Skip to main content

All Treatments Aren't For Everyone


I tried.

After battling insurance and doctors/nurses who didn't provide enough information, I was able to get in Tuesday to receive the first in the 4 day series of DHE injections.

What is DHE?

DHE is an injectable drug designed to help treat migraines by shrinking blood vessels down. This goes along with the theory that migraines are worsened by enlarged blood vessels in the head. DHE works be shrinking these vessels along with the rest of the vessels in your body.

Well, as great as it sounds, it isn't that great.

Picture this, you're strapped to an uncomfortable chair meant for someone 200 lbs heavier than me, with an IV in your arm. First they go through injecting a round of Benadryl and anti-nausea medicine. After half an hour, you're ready to fall asleep, but its time for the DHE drip. So the nurse gets it all set up and a drip that's meant to go for 40 minutes lasts for 60. Then you're given some IV version of Advil, and asked to wait for 30 minutes to be observed.

After the DHE was complete, I could feel the nausea set in. I felt the back of my head almost contracting as if someone was filling up a balloon. I could feel my heart absolutely racing.

No my heart racing isn't something new. I often experience times when a migraine is going to get worse, where I become clammy and I can feel my heart beating so fast that the vein in my neck is pulsating at the same rate as my head.

The idea is that you finish each infusion and go home and rest. So I get home, try to rest and realize I need to eat before falling asleep for the rest of the night.

But, then there's that all too tricky nausea. Everything I've pre-prepped is flavorful and has wonderful aromas. None of which seem at all appealing. So toast and peanut butter it is. I can barely even remember eating it. I remember trying to go back to bed. I remember failing and then trying to watch some tv. I couldn't focus. I remember getting back into bed and falling in and out of sleep, while my mom desperately tried to understand what was going on and why I was canceling the remaining procedures.

I hoped, when I woke up, that I would have felt better.

Nope. Still nauseated and heavy feeling. I called to cancel my appointments. I went back to bed.

I got up and struggled to make and then eat a filling breakfast.

My heart still fluctuates between racing and not. I can't completely focus on much of anything. I did some meditation for nausea. That helped a bit. I thought I may fall over the entire time I showered.

Perhaps, what's even more concerning is how difficult it is to pee. All of my blood vessels are constricted, including those in my bladder. For someone who has to pee a lot, this is close to my least favorite side effect.

It's been almost 24 hours since I got my first and only infusion. But I still feel like I'm getting it. The symptoms aren't subsiding.

Maybe, if I had someone who could be with me 24/7 I would have the nerve to have gone through with all my appointments. But I don't. I can barely make a piece of toast or explain to my mom what's going through my mind, so how do I call an uber and try and locate their car and get home right after an injection? I don't.

I want these symptoms or side effects to go away. I'm rendered useless. I can't imagine had I gone through with all the treatments that this uneasy feeling would do me any good on my first day of work on Sunday.

DHE is a wonderful treatment that has worked for a large amount of people. But it isn't a solution for me. It can be used to stop migraines or used as an assist for killing a rebound headache from medicine overuse.

I'm not sure which my doctor had intended this for, but for now, I will use my own will power to ration out my medications and work to reduce the amount I need on my own.

No treatment is worth it if the treatment itself makes your condition seem bearable. And that's how DHE seems for me.

I gave it a shot, which is what counts, but all treatments don't work for all people.

So now, I'm in recovery. I have a bruise that takes up half my arm, and a head that's too heavy to hold up.

-A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Positive Notes

Here I go mixing things up before things have really taken off. My featured picture is intended to represent the way chronic illnesses and disabilities are only really seen in black and white. My words are intended to fill in all that grey space that is ignored. But today I needed a little color. Because at the end of the day, there's a lot of brightness and light and hope that is key component to my every day battle. So here's a sneak peak and my brand new apartment. I think I've spent the last 4 or 5 years waiting for the day that I had a place of my own. Not because I wanted freedom to do what I pleased or had the same urge to be an adult and do adult things. I in no way want to make anyone think that adulting is fun or recommended for anyone. I didn't want my own place. I needed it. I needed to not have to snarl at my parents for running the garbage disposal or cutting the grass when my head hurt too badly to get out of bed. I couldn't take one more la...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Hurts

To say I feel less than human, is probably a bit of an understatement. But I do. I've been home for a week. I've managed to pretty much lay in bed in agonizing pain the whole time. I had a half-assed attempt to see a friend that resulted in me rushing home as the nausea and aphasia set in. I successfully made it to massage therapy today. Which meant even after sleeping for roughly 2 hours, I got up at 7:30 and sat in traffic for hours to get to a less than expected appointment. Mind you, my previous massage therapist was so wonderful I'm most likely spoiled to other techniques. This lady was late, she sat in the same god awful traffic I did. We spent more time going over the woes of her morning, than we did discussing why I was there and what I hoped to achieve through various massage techniques. The massage room wasn't dimly lit, and even as the massage started, lights were still on. I found this odd, but decided to just keep my eyes closed. Then she started ...
1 comment
Read more

I'm Confused As To Why You're Uncomfortable

Full disclosure, I'm well aware that the people I'm talking about, won't be reading this. But this is something that needs to be put out there, on the half chance you might click and read this one post, even though you've never glanced at the rest of them. One month ago, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer work in the capacity I have been used to working. Two weeks ago, I called off for my last week of work, and decided that I 100% needed to put my focus on getting healthy, or at least finding a way to manage my pain. This decision resulted in something no one expected: I medically withdrew from my university. In the weeks that have followed, however, you've bombarded me with your disapproving comments and your blatant lack of understanding. More family won't speak to me. People keep telling me they hope that by being back home, I'll get healthier and I'll be able to go back and finish my degree. I'll be able to take full...
Post a Comment
Read more