Pain in the Head

So I’m now back at the point that I believe I will be visiting my neurologist and get put back on an antiseizure medication.  The frequency of my migraines is now at least 5 a week that require medication.  The other day I had a really strong attack of nausea and couldn’t attribute it to anything except a possible aura of sorts – so I took some NSAIDs and it eventually went away.  I’m contemplating Topamax again, simply because it worked, and because I see it now has a generic out there.  I need to call my insurance company to see if they cover it since their super duper website says it’s rejected and I’m supposed to have coverage on essentially all generics.

Down side is the “dope-a-max” effect that comes with the medication.  I also get tunnel vision episodes with the medication which is unnerving but tolerable.  Since I was a little child I’d get these tunnel vision episodes maybe 2-3 times a year at the most and usually only during falling asleep and as an adult sometimes when drinking alcohol.  This medication triggers is every day nearly and it honestly had my neurologist baffled.

Been busy the past few weeks and really haven’t had much to blog about.  I’ve found that Twitter fills in my need to broadcast to the world more often than writing up a formal post.  Half the time I get through writing a post I realize I’ve been babbling and end up deleting it.

The migraines have been pretty consistent lately.  I get 1-2 attacks a week with most of them responding fairly quickly to over the counter medication.  I talked briefly with my neurologist this week and he said if OTC is doing the job, then we don’t have to look at going back on to anti-seizure medications any time soon.  I don’t take enough of the NSAIDs for them to be an issue with my liver at this point.  I’d like to be on a prophylactic medication but the side effects from the ones I have been on aren’t really ideal for me.  Topamax had such a positive effect on the migraines but making me turn into a stupid idiot was difficult to handle.

School has been going well over the summer.  I’ve been making headway on my iPhone migraine diary and may even have something out there by the end of summer.  I have to remember I’m not doing this to make money on the iTunes store, but rather get a good grade for my graduate Capstone project.  Rushing to get it out to the market isn’t what I would consider a good idea.  However, if I got real world users to help with the process along the way, that could make for a very good final presentation.  On a good note, my neurologist is totally on board with helping me with the application!

Summer is FINALLY here in Wisconsin and we’re having our first 90+ degree day.  Can’t say I’m thrilled for the heat and high humidity, but it’s nice to have the body clock reset after a really long winter.

It’s about time I have another fight with my medical insurance company, Athem Blue Cross Blue Shield.  I received a letter from them at the end of December letting me know that my plan is no longer covering omeprazole (the generic of Prilosec) in 40mg doses.  I am taking the 20mg pills but had my doctor spend weeks getting them to authorize a quantity of two a day, bringing the total dose to 40mg.

I called Anthem today, finally, to discuss this change in my coverage and how it’ll affect me.  Using their handy [sarcasm - it sucks] drug coverage & pricing tool online, I won’t be covered.  Previous experience has shown me that this tool doesn’t take into account authorizations on file and relatively has a mind of its own.  It’s useless.  Anyway, I got a very pleasant customer service representative to understand my dilema.

Nexium works the best for me, but it costs $65 a month or more.  I’ve tried EVERYTHING else and nothing works except Prilosec or its generic in a higher dose.  Prilosec is chemically similar to Nexium and actually contains about 20% of the active material of Nexium.  Fun fact for the day.

The CS rep took the time to talk with a pharmacy specialist, placing me on hold for a good ten minutes.  She said that because my doctor has completed the prior authorization form and they approved it, they’ll cover the prescription.  My renewal for the pills comes up at the end of the month, so I’m crossing my fingers I won’t have WWIII to contend with.  In the end, I could ask my doctor for 90 days of samples, but since I have insurance I might as well make them pay for it.

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I’m happy to say that I’m done with school for this semester and got an A in both of the classes.   The software engineering class was difficult and took a lot of time so I’m glad it was recognized with a good grade.  Next semester I’m taking a project management course and something with IT management over the Internet.  Going to school one night a week will be nice.

The holidays are nearly over and I can’t believe another year is starting.  Next year I’ll be turning 30, will have been together with Tazz for 13 years, had our house for 8 years, been diagnosed with migraines for 7 years.  I have typically established goals for myself in writing on this blog, but never really think about them in such a concrete manner again throughout the year.  To sum up this next year’s goals: be healthy & be happy.  Making a punchlist of dos and don’ts isn’t productive, for me at least.  As long as the choices I make maintain my health and happiness, I’m cool with that.

I’ve had a rash of migraines over the past month that hopefully I can just attribute to stress.  In the past, I would easily have 5-6 episodes a week that would respond to over the counter medication.  However, now I seem to get more frequent spikes of pain that last a few minutes and then go away for most of the day.  Taking any medication doesn’t make sense in these cases as the pain will probably subside before the medication has a chance to be absorbed into my system.  The number of instances of migraines that visibly affect my speech or thought processes are also on the rise.  I don’t normally get overwhelmed with pain to the point where I can’t think straight but at least once in this month I’ve had a migraine that made me feel drunk or like I was stroking out.

Next year my employer’s medical insurance is changing its deductible schedule for physician visits.  My family doctor will increase to $25 a visit and now specialty visits, like to my neurologist, will be increased to $50.  I may see if my family doctor can get my records from my neuro to help with managing the migraines.  I usually only see my neuro once a year but $50 is quite a bit of money to be given the next round of antiseizure medications that help the migraines but put the rest of my body through hell.  I’m sure everybody is going through this same type of change with their benefits, assuming you even have a job during this next year.

Happy New Year everyone.  Lets hope it brings more balance to our lives and a renewed sense of hope.

 I’ve noticed a trend in both family and friends.  The more you are honest about how you are feeling and discussing your ailments, the less people care about them.  It’s almost a paradox – the people you love are supposed to help you through things like pain, sickness, etc.  However, they can be easily overburdened by your chronic syndromes.

My stomach has been pretty wonky since I was 19.  I started taking Pepcid when it first came out on the market and it helped for a while.  It eventually stopped working and I had to make my way up to proton pump inhibitors.  Nexium seems to be “the one” that just works.  Unfortunately, my new employer/insurance doesn’t cover the purple pill.  Protonix just came out with a generic but it’s not the best.  So, the GERD and hiatal hernia have been ruining my life.  Drinking hot tea helps calm it down but ultimately my weight (which is going down) and drinking soda are the primary factors. 

I’m babbling.  My point is, it’s a fine line you have to walk/balance on to keep your family from being numb.  I think we too easily forget we can suck it up for a while, if we’re actively trying to prevent accessing migraine triggers, bad foods for our heads and stomachs, etc.  Part of me says screw off, if you don’t like it then you can kiss my ass.  The other part of me says that it’s hard enough for me going through it and I should use my external help wisely.

Part of the other issue that I’ve discussed before is both the migraines and GERD are internal things.  A little red light doesn’t start blinking on your forehead to confirm you’re ill.  (Although, I think sometimes we see blinking lights as an aura.)  You know people, even your close friends, do think you’re either overreacting or acting in general if you get symptoms frequently.

Do I show the pain, or just mask it with a smile?

Over the past few weeks I’ve considered going back to my neurologist for a tune-up. The frequency and duration of my headaches has been anything but consistent the past 18 months. I can go a week without any pain and then have a 7-day span that feels like the world is ending and I’ll never be without the headaches. I’m just not quite sure what good is going to come out of seeing him again.

I’ve been on Topamax, Depakote, verapamil, triptans, melatonin, indomethacin, celebrex to name a few. None of them really worked. Is that strange? I’m not willing to stay on any more anti-seizure medications. I was not myself on Topamax and I’ve realized I’m probably better off not screwing with my neurotransmitters if I don’t have to. Ultimately, coming back to Tylenol and ibuprofen has proven more effective than any $50/month medication.

I’m not expecting some new miracle cure that developed in the past year to fix it all for me. I think at least I’d like to get another MRI done for comparison to the two others I’ve had. While I’ve been assured that nothing like a tumor or clot is responsible for the pain, I’d like to stay up on it. Maybe some day I’ll make a mobile made up of brain scans. I think that would be pretty.