Neurologist and CA Sunshine

Sigh! I awoke at 2:45 AM with sharp head pains (upper cranial) and sat at my desk reading for a while. By 4:15 AM my head felt better with only the "pressure" feelings, but little or no actual pain. I tried to get back to sleep, but then my lower back was killing me and I twisted and rolled until 5 AM and then got up again. I took two (2) Extra Strength Doan's tablets and went back to bed at 5:30 AM. I slept until about 6:45 AM and then got up and had breakfast.

As I ate, I was feeling quite a bit of nausea, the usual head "pressure", and quite weary. I sort of wrote most of these feelings off, based on the very slight amount of sleep I'd had during the night.

I showered, shaved and dressed for my Neurologist visit and observed while driving to the office that I felt much better. This might be simply a function of the typically beautiful California weather, but I was impressed with the change nonetheless.

I reviewed my past two weeks with the Doctor and we decided to cut back to one (1) Verapamil per day, immediately. I'm to observe results for a couple of weeks and see if the nausea lessens. We also discussed trying the newer Imitrex migraine preventative drugs if no positive results from the Verapamil are indicated. The Doctor is aware that I had no success with this family of drugs several years ago, but the drugs have evolved, my headaches are quite different now, and I couldn't find any record of dosage or frequency from those early days.

We discussed my lack of exercise and he agreed that this might be the root of my recurring lower back pain. I'm going to start tomorrow with three consecutive days of Physical Therapy sessions and will probably do three miles on the treadmill before I go for the first session.

We discussed and agreed that ideally a physical solution would be better than a chemical one, but that drugs without the rebound problems would be better than messing with Excedrin again.

OBSERVATIONS: I noticed, as my Wifey seemed to already expect, that I felt much better within minutes of stepping outside. In addition, I think how good I felt last week while out having lunch with a friend. I'm also aware that I feel exhausted, but that is probably due to the limited amount of actual sleep I've had lately. This sounds like a simple thing to correct, BUT I am still paranoid about getting a bad headache and the feelings of nausea do not encourage activity either.

This is the same old FEAR problem. I think I tend to make myself worse, because I'm expecting the worst. If nothing is happening, I start thinking about it and my imagination takes over. A dangerous loop of negative thinking that seems to really cloud any real physical problems I might have.

I may have to just force myself out into the back yard for an hour or so and build from there.
I'm going to go make a sandwich and sit outside and read for a while.

Have a PAINFREE Life,

- Frank

Reference Links:
Imitrex - Imitrex Brand Information
Sumatriptan - Medline Plus Info on the generic migraine medications
Verapamil - Medline Plus Info on Verapamil
Fear of Headache - ACHE article regarding Coping with the Fear of Pain