A Scary but important step for me

Tonight i managed my first ever self administered tramal injection. now this is not something the average migraineur should be doing but for those of you who need shot and tend to have pain peaks when your doctor is unavailable, it can become something you need to consider. and tonight i did. i wont pretend it wasn't scary to do, given it was the first time... but it wasn't as bad as i thought. that said there's not reason to worry about me abusing the privilege! it's certainly not pleasant! but it works and i'm proud of myself for managing it.

some tips from the experience:

• if you inject into a leg sit on a chair or on the edge of the bed
• stay calm
• do NOT push the plunger down too quickly (i did this and ended up with my leg itching for some time.)
• remember to clean the site before and after
• dispose of everything properly. you should be able to get a sharps container from your local council or similar. if not your doctor should be able to advise you where to get it.
• and remember to get a good night's sleep!

that's all for now.

Something to try

As with everything, i'm not guaranteeing this. but it did help me with my (continuing) epic migraine, so i'll post it here in case it's a help for others: massage! lowers stress and loosening things up seems to help for a while. i doubt it would abort a migraine, but anything that eases pain (and possibly prevents a migraine? who knows?) has got to be a good thing. here in aus, most extras cover will pay some towards massage (as well as other alternative treatments) and without hospital cover, are not too expensive. so may be worth thinking about.

anyway, other things related to me:
i got my ct scan results and they're clean. that's a relief. my doctor has okayed me upping my tourettes meds as my tics are starting to get to me again, i've only done this as of friday, but it seems to be helping already. the tics are still larger body areas, but significantly less pronounced. which is decrease in stress. i've also gotten a referral to a neurologist who visits locally, and will be looking into getting an appointment soon. he may not be able to do more than my gp is, but i feel it's worth trying.

Vent, Whine and some coping tips.

To start, the migraine i mentioned in my first post continues. it's making me miserable and touchy. although my last tramal shot has brought my pain levels down to barable. i thought i'd make a little summary of some of the coping tricks i use:

• keep lights off or dimmed.
• keep up fluids, especially water.
• eat! even if it's only something light and only once or twice a day.
• rest. relax. sleep. these are important ways to keep pain levels down.
• see your doctor. (obviously!) but be patient if treatment doesn't result in pain going away immediately.
• take pain medication and preventative medication as direction. messing with these can cause then to stop working or even cause rebound pain.
• keep yourself informed. migraine is a little understood disease, but there's more research and understanding each and every day. both from the medical profession and the shared experience of other sufferers. learn what you can, being informed WILL help you get the best treatment.

For now i'm going to make some soup and go back to feeling sorry for myself, and then get some more sleep.

new blog

spent the entire of the last week with a migraine so i've decided to blog my experiences and knowledge. i know there's a lot of other migraine related blogs out there, but with migraines there's never too much info.

stay tuned.