Coping when at work

By tshiel Thursday, January 17, 2008

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There's only one more hour left in the day, and I've had a migraine since last night. It's on the right side of my head, so I know it's one that will last a few days. I am on rescue medication, Relpax and Zomig, but I'm out of both and don't have the money to pick up my refills. I took my last Zomig this morning before I came to work, but it only works part of the time. Relpax is a godsend, but with a prescription of 9 pills costing $56, it gets very expensive when you sometimes get 3-4 migraine episodes a week.

I've been at my current job only since October, and don't want to be known as one of those who has to leave all the time due to "headaches", so I'm sitting in my cubie with my sunglasses on. This is the dilemma that I face living with migraine.

The good thing is that I'm a librarian, so it's reasonably quiet at work. The bad thing is that the migraine disease is so poorly understood, so that I feel that I have to stay and suffer when I should be home or in the ER.

I know I'm not alone with this disease, but sometimes it feels as though I am. My husband tries to be supportive and understand what I go through, but can someone really understand if one they've never experienced the kind of pain that an episode can bring?

Comments (4) | Add comment

Eileen Gray

1/17/08 5:59pm

You are on a rescue medication as well as your abortives of Relpax and Zomig?

Are you on any preventive treatment?

I know it's difficult at work. I go through it too. And everyone wants to chime in with their two cents. I'd rather just be mute for the day, personally.

I hope your migraine went away and that you get to go home and relax!

Take it easy!!

-Eileen

tshiel

1/18/08 7:03am

Hi Eileen -

My neuro took me off all medications except the Elavil, Relpax and Zomig. I have to stick to a strict sleep schedule and take a low dosage of the Elavil two hours before bedtime every night. I also have prescription sunglasses with the migraine lenses, so that helps a little. I still have the migraine and will be staying home today. If it doesn't break soon, I'll go to the ER, but only as a last resort. I hate going to the ER.

Sad

Katinthecorner

1/18/08 11:48am

Mine got to the point I had to explain what was going on, and they have been really cool about it. I try really hard not to let it get in the way of my job, but they have been really understanding about my needing to take a few hours off in the afternoon if I really need it. Even if they can't understand migraines, maybe they have someone else in thier family who has a chronic illness/pain condition, so they may be able to sympathize on some level. I don't know your boss, so I can't tell you for sure, but it might be worth a try. Hope you feel better today =)

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

1/18/08 12:40pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

It is not easy coping with Migraine disease, even under the best circumstances. When we are in pain, it is the pits. You've found a spot where you will be in good company, we totally understand.

I've never heard of "migraine lenses" for sunglasses. But keeping the same sleep schedule is very important. Have you ever kept a Migraine diary to identify and manage any Migraine triggers you may be having? Click HERE for the diary. We also have information on triggers, management, and a Migraine food trigger workbook you can download HERE.

Your preventive, Elavil may need re-evaluating if there is not a reduction in the number of Migraine attacks you are having. There are over 100 preventive medications to treat Migraine, so try not to lose hope. Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up!

Medication Overuse Headache, MOH, can occur when we use certain OTC and/or prescriptions 2-3 days a week. These can include triptans. The only was to stop MOH, is to discontinue the offending medication cold turkey. If we have MOH, not preventive medication on earth will work.

Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

One of the best ways to stay current with Migraine and headache disorders is to sign up for our free newsletter. Click on the green Free Newsletter button on the home page.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, MyMigraineConnection.com

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

PS: If you receive this message from more than one of us, please excuse the overlap. Thanks!

Coping when at work

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