"Normal" Life

Every so often, I have little glimpses of what life would be like without the interference of migraine disease.  My migraines are chronic now, with daily pain that usually ranges from a 3 to an 8 on any given day...

BUT, lately, my nerve blocks have been giving me a week or so of pain-free time!  I get the injections every 8 weeks.  I never thought I'd be looking forward to a doctor putting needles in my head over and over again...but I am excited to get them every single time!

This time, I got the occipital nerve block on both sides.  I also got trigger point injections at the temple and eyebrow areas on both sides.  It was an awful lot of shots!  They do hurt quite a bit...I'm not gonna lie about that!  But I left the doctor's office feeling great!  And that feeling is still there--10 days later!  My doctor and I are hoping that this pain relief will last longer than normal this time (because he injected both sides very thoroughly). 

My body still tries to go into "migraine mode," though.  Last night, I had a migraine with everything but the pain.  I had a strong aura, nausea, and vomiting BUT only a slight twinge of pain on my right side.  It wasn't fun, but it sure was better than my "normal" migraines!  I know the nerve block kept the pain away. 

These injections are honestly saving my life right now.  I started them last October (with my newest HA specialist).  I'd had them in the past, but I'm convinced that my past doctors were really not all that skilled with administering the injections.  They just were not successful at all for me!  Until I started seeing my new specialist, that is!  He is just terrific with these shots!  And he always listens to me--checking to be sure I'm feeling numb in the right areas, asking if I think I need a little more here or there, reviewing my responses to past injections to see where to place the next ones...

Before I started with these injections, I remember feeling like I might actually lose my mind from all of the pain.  I mean honestly, seriously, go completely crazy if the pain did not stop for at least a little while.  I am not exaggerating...I was holding on by a thread.   

Migraine pain does funny things to me after a while.  The short migraines are bad, but the ones that last for days are excruciating.  When the pain goes on and on...It starts to feel like it will never end and I am being swallowed whole by it.  When it gets very bad, I will do anything to make the pain go down.  It's a level of desperation a person can only understand if he's experienced it himself.

My preventives are not yet working.  I'm trying new things slowly, but they have yet to have a real impact on my migraines.  But I have good, solid, pain-free periods of time with the help of these shots!  AND I now have dependable rescue meds that actually WILL take the pain away when it breaks through.