Still No Answers

I am thinking that my readers are going to get tired of me writing about this, but….

Today I went back to my neurologist.  Last week I had my 2^nd MRI last week.  The first MRI was of my brain and was clear.  This one was of my cervical spine and again, came up negative.  Of course this is good news, but now where do we go from here?  After suffering with these daily headaches for just about six months now, I am still at a loss.

My neurologist is increasing my newest medication.  I am hoping that I will be able to take it without drowsiness – or other symptoms that are possible.  I have noticed some reactions to the medication, but I have only been taking it at night so they are not affecting me negatively.  I will have to take it for a few days and see how my body reacts.

I wanted something to show up on that last MRI – nothing terrible of course, just something!!  Something that would give me a direction to go in to start to get rid of them!

I have tried so many medications, so many “tips and tricks”.  The headaches started in January, so they are not stress related because of my mom and Francine.  My diet never changed, (except for the few weeks I went gluten free to see if that would help – it didn’t).    I tried going to a chiropractor for a few weeks, and it felt great while there, but once I left, the headaches came back and often with a vengeance!

I thought perhaps it was something in my classroom or at home that I was reacting to, but there is no rhyme or reason there either.  I get them at school, home – even while we were away this weekend staying in a different place.  I have changed my pillows, used heating pads, ice packs…something eventually has to work doesn’t it???

Again, this is not a plea for sympathy or attention.  I know that many people knew I was headed for another MRI and another visit to the neurologist, so I am just letting them know.  I will keep trying different things until I finally find one that works.

This new medication twice a day could be the key…if not, it will be back to the doctor for a try at something else.  I am not giving up till I find a way for them to stop.  I will be aggressive, more so, than I usually am because it is getting to the point of not being able to function on some days.   That is not me.  I am always going non-stop and I am not going to let them beat me.

Headache

I am still suffering from these headaches that I have been getting nearly everyday since January 1st.  I have been to my GP doctor, my OBGYN, a chiropractor, and most recently a neurologist. Tomorrow, I hope to get some answers.  I will get my second MRI in two months.  The first was of my brain.  This one is of my cervical spine.  I have been prescribed so many different medications, I am beginning to feel like a lab rat!!  I am not against taking medicines at all!  I just wish we could find one that would work.

I find that the hardest part of having them, is that I don’t like to let on to others when I am feeling weak, or sick.  Why burden them with my aches and pains?!?!    This has gotten to an unbearable level though.  Not necessarily the pain of them, but the frequency and duration.  I have not taken anytime off of work and I am trying to manage them as best as I can.  I am so grateful to everyone who has given me ideas and suggestions of what I could/should try, (and I don’t write that sarcastically).  Truly, I am.  I know that they are just trying to help.   I have been told to try acupuncture, (but needles in my head freak me out a bit), medical marijuana, (funny for a girl who has never even smoked a cigarette), a gluten free diet, and all sorts of natural and holistic remedies.

If they began after my mom and Francine dying, I’d totally blame it on stress, but these started three months before that.  I could probably say that I have had about ten days that were headache free since this all began.  They all differ in severity and in location, though most recently they have been focused around the back of my head near my spine, hence the reason for this new MRI.

So tomorrow, I will get up early and head over to get this done.  The sooner I do it, the sooner I hope to get some answers.  Tonight’s headache was a rough one.  Hoping to get some relief from one of my new meds, and then sleep this one off.  I don’t write this to ask for sympathy or pity.  I just know that I have not been quite myself lately and there is a reason for it.  The tiredness, the aches and pains, if I can get rid of all of those, I will feel like I can begin to be like my old self again.

Nonsense, or another coincidence?

Today, I HAVE to continue my blog on coincidences.  In February, I wrote one of my blogs about finding pennies, https://aprojectforkindness.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/find-a-penny-pick-it-up/

In that blog, I had written that I had been told, that because it reads, “In God we trust,”  that when we find one, we should count our blessings from God, and that we should trust that God has placed it in our way for a reason, therefore thanking him for our blessings at that moment! I have been finding lots of pennies since my mom died, (but I always find them – I think I am just noticing them more).  Several people have told me that finding pennies are signs from our loved ones.  All superstitions, I know, but today my strange coincidences continued.

Many of you know that I have been suffering from headaches for about five months now.  After several doctors, an MRI, different medications and visits to a chiropractor, I finally saw a neurologist today.  To get to her office, I had to pass the cemetery  where my mom and Francine are buried.  As I drove by, I decided that I would stop there on my way home to “visit” with them, so I said out loud as I passed by, “See you later mom”.  I got to the doctor’s office and sat down in a chair to wait to be called on.  The receptionist called my name and I went up to do the usual paperwork for a first time patient.  I went back to my seat, and lying there right in the middle of the chair, was a penny.  I smiled, thought of mom, gave it a little rub and put it into my pocket.

I went in to the doctors office, and as she entered the room, I knew that I had met her somewhere before – I just could not place where.  I even said to her, “I think I know you from somewhere”, but neither of us could place where, and I don’t think she recognized me…yet.  My check up was going on routinely and we began talking about family history.  I had already told her about my mom and Francine passing away, (not the details), but just because I wanted her to know that these were not stress headaches due to them dying.  They started months before that.  I mentioned my mother’s heart history and suddenly she asked me what my  mom’s name was.  I told her and she asked if she had been a patient at St. Barnabas a few years ago on “2300”, (that was a floor on the hospital she had been on that time).  I said yes, and we realized that must of been why I recognized her.  We continued going over family history when all of a sudden, it hit me!!  This doctor was the woman who was dealing with Francine’s brain injury just a few weeks ago.  She and I had been talking several times during that day about the severity of her brain injury.  We both realized now that we did indeed “know” each other.  She realized who I was and she asked about our family and how we were all doing.  She was concerned for my brother, and expressed her sympathy.  I told her about our close knit family and how we were all there for each other and she said she could tell that from the way we all were at the hospital.

I did not leave  with any new answers for my headaches, but I will have another MRI, this time of my cervical spine, and a new medication to try.  I am hopeful, and I feeling quite positive after this visit.  Was it the penny?  Did it just give me that feeling that I needed to walk out of there with a positive attitude?  I don’t know, but I do know that the penny wasn’t from my  mom this time, but from Francine.  As I walked out of the office building, I actually burst into tears.  So many emotions were filling me.

Oh!!!  And did I did not even mention, that as I walked into the building, there was a lot of construction going on.  A new cement sidewalk had just been laid and in the base of it someone had carved into it, “DREW”.  The name of my son, who has had numerous visits to different neurologists over the last year due to his concussions – another coincidence?!?!?!  Perhaps, but for me I am taking it as another positive sign, knowing that we are going to get to the bottom of this and have an answer and some relief soon!