Picture can be found @ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/
Been feeling a bit better. I saw the doctor recently and learned that there are two types of medications for headaches, abortive and preventative. All the pain medications are abortive, and able to cause rebound headaches. Preventative medications space the headaches out so I have more days that are noticing but able to function, as opposed to being on my back in pain.
The preventative medications take time, but the doc could tell mine was already working, as a side-effect of it is extreme thirst. If I don't have something to drink every five to ten minutes, I'm parched like I've been in the desert for a month. So, at least my drinking water like air showed him my body was getting used to the new medication they had put me on while in the hospital.
He mentioned migraines, and I asked him to clarify the difference between migraines and regular headaches. He noted that with migraines the pain is on one side of the head, flashes of light could happen, nausea, and that a cold, dark room and sleeping it off is what usually gets rid of them.
The meningitis has left scaring and inflammation in my lining of brain and spinal cord. This scaring and inflammation is the base from which headaches grow. Migraines growing in that kind of environment don't go away on their own. And, they are more frequent because of the damage done to the meninges.
I let him know that I was having one currently. He wanted to know how frequent they had been prior to the meningitis. Usually, I had had one about every three months. Now, I have had two within two weeks. Before, I would sleep them off, waking in the morning a little sore but a lot better, take a couple of Advil, and they were gone. Now, as he put it, I don't have that luxury. Instead he's put me on a targeted migraine medicine. It's the first time I've been on one.
It knocked me out last night. We had company over for game night. I had to excuse myself at 7 so I could go to bed. I wish it hadn't done that, but can't control that, so won't worry about it. Everyone was fine and the company stayed for about an hour after I went to bed.
I tried praying the Rosary as I do before sleeping. I only got about a fourth of the way before I started dozing off and not making sense. I think I was praying for hamburgers to see Morticia at one point. Anyways, I figured God understands and knows what's going on, so I put the prayer beads away and slept through to this morning.
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