Right now I am trying to work through a migraine that has lasted for FIVE DAYS.* Yes FIVE DAYS. It is torture. I have tried Tylenol, cold washcloths on my forehead, caffeine, dark rooms, exercise (this one in particular did not go well), etc. I had a tough week last week both traveling for a speaking engagement (which went well- yay!) and then two big events on Friday (they also went well despite my migraine- yay!). I spent most of the weekend trying to rest and yesterday I decided that I had enough. I called the on-call doctor and explained what was going on. She didn't think that I had anything to worry about but wanted to make sure that I didn't have pre-eclampsia, so I was once again off to Labor & Delivery. Once I was checked to make sure that I didn't have pre-eclampsia she said that the hospital could give me something for the pain.
CP is still in LA and won't be back until next weekend so I headed out to L & D by myself. I wasn't really too worried but was looking forward to any drugs the hospital could give me that I could take to ease the pain. I am not a fan of taking drugs, but four days of pain was quite enough for me. Once I got in my room I gave a urine sample, had blood taken and was hooked up to the contraction monitor (no contractions as expected) and the baby heartbeat monitor (normal heartbeat). The nurse turned off the lights for me and closed the blinds. My blood pressure was taken every 10 minutes and stayed consistent around 116/62. My labs came back just fine.
I wasn't dehydrated, but the resident OB decided to put me on a saline drip while I was there anyway. About an hour later the nurse put a drug into my IV (not sure what it was called but it started with an F or PH). I lay down and tried to rest while I waited for the other medicine. The pharmacy took a while, so it was almost an hour before someone came in to check on me. I did feel a bit better and my headache had subsided somewhat, but I was pretty sure that it was only because I had laid down and closed my eyes (which always seems to help but then when I wake up the pain ratchets up again).
The resident OB decided to write it off as a tension headache and not really listen to what I was telling her (she chalked it up to me grinding my teeth even though I told her that I have a mouth guard).
Long story short, because I was feeling a bit better and I didn't have anyone to drive me home in case the other medicine made me sleepy/loopy, the resident OB sent me home with a Benadryl and another medicine that has a mix of acetaminophen and caffeine. I took them when I got home but they didn't help much. I'm feeling very frustrated that this is going on five days so I have called my doctor today to see if there is anything else I can take while pregnant.
I seriously hope that this is not my new normal for the next 9 weeks.....or (shuddering) even longer!!!
*I have never been officially diagnosed with migraines, but I have a lot of the classic symptoms of migraines. They only happen once every couple of months and I can usually get rid of them by staying in a dark room with no noise for a few hours/half a day so I have never seen anyone for them.
11 comments:
Oh this sounds tough! I don't know if I could give a presentation during a migraine... hope you feel better soon
I've heard migraines can get worse with pregnancy. I really hope that you can shake this one soon!
Oh no, this sucks. Hope you can find relief soon, whether by drugs or because the migraine subsides by itself. But how annoying that the doctor didn't take you seriously!
Oh my god this is terrible. Migraines are the only thing that stop me in my tracks. I will work through anything else (even went back to work 4 days after my appendectomy), but a migraine is something else. So, so sorry and I hope you find relief soon!
Oh, wow! I'm worried about my migraines getting worse, especially since what I had been prescribed for them was naproxen.
Yikes! So sorry you have a migraine going on this long. I have a friend that used to get many migraines and often. Each one lasted 72 hours (exactly) and involved nausea and vomiting. I'll ask her what she did during pregnancy for them. I know now she has some preventative medication that finally works!
I've never had a migraine (knock on wood), but my sister gets them and I know enough to know (and, therefore, so should have the doctor) that a migraine is VERY DIFFERENT than a tension headache or a toothgrinding headache. Ugh.
Ugh - sounds awful! That's frustrating when the docs won't listen to you and tough being pregnant and not being able to take many drugs.
Annoying that they didn't seem to pay much attention to this while you were at the hospital and chalked it up to tension or teeth grinding! I hope it goes away soon for you.
Migraines are awful. I had my first in 6th grade, thanks to an allergic reaction to cheddar cheese. I've since outgrown that allergy, but still get migraines if I drink red wine, if I'm stressed or if I'm dehydrated. Excedrin has a migraine medicine that has always helped with mine (stash away that reco for after-baby's birth).
So glad it wasn't preeclampsia. A massive headache that wouldn't go away was sort of the first sign we noticed and what landed me in the hospital. I still have the headache 2 weeks later so I feel for you. It's so hard to function sometimes.
I am super late to this post so I hope by now you have managed to get past it.
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