Testing, Testing, 123

(Probably a boring blog post so you can ignore this if you want. Just writing because I need to remember this to tell the Neurologist next month and since this is basically my journal you get to all read it!}

The last few months, ok really 7 and I can narrow it down because it is since Audriana has been born, I have had migranes constantly everyday non-stop. It's awesome. {Please note sarcasm}. I don't remember having them very much before that.

Long story short after being on a prescription for the pain and being diagnosed with tension headaches 7 months ago I went to a Neurologist two weeks ago. I went in for a MRI and Sleep Test very quickly as well as a new prescription that has given me aweful side effects and may or may not work for me in 3-4 weeks. Seriously??

First the MRI. I have never ever had this done before and of course I was NOT excited about the closed space concept. Since the doc appt. was on a friday they couldn't do it until monday so I got the weekend to freak out about it. But I went in, got it done without freaking out in there, but if it would have been longer than 45 minutes I would have told them no more! Luckily he kept me very informed on how much longer I had to be in there. Of course the part where they injected me with a dye was kind of weird especially because I hate needles. But I got it all done and the results were normal. So I have some very expensive pictures of my brain to show everyone who wants to come see them! Phil says he is going to keep them for Jordan to show him I have a brain (RUDE I know.)

Second I had a sleep test which they called right after my MRI and wanted to get me in that night. Ugh um ok. I wanted to get it all over with anyway. So I went in he stuck glue everywhere in my hair for the sensors and told me to sleep away. Kind of weird. I actually went in there because he wanted to see if there was a chance I had apnea since that is the most common sleep disorder and if you don't get sleep it causes migranes. (this is what Phil has, he stops breathing 400 times an hour, I do it 4 and the average person does it 10 according to the doc.!) Anyway test results back and I don't have apnea, but I do have a sleeping disorder that I don't know if it has a name. But basically the average person in the sleep lab needs to get 20-25 percent of REM sleep. I am getting less than 10 percent. Fun times.

So what does that mean? I get more prescriptions. I got another prescription that is suppose to help with headaches and help me sleep and it actually isn't helping me sleep I am still taking a few Advil PM with it. But the migranes aren't feeling like someone is stabbing my head over and over again, just a few times or maybe squeezing it now which is a big improvement. I am very hopeful they are working for that. However the other side effects of these pills are making me feel basically morning sickness and weakness (NOT pregnant at all, all medication is doing it). I have also lost feeling in my fingers for a few hours each night the last few nights. It' the getting up and down which is what causes the black outs I had it before and the medication has increased it from once a week to 5 times a day or more and apparently I am losing my mind, at least I feel like it especially the concentrating part. I can tell the days I blog and have been sick because I go back and read it-my writing is not the best that is for sure! So you can probably see the days I am not feeling great. Between the two pills for the migranes I am not sure which one I would rather have, aweful migranes and sickness or all the side affects associated with the medications. I am trying to be hopeful they will taper off as my body gets used to them. With the first prescriptions my doctor told me the side affects were going to make me feel dopey, grumpy, and sleepy. I came home to tell Phil apparently I am going to be 3 of the 7 dwarfs!

Mostly I feel bad for Phil through all of this. He has to put up with the 3 of the 7 dwarfs (apparently). On the bad days he's had to come home after a long day of work and help me even more with 3 bouncing off the wall kids (ok just 2 Audriana just laughs at the boys), clean up the mess they made that I couldn't clean and do a ton more after work.

And if all of this doesn't work he wants to send me in for a spinal tap to check for spinal fluid because the MRI won't show that. But I am not too keen on that idea especially the whole big needle/pain thing so hopefully all this works.

Anyway I wasn't going to write this long post because I felt it sounded like a poor me kind of thing or people would think they couldn't ask me to do any design work or photography. Don't worry about that ask away, if I don't feel like I can I won't. I also know some have asked about it and heard that we were getting testing done so here's the information.