Frustrated, In Pain and Exhausted...

Written by

Thu, March 13, 2008

Posted document.write(''+ myTimeZone('Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:11 GMT-0700', '03-12-2008 12:00 AM')+''); 03-12-2008 12:00 AM I always feel like I am defending myself to my My Nurse Practioner (my Neurologist only can see me once a year...so I get stuck seeing the NP) I see her every month and I keep a migraine diary. It is SO frustrating to explain everything to her and then she doesn't even remember 2 days later. Isn't it her job to write everything down and remember??!!!

I called last week to tell her I was tested for influenza and I ended up having it. She didn't want me to come to my appt. because I would just be spreading my illness....plus I was super sick. Anyway, when I talked to her today about the migraine I got last night, she asked why I wasn't at my appt. last week. I told her because of influenza...remember??? She then asked me how I got better so fast....what did she think I was lying about the flu??!! I was sick a week before I was diagnosed and it's almost another week since I was diagnosed (2 weeks!!) I'm much better but I still have the cough. Why do I have to defend myself to her? I am an honest person!

I am still waiting for the Keppra to kick in and I can't take triptans because of my risk of stroke. I also take atenolol and celexa. I take every prophylaxis meds they ask me to take. Why do they make me feel like a drug-seeker when I need pain meds??!! If I'm doing everything they want me to do...and I still have EXTREME pain...am I supposed to just live with it?! I had visual aura, numb face, weak hand and confusion yesterday...the pain came later and it was as bad as it gets. I took the butalbital and Naproxen and it did not work. That is why I called the next morning. I wanted to know what I should do. She told me that a patient was waitng for her and she had already wasted too much time talking to me. She then wrote a prescription for 20 percocet and told me someone had to pick it up. My sister did....and the NP was very upset and said that it looked like I had taken this before. She also said that I needed preventative drugs to work. I realize this...that's why I am on keppra, atenolol andd celexa. I did take percocet before. It was 8 years ago when I delivered my second child and she was 10 pounds 1 ounce. I was given 3 doses in the hospital and sent home with some pills in a bottle. I never even took those pills...they expired and I actually found them way back in my cupboard about 4 years ago and threw them away. If I told my NP this....she probably wouldn't believe me. WHY? I am completely telling the truth.

Two years ago I was given an MRI/MRA. I was given 10 mg of valium because I was so scared to go in the tube. I almost didn't make it through the test....but I prayed and prayed and just made it without having a panic attack. That was the 1st time I EVER had valium and it didn't seem to make me calm down. I told my NP this and she said it was probably because I had taken it a lot and built up a tolerance to it. I told her I had never taken it...not even once, prior to that MRI. She just looked at me like...yeah right! WHY??

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Nancy Harris Bonk

3/14/08 11:09am

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

If we don't have a good relationship with our medical team, it can really play havoc with our well being and treatment plan. It sounds like it may be time to look for a new doctor who is willing to work with you, treat you like a partner in your health care. We have a quiz that might help you decide if you doctor is right for you. You can find that HERE.

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.

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, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com. You can also sign up for our free newsletter about Migraine disease and headache disorders on the home page in the upper left hand corner.

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!

trish

3/17/08 1:47pm

Dear Miriam,

So sorry for you that you have had to go through such a hard time. Sounds like you need a new Dr. who has more time to see you, not schedule you with an overworked NP who clearly does not understand Migraines. I am curious as how they determined you could not take triptons because of stroke risks. I have taken them for 10 years even though my mother,died at 62 of stroke, brother at 56, another brother at 61 of strokes and I have had blood clots myself years ago. At times there is chest pain but that usually is only after a few days of tripton use. My neurologist is great and I believe we are only 2 hours away from you (Gundersen Clinic LaCrosse, WI. Dr. Hutter) They also have open MRI's and give you a choice as to which one you can tolerate. They were so thoughtful to me and kept asking if I was okay. Good luck, All the best to you,

Trish

Miriam36

3/17/08 5:40pm

Hi! The reason I don't take triptans is because my neurologist said they are contraindicated in people who get hemiplegic migraines. I get blindness, numbness, confusion, etc.....I guess we have a greater risk of stroke. Maybe other neurologist feel differently. My OBGN said he would never take a triptan because he feels he thinks they're very dangerous....as far as stroke goes.

I lived in Onalaska for 3 years and I worked in Lacrosse. I saw a neurologist at Gunderson Lutheran for 3 years....I can't remember his name (it was between '95-'98)

and I had my first baby at Franciscan-Skemp. I live in the Twin Cities now. Big Smile

trish

3/18/08 10:23am

Hi Miriam,

Thanks for the reply. I am curious about the triptans because for the first few years of migraines I thought I was having a stroke or brain aneurysm. I went numb on my left side, lost my vision, can't speak well ect.. this happens still at times. Sometimes I get the aura prior to a migraine, most times I do not. I have lost my vision up to 15 minutes in one eye. At first they told my it was a panic attack, I am like, what? Then after about a year they finally figured out it was migraine. I resisted taking triptans because of stroke risk and took nothing for 2 years. My quality of life was not good so I tried many preventatives which did not work & gave Zomig a try. The chest pain scares me alot! I try not to take it unless I know I am going to have a week of migraines(female related :) It does abort an attack most of the time but is scary! I read about a new abortive coming out that does not constrict the blood vessels so I am looking forward to that. I am from LaCrosse and live in Onalaska so maybe we have met Big Smile

Trish

Bonnie Sweeney

3/28/08 5:35pm

Hi Miriam- After reading your letter I want to punch your NP. I think you need to get rid of her, can you? I too am a sufferer of Migranes. I am currently on a washout program for ten weeks. That means no drugs for ten weeks because the doctor thinks all the drugs I tak e for my migranes are now causing them. He told me I could take them in an emergency. So I have been but its hard to suffer when I have a pill that works. Have you tried Relpax. Its the only thing so far that works for me. My migrane is gone within an hour. Big Smile

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