Let's Talk Migraines.

I have a long, long history with migraines. Or headaches because I didn't know until recently that they were migraines.

Starting WAAAAAY back in 2006 I got headaches so much. Like almost daily. It was horrible. I went to the doctor on base at Travis AFB and nobody cared. They gave me some medicine, I'm sure. Or maybe not. I really can't remember. But then, I got pregnant with Makayla soon after. In 2007. So I didn't take any medication and I didn't need to because I had no more headaches! All the hormones and stuff my body was going through with my pregnancy and my headaches vanished. Being pregnant was like a miracle drug for me. I loved it.

So then I got unpregnant, you know, when she was born and my headaches came back. Of course. It took a while because I was breastfeeding and still had lots of hormones, but they came back. And they knocked me down. And then I got pregnant with Addison in 2009 and they disappeared again. Miraculous! Pregnancy is the best thing in the entire world.

Then she came out in 2010 and I was good. For a while. And then BAM. Headaches all the time again. It's debilitating. Exhausting. Painful. I couldn't do anything.

And ever since then I have had horrible headaches. For the past couple years, maybe since 2012, they have been SUPER bad. Like so bad that I need to lay down all day long bad. And Adam has to take care of our three precious angels while I'm trying not to die in the bedroom. That usually happens about once a month, totally randomly. Which also sucks because if we have somewhere to go or something to do, well, my headaches don't care. Like last year on Thanksgiving, I got one that was that bad. Adam's family was here and I was sleeping while they made our Thanksgiving dinner. Talk about feeling horrible about yourself.

So, I've been to like a gazillionty doctors about this mess. And nobody ever seems to care. My doctor in Ohio gave me a prescription for Naproxen, which helps about 80% of the time. But I don't want a drug. That's a freaking band-aid to me. I want to know what is wrong with my brain. When we lived in Ohio, my doctor wouldn't send me to a neurologist because my headaches were okay after the meds. Most of the time. And that was good enough for her.

And now we are in Texas. I went to a new doctor (obviously since my doc from Ohio didn't move with us, duh.) for my numbing in my right hand. And she finally, finally, finally listened to me and sent me to a neurologist!! I have been waiting for this moment since 2006! Glory hallelujah!! I will finally get some answers and an MRI and all the things!

My appointment finally comes. My girls are all in school and I am flyin' solo to my neuro doc appointment. Yay me!

It is a total. bust. You guys, this doctor was awful. First of all, he was picking his nose and his ears the entire time he is talking to me. A freaking brain doctor. Ew. Maybe he was trying to make sure his brain wasn't falling out? I dunno. But it was nasty. And he asks me all these questions and then tells me I have a classic migraine. After I told him that light doesn't hurt me and noise only bothers me because I want my kids to shut it. Classic migraine.

Then he goes out of the room, without even telling me what he's doing, and comes back with three medications. THREE. No. Just no.

Two of them are for when I get my headaches, to help stop them. And the other one is one that I am supposed to take for the rest of my life to keep the headaches at bay. He then proceeds to tell me that is an ANTI-SEIZURE MEDICATION. What?! That's just not happening. I don't have freaking seizures. He said that most of his migraine patients take this mess and then have no more problems. Well that's great, but I don't trust the FDA and I definitely don't want MORE medications. So I'm struggling with this because I just don't want to take them.

So I don't take them. And then my mom is here and I have a horrible headache (probably from all the nasty 'food' that I eat) and I take one of these stupid meds that he gave me for when I have a headache. And ALL my symptoms get worse. My headache gets even worse than it was. I can barely stand up to go to bed. And then once I'm in bed, I can't even go to sleep because my brain is about to explode out of my skull. You know what? One of the side effects of this 'medicine' is that it causes headaches.

Let's get this straight. You, Doctor Nose and Ear Picker, gave me a headache medication that CAUSES headaches? I don't. I can't even. I don't even know. I just. Um, what?

So I almost died that night. It was horrible. I sniffed my bottle of peppermint essential oil until I fell asleep. I also took a Xanax (prescribed, thank you very much) and I didn't die.

But it was awful.

I still get headaches every two or three days. I'm not taking the anti-seizure medication and I'm not taking any of that other junk he gave me. I won't and I can't do that to myself. I'm supposed to have a follow up appointment on November 6th and I'm going to cancel. Hopefully I can see another neurologist that wants to get to the root of the problem and not just slap yet another band-aid on this mess.

Who knows? Maybe doing Whole 30 in a few days will clear this right up. I'm learning quickly that the food or 'food' we eat has a lot to do with how we feel and our physical ailments and diseases.

I'll keep you posted.