with diabetes and migraines.

Imagine having the worst headache of your life taking any OTC drug you can with no relief only to wake up the next morning with blood shot eyes, swollen eye lids, nausea, and a pounding throb in your head that feels like the clock has just struck midnight on New Year's Eve. That was Tuesday...I was scared. I went to the Emergency Room in a panic, only to be put in a room with bright florescence lights with no dim or OFF switch. I was in pain, of course my blood pressure was going to be high no worries that will go down once we find out what is going on with my head. I knew these headaches that I had been getting over probably the past year were not like the same ones I had right before I got my Pseudo-Tumor Cerebri, so I was really nervous as to what could be the cause of these increasingly worse migraines. I had a cat scan done done in the ER and everything was fine. The doctor gave me some Phenergan and Tordol. The Tordol didn't do a thing for me. I was still in some major pain. I had to tell two nurses that my head was still hurting before finally being given some dilaudid. Oh that is some good stuff let me tell ya. Just as I am sitting on cloud nine maybe ten at this point the doctor is going over my release papers and drops the bomb of all bombs.."Did you know you have high blood sugar?" Uh no, (expletive) was my exact response. "Yeah it is pretty high, you need to see your primary care physician as soon as possible, like tomorrow." So I ask, Could this be the cause of my migraines? (Doctor) Well, a spike in your blood sugar up or down could cause a headache. Yes, nod,... but my migraines..., doh said the naughty word again, Oh I forgot to mention that he got a little snippy when I was telling him about my head hurting and I kept calling my head pain a migraine. He was like lets not call it a migraine until you have been diagnosed with migraine, and of course at that point I didn't give a damn what he wanted to call it as long as he made the pain go AWAY! So, anyway I left the hospital a little more scared than when I came in considering I went in with a migraine and left a diabetic, its not like I could have got a refund of my co-pay or anything. Too bad diabetes isn't like a shirt you just love at the store, take it home to try it on and it doesn't fit, so you return it.
I did see my Dr. M the next day. She really is a wonderful caring doctor, who really listens to me and answers all my trillion questions. Of course, she was just as concerned with my sugar as the ER doctor, but she also understood my migraine, a word I can officially use now, not that I really wanted to or anything. I am to go a diabetic learning center to learn all about diabetes which can be any where from 8-10 hours in one day. Please god let me survive this class. I am also on Topamax and Imitrex for my migraines.

I have much more to write, but I this is the end of the first complete day.