Hello there, my name is Krys & I have been a blogger over at a little place called A Healthy State of Mind for two years now. I was really excited when Kristine asked me to be a guest blogger here on her brand new blog, Finding Joy in the Midst of Chronic Pain. I feel very honored to take part in her new journey into the blogger world.
To be honest, I felt slightly hesitant at first to write about my own experiences with chronic pain. It wasn't because I didn't want to talk about them, nor was it fear of sharing my thoughts openly... It was because I feel that I am one of the lucky ones. By lucky, I mean that I am able to get out of bed every morning. I am able to go grocery shopping, clean the house, plant in my garden. I am able to do things & because of that I find myself often undervaluing the pain I do have. There are so many people out there worse off than me & more often than not I feel guilty for complaining. A little advice... Don't. Don't ever feel guilty for hurting. Don't ever think that just because someone hurts more or even differently than you, that your experiences are insignificant. It matters & you matter. Your pain, emotions, feelings, life, is just as important. Never forget that!
Moving on & back to a little bit more about myself. I am currently diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Anxiety Disorder, & Migraines with aura. It certainly is a nice little cocktail of some invisible illnesses & some not so invisible side effects. All of which are often misunderstood by those who have never experienced them. Everyone has bad days right? Right. But not everyone has them nearly everyday. Anyway, today I am going to talk about Migraines.
Migraines with aura are actually fairly new for me. I've always had headaches growing up, but last year on a road trip up to the Appalachian trail I was thrown into a full fledged migraine complete with aura. Migraines with auras are actually rare & only account for 20% of all migraines. Lucky me, right? When I first experienced the aura my first emotion was fear. I was nearly blinded by a bright wavy line that started off small & eventually took over my entire line of vision. I could not see & I had no depth perception what so ever. I cried & after it passed, I got home & I researched it. An aura actually comes before the migraine & can last up to twenty minutes. Once the aura passes the pain from the migraine begins.
Since my road trip last year, I tend to experience two to three migraines a month. Most of the time with aura. I still wonder why they started when they did, but even my doctor couldn't explain it. Sometimes I think the change in the weather brings them, other times bright lights from a computer screen. But either way, they happen & they hurt.
My Doctor prescribed me a migraine medication called Sumatriptan to take with my double strength Naproxen to treat my Migraines. He made it seem like if you take this magic white pill when your first experience an aura, the migraine will be stopped before it even starts. You'll be all better! Well, the first time I took it, it made me really sick. I was nauseated & warm inside my own skin. I was so dizzy that I had to lay down & eventually fall asleep because all of that on top of the migraine was just too much. When I saw my doctor again I told him that I would not be taking the Sumatriptan again. I told him how sick it made me & after staring at me blankly, he made me feel as if I took the medication wrong. Well, okay then!
I recently tried the medication again, I even took it with food to be on the safe side. Well, apparently I did not take it wrong the first time because it made me even sicker this second time. The muscles in the back of my neck & shoulders tightened & would not release. And, the migraine came anyway. So again, I laid in bed, aching, stiff, nauseous, & in pain. I will not take the medication again... I saw no point in making myself sicker.
That's the funny thing with medications, they affect everyone differently just like illnesses. You never know who is fighting
a battle with their own body or even with the miracle medications that the doctors prescribe.
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