Just simply waiting..... and waiting......and waiting......

If we are not all to aware of constant waiting.  Go to the doctors for an appointment and sit in a chair, an uncomfortable one at that, and wait.  Of course way past the time we should because I don't know many doctors that run on time.  We go to the pharmacy to get medicine and hope they are done, after waiting in line to pick them up, is it ready, if not we have to wait.  We call the doctor to tell them the new medicine is not working, the old medicine has stopped working, the pain levels are higher than usual and we wait for the phone call back. We take the pain medicine and wait for it to work, we go to bed and wait for sleep to come and the important of them all we are all just waiting, and of course praying, hoping and dreaming, of a cure.  

My wait today is a combination of many of them.  I had to call the neurologist today, again reporting the attempt at removing from the nortriptylin and not replacing it with anything is yet another failure.  I am no longer constantly feeling as though my head is swimming and every time I stand up I will pass out, but, my migraines and hemicrania continua that has been under much better control, has become horrific again.  I am not sure how  many of you have migraines.  I have suffered from them since I was eight.  Then about 10 years ago I started with a constant headache and nothing that ever helped my migraines took it away.  It took almost 4 years to diagnose because it is a rare condition, but then on top of migraines, they discovered I suffer from hemicrania continua.  This is the definition 

Hemicrania continua is a chronic form of headache marked by continuous pain that varies in severity and always occurs on the same side of the face and head.  Superimposed on the continuous but fluctuating pain are occasional attacks of more severe pain.  The headache may last from minutes to days.  Symptoms fall into two main categories: autonomic, including runny nose, tearing, eye redness, eye discomfort, sweating, and swollen and drooping eyelids; and migraine-like, including nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Most patients experience attacks of increased pain three to five times per 24-hour cycle. This disorder is more common in women than in men. Physical exertion and alcohol use may increase the severity of headache pain in some patients. The cause of this disorder is unknown.

There is two forms- chronic, with daily headaches or remitting, which means you will have it for 6 months or so it will go into remission and then occur again.  I of course have the chronic one, no break for me, lol.

So now, on top of the normal headaches and migraines, I have this to contend with.  I take a medicine called Indocin, which has made a huge impact on the pain, and helped regulate it.  It states in all the things you read that it is a great drug and usually provides total relief of all symptoms.  Well guess what, I am one of the not so  usual,  is that much of a surprise to anyone out there, ya me either.  I won't say it does not help, it actually holds it at a bearable stage most times, but I think also having other meds involved has helped alot.  Now they have taken me off of Cymbalta, because it is not a drug my isurance covers under it's formulary and I have to try all these older type meds before they will and I can not afford the cost out of pocket and my husband and I make just enough that we don't qualify for any assistance.  I have tried nortriptyline which screwed with my blood sugar, made me constantly dizzy and nauseated, even more than normal, car sick and unable to drive, so that when out the window.  So, now I have to try more in the list of TCA (tricyclic antidepressants) before my insurance will cover the one medicine that was working, the Cymbalta.  So it is just a constant waiting game, waiting for the doctor to call back, waiting to see what med it is this week, waiting to see if it works, and all because someone sitting in an office is better at telling me how I feel then just being willing to pay for a medicine that works.    Well, I guess such is life.  The funny thing is, the Cymbalta helped with my depression, the headaches, the fibro pain, all of it.  I do not have the ability to take narcotic medicines.  I have a crazy reaction to every one I have tried, so pain levels for me are always crazy.  Cymbalta helped with all of that.  They had to keep increasing my dose every 6 to 8 months as I adjusted to it, but that is with every medicine and I had only been on it a little over 16 months when my insurance changed and threw me into this mess.  So I guess I will just wait some more.  I have to thank God some days for being a semi patient person, because If I was not, things would drive me insane.  I will let you know what new and exciting adventure I embark on as soon as I find out.  Until then, have a good night.