Migraines and Painted Toes

I've suffered from migraines for as long as I can remember.  I found out the hard way that I am allergic to Trip.tan drugs (Imet.rex).  I took one and it landed me in the hospital with heart attack symptoms.  After I got married I just couldn't take it anymore.  They had gotten worse than ever.  I was having 3-5 per week with some that lasted longer than a week.  Some of my worst ones landed me in the ER because the symptoms so closely resembled a stroke.  The first year and a half of my marriage we sadly some of the worst of my life.  I lived in constant agony.  I felt terrible for my husband.  I was a terrible wife.  He confided in me recently that during some of the worst ones he would go in a room alone and just cry begging God to take the pain away from me.  I tried every preventative under the sun.  While some of them worked for a little while none of them had staying power.

Then one day they just seemed to start spacing apart.  Going of the terrible bcp helped tremendously but I know that was not the only cause of them.  Again, I've had these migraines since I was a very young child.  Truthfully, I don't remember a time when I didn't get them.

So, for the last couple of years they have spaced apart a bit.  I would get about 2-3 per month.  While some people thing this is a lot it is nothing compared to what I went through.  I was always nervous about getting pregnant.  Every neurologist I had told me one of two things can happen.  Either they would go away as they do very often with women who get migraines, or they would intensify again.  I prayed for the first option.

The first nine weeks of my pregnancy I had not one single migraine.  Sure i had some pretty wicked headaches.  But anyone who suffers from migraines knows there is a huge difference between a migraine and even your worst headache.  I was elated!  I was sure I was going to luck out and skip the migraines for nine months.  Sweet relief I thought.  I can't remember a time in my life where I went that long without one.

Unfortunately that luck seemed to have run out.  Three weeks ago my migraines have come back...and they have come back strong.  Out of the last 21 days I have had a migraine for 15 of those.  Some of them I have been able to push through.  Something you learn to do when you have been doing it for your entire life.  However some have been absolutely unbearable!

That has been how the last few days have been.  Tuesday night I knew it was coming on.  It starts with an ache in the left side of my neck (my migraines are always on the left). I also get an aura.  It's little dark spotty flashes in my eyes.  In the past I would start popping pills immediately trying to lessen the inevitable.  That isn't exactly an option now.  Within an hour I was in excruciating pain.  I have spent the last couple of days in a pitch black room with 4 ice packs going from my forehead, my left eye, down the back of my head and the left side of my neck.  I tried taking tylenol a few times but as anyone who has migraines will tell you, Tylenol doesn't do squat.  I almost had dh come home today to take me to the ER.  I was in so much pain I thought for sure I was going to have a stoke or something.  It felt like something was going to explode in the side of my head.  I was afraid thought that the doctors would pump me full of something before dh could research the safety of it.  I've learned that doctors sometimes give pregnant women stuff that isn't exactly safe.  But then again having a stroke wouldn't be safe either.  Finally around noon today it started to go away.  Now I just have migraine hangover.  Not fun but much more tolerable.

I have a doctor's appointment on Monday anyway.  I'm going to talk to them about it but I'm not sure they can do much about it.  I did some research and found that some doctors will prescribe pregnant women hydro.codone.  Have you read the risks to that?  Holy crap!  There is no way I'm taking that!

It's rough but I'm trying to be hopeful that this isn't how it's going to be for the whole pregnancy.  I may go completely batty if it is.  I've been praying a lot and practically begging God.  It's kinda funny because there are many times during these migraines that I become sort of semi-aware of things.  There are many times that I don't remember things.  Apparently while I was in that state last night dh came to check on me.  He said it was obvious that I was awake but not with it.  He said I was saying Hail Mary's faster than he could keep up.  So he joined me.  Such a sweetheart.  I have no memory of this at all.


For now I'm feeling alright.  Hungover feeling but alright.  My dh keeps reminding me to offer it up.  It's hard though because during an attack I can't think clearly enough to offer anything up.  It's hard to describe the feeling.  Can you offer things up after the fact?  I'm new at this. :)  I'm still learning the ropes.


On a completely unrelated note...I had a thought the other day.  I was painting my toes, something I do very regularly.  You see, I kinda have this thing with my toes being painted.  I cannot tell you the last time I didn't have polished toenails.  The though of it grosses me out.  I don't think dh has ever seen them not painted and we've been together for almost 10 years (I should have included that in my 10 things).  Anyhoo...so I had this thought.  What the heck am I going to do when I can no longer reach my toes?  I could get pedicures but they're pricey.  I just told dh that he may have to do it for me.  He gave me a pretty strange look.  I'll definitely get a picture if I convince him. :)