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Migraines

B-DAY Today!

July 4 2013 By melbournemamma 3 Comments

Today was B-DAY!

 

No, not my birthday (that was 2 weeks ago). It was time for another dose of Botox to treat my migraines.

 

For the past 21 months, I have been having Botox injected in to my head, neck and shoulder to help control my migraines.

 

Every 12 weeks, I visit my Neurologist and he stabs me approx 40 times with a syringe full of Botox.

 

The migraines are the result of an accident I had 11 years ago.

 

Although the treatment isn’t working as well as I hoped it would, I have gone from having migraines 3-5 days every week (yes, every single week) to only 1 or 2 a week. This may not sound that good to you but believe me,  it’s much better than before.

 

It’s hard being mum to two small children and always being sick. My daughter used to ask what was wrong with me when I didn’t have a migraine (which broke my heart).

 

Sometimes I feel like my kids miss out on doing things because of my condition, and it makes me feel guilty. They are such great kids and they always TRY to be on their very best behaviour when they know mummy is sick.

 

I am eternally thankful for the support of my husband, family and friends, who are there for me when I’m struggling.

 

You can read more about my treatments here.

 

 

Filed Under: Me, Migraines Tagged With: botox, migraines

My Migraines & Botox – the latest update

March 28 2013 By melbournemamma 2 Comments

Well, it’s that time again!

 

It’s been 3 months since my last dose of Botox to treat my migraines, so back to the neuro I go, for another 40 odd injections in my head (yes, it does bloody hurt! and did I mention that I REALLY hate needles :O )

At my last appointment my neuro prescribed a daily preventative to try & help keep the migraines under control and I’m happy to say that it has been working (touch wood!!!)

 

Since then, other than a shocking episode last month where I had a migraine for 8 out of 10 days. I’ve only been getting one migraine every 12-14 days.

 

For those of you who haven’t been following along since the beginning, here’s my story so far.

 

11 years ago I was in a really bad car accident. One of my ongoing issues from the accident is frequent migraines (3-5 days per week!). For the past 18 months I have been having Botox injected into my head, neck & shoulder every 12 weeks. Finally things are really starting to improve. This has been my progress.

 

Today I am off for a top-up. Wish me luck.

Filed Under: Me, Migraines Tagged With: botox, melbourne mamma, migraines

Migraines and Botox – My life as a pin cushion

September 13 2012 By melbournemamma 1 Comment

I thought it was time for another migraine update as lots of people have been asking how I’ve been doing.

 

One of the reasons I haven’t done an update for awhile is because it seem like whenever I’m doing well and I talk or write about it, I end up jinxing myself and I get a migraine. No kidding, it really happens.

 

I was just telling someone earlier this week how I’d gone for almost 14 days without one and was feeling really good and then later that day I went down in a heap and had a shocking migraine for the next 3 days.

 

Other times I don’t feel like writing or talking about it because I’m going through a rough patch and I’m too frustrated or upset to talk about it.

 

Anyway, for those of you who are new to my blog, I have been having Botox injected in my head for the past year, to try and control my migraines, which I suffer from between 3-5 days per week.

 

The migraines are a result of what happened to me on this day.

 

Every 12 weeks I visit my neurologist and he injects Botox (approx 40 times) in to my head, neck & shoulders. It hurts like hell and the feeling of tightness in my head for 3 months is very uncomfortable but at this stage it’s the only way I can manage (ie survive) day-to-day life.

 

The Botox has definitely made an improvement to the frequency and severity of my migraines but unfortunately not as much as I would have liked.

 

I’ve gone from having 3-5 days of migraines a week to only 1 or 2 days and I’ve even gone up to 13 days without one.

 

I now know that this is probably as good as it’s going to get, so I just have to make the most of it. Yes, I have days were it just gets too much and I’m angry and frustrated but I just have to remind myself that it could have been a LOT worse.

 

The past 10 years of my life has been dominated by these migraines and it looks like they’re here to stay!

 

You can read more about my treatments here and here.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Me, Migraines Tagged With: botox, migraines

Birthdays, Botox and Broken Bones

June 18 2012 By melbournemamma 1 Comment

Today is my birthday. Yay!

Normally I would celebrate with family & friends and perhaps go out to lunch or dinner and indulge in my favourite pastime, shopping.

 

Unfortunately nothing fun for me today because I have another appointment with my Neurologist to get more Botox injections to help treat my migraines.

 

Today was the only day he could fit me  in (how ironic) and it’s important that I have treatment every 12 weeks because last time we left it for nearly 15 weeks and I had a major flareup towards the end which kept me bedridden for days.

 

Botox is not something I would normally consider having on my birthday (perhaps if I was turning 40 LOL), but at the moment my priority is getting my migraines under control, so I will do without the celebrations for now.

 

My migraines are the result of what happened to me on this day and I have been struggling with them for the past 10 years.

 

I have been having Botox injected in to my head, neck & shoulders for the past 9 months and although it has not gotten rid of them completely, it has enabled me to function better, as both a mum and a human being.

 

I’m kind of resigned to the fact that I will continue to have migraines, perhaps for the rest of my life, but hey, it could have been a lot worse.

 

This won’t be the first time I have required medical attention on my birthday – at my 10th birthday party, I somehow managed to break my wrist while playing a game where you have to sit on the floor when the music stops. It was my party & I did cry because I wanted to.

 

Anyone else ever had a birthday they’d rather forget?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Me, Migraines Tagged With: birthdays, botox, migraines

The Unluckiest AND Luckiest Day of My Life

March 12 2012 By melbournemamma 33 Comments

Please note: all accounts of this day are not mine but are from those who were there on the day – my partner “A” (who is now my husband), doctors, police & emergency workers. I have no memory of this day or the days following.

Here is my story…..

My week had gotten off to a great start – I had just spent a fabulous long weekend in Lorne relaxing with A and I was on my way to work at my new job in the city,  that I had started the previous month.

As I sat stationary in my car at a red light on a freeway off ramp, I was rear ended by a drunk (*asshole*) driver travelling at approx 80-100km/h, who was heading home (at 8.00am) from a big night in the city.

My car was pushed into the car in front of me and was then launched (apparently airborne and flipped 180 degrees) into oncoming traffic. Another car travelling in the opposite direction then t-boned my car on the passenger side. Police later told us that witnesses said my car looked like it was bouncing around in a pinball machine.

When paramedics arrived, I was unconscious. I remained unconscious as they cut me from the car and transported me to hospital. Years later I spoke with a fireman who attended the scene (he ended up being related to someone I knew), and he still remembered my accident and said that they assumed when they arrived at the accident that they were going to be removing a body – my body – from the wreckage, as it was pretty bad. He told me how surprised they were to discover I was actually still alive. (I felt sick to my stomach when he told me this. I had no idea)

I was then rushed to the hospital, where they discovered I had a broken pelvis, internal bleeding, fractured vertebrae, and head, shoulder and foot injuries. I was pretty beaten up.

Somehow I managed to tell them the name of A’s work (apparently I couldn’t remember his phone number or last name) and they eventually tracked him down to tell him what had happened. I can only imagine how it would feel to receive news like this – especially when he’d only kissed me goodbye a few hours earlier. He then had to call my parents (who lived interstate) and tell them what had happened – he said it was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

Apparently when he arrived at the hospital, I was angry and upset because they had cut my clothes off me and I had been wearing my brand new skirt (obviously the bump to my head hadn’t affected my love of fashion) and was not happy about it.

My parents arrived soon after and stayed at my bedside for the remainder of the week.

During that time A and my dad went to the wreckers to collect my belongings from the car. When they arrived, the guys there were avoiding them and acting a little weird until A mentioned that he had just come from the hospital to collect my stuff and they were shocked, as they had assumed that whoever had been in my car had been killed (A assumed this was why they’d been acting a little odd when he got there). My dad took one look at the car and walked out  – A later told me, that my dad threw up when he saw what was left of my car.

The following month in hospital was a blur of pain, rehab and more pain. Lots of people came by to visit, some I remember, others I don’t. I hated being in the hospital and couldn’t wait to get home.

I haven’t included any pictures of what was left of my car here because some family members and friends have asked never to see them but here’s one of me in the hospital a few days after the accident.

lucky to be alive

One of the hardest things for me following the accident was relearning how to walk.

It’s strange as an adult having to learn such a basic task – something that we do every single day without thought. One of my therapists told me that learning to walk as an adult is the most difficult thing a person can do. Even though it had only been a couple of weeks since I had walked, my body had been through so much trauma and was in so much pain that my brain was not sending the correct signals to my legs. It was so frustrating not even to be able to put one foot in front of the other.

After five weeks in hospital, I returned home in a wheelchair, with a walking frame (my grandma had one the same). I would continue to receive threatment as an outpatient three days per week.

I remember celebrating the day I walked from the front door to the letterbox (approx 15m) – I felt like I had run a marathon – even though I had used the frame. I soon graduated to a walking stick (which made me really self-conscious – why was everyone staring at me?) and I used that for another couple of years.

It was nearly four years before I began to walk “normally” – ie without a limp. I had walked for so long with a limp that my brain thought that was my normal walk and even when then pain lessened, I still walked the same way. It took lots of rehab and walking in front of a mirror (for months and months), to retrain my brain into allowing me walking normally.

For the next few years I regularly attended rehab and a pain management program and had counselling as I became depressed and wasn’t coping very well with the pain, and how much my life had changed and the effect it had on my personal and professional life.

It took awhile for me to realise how lucky I was to have survived that day and that my injuries could have been a lot worse.

I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful and caring partner and be surrounded by family and friends who loved me. I could not have gotten through this without them.

 I still have days where the pain is more than I can bear and I get angry and think “why me?”. But then I think about what could have been and realise, I am the LUCKIEST person in the world.

Filed Under: Me, Migraines Tagged With: melbourne mamma, migraines

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Tracey  {Melbourne Mamma}
Nothing beats sitting down with a good book and a Nothing beats sitting down with a good book and a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon. 📚☕️⁣
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