Buhhhhh

Image via WikipediaSo even after 6 weeks on nortriptyline my migraines don't seem to be improving.  I've had 4 this week and no less than 2 each week since I started the nortriptyline.  Some of them I've been able to cope with.  Others have been really awful.
This has led to me slacking off on doing Wii and my PT exercises at home.  Not good.  Working on that.

I did, however, discover that if I really feel like I shouldn't do the Wii (as opposed to just being a bit lazy) I probably shouldn't do the Wii.  I had a migraine Friday but though "oh, well, if I just do some of the standing yoga poses so I'm not moving too much or lowering my head (that makes stuff hurt worse) it'll be fine and maybe I won't feel so stiff and sore."  I did the Warrior pose, the Palm Tree, and the Chair.  Half-way through the Warrior pose I started to sweat and shake, with the Palm Tree is was practically vibrating and started getting nauseous, and the Chair I nearly fell over and actually soaked through my shirt with sweat in a few places.  This was a 6 minute long workout.  I usually do 15 minutes and don't break a sweat even if it's a bit warm.  So,  yeah.



My involuntary movements have made a come-back as well, usually on the same day as a migraine.  Fun times.  I've been really, really stiff lately too - mostly muscles rather than joints from right after I get out of bed.  Yoga with the Wii helps a bit, so does a warm shower, but if I stay in the same spot too long, my back stiffens up.
My shoulders and neck are permanently tense again which is part of the migraine feedback loop.  And my sciatica or whatever the hell it is that makes it feel like someone is pinching my ass from the inside or sending laser beams from my ass down to my heel is flaring  up.

Anyway, I have a neuro appointment this coming Friday.  We'll see what else we can do with the migraines, I plan to ask about a specialist.  I've done some reading about vertiginous migraine which is sort of interesting and might help explain some of my balance problems.  Or not.  Whatever. I just want to stop having the damn things so often.  I feel like crap when I have them and can't get much of anything done, then I have the hangover, which sometimes lasts a whole day or more and then it seems like by the time I've recovered from one, another one shows up.  If I get too active too soon it can trigger another one (like last week when I had to hobble-run for a bus that didn't follow the proper route, missed it, and then had to haul ass for 2 blocks to make it to an appointment without being late; within an hour I had an aura coming on and within an hour of the aura the pain hit.)

I've also started having the occasional one on my left side.  In the past they were always on the right and even now are usually on the right.  So, maybe a specialist, maybe we'll up the dose of nortriptyline or try something else.  I might also see if it's worthwhile to have another sleep study to see if my apnea has gotten worse and is maybe contributing. 


The image is of cortical spreading depression, which is one of the models for explaining visual aura in migraines.