Starting up where I left off...yes, this story is still dull and I still don't know how to correctly use lay and lie. I suck.
Day 8 - I went to work in the morning (I brought my pillow for floor-nap time-outs). I was starting to feel a little better but still did most of my work on my blackberry while laying down on the floor. My boss was not in the office but she would not have liked that! I finally got in to see a regular doctor. My doctor was booked so I went to see her partner. Pat picked me up at work to take me to the appointment. Again, like the Urgent Care and ER, a doctor's office is not really supportive of one's need to be laying down 100% of the time! Dr. Holder prescribed a drug that he said might be able to knock the migraine away. I was so optimistic! I took the prescription in right away and went with Pat to lunch. I was able to sit up some of the time! Wow - look at me, almost a real person again! When I got home, the cleaning ladies were there and the dogs were barking like crazy. I took them outside to wait for the cleaning crew to leave. It was a very uncomfortable 45 minutes. They finally left (with 2 more pairs of my running shoes. I'm guessing one of them wears 6.5 and digs my taste in footwear) and I took the prescribed meds and headed back to my lovely couch. In almost no time, I was in what I like to call a Pain Coma. Laying down didn't relieve the pain. Any movement I made was excruciating. It was horrible. I went to bed very early.
Day 9 - I don't remember how I got Galapogos, but he was at my house. Hmm...Pain Coma. I was still taking the prescribed meds but getting worse and worse. Did I mention Pain Coma? About 4:00 in the afternoon while half-heartedly contemplating beheading myself, Galapogos was cuddled up with me on the couch. All of a sudden he freaked out, his front paws went up to his ears, his mouth opened all the way and his head went all crooked and one of his back legs kicked up to the side. He was frozen in that position and shaking like crazy. Have you ever had a dog have a seizure in your lap before? It is not good. Despite my Pain Coma, I was already on the phone with my vet and in my car before I could even make the decision to do so. I am happy my vet is close by because I was in no shape for driving! When I got there, I started to lie down on the bench in the waiting room. The receptionist, who gets migraines herself, figured it out immediately and took us right into an exam room so I could lie down on the couch in there. Three visits to doctors and no one cares that I need to lay down, one visit to the vet and I was lying down within seconds of arriving. I love my vet! All of the staff and the vet were very understanding of my need to be sprawled out on the couch during the exam. Galapogos was fully recovered from his seizure and $300 later, his bloodwork was being sent to the lab. Pat met me at the vet to follow me home.
Day 10! TEN! TEN days of migraine. How ridiculous can this get? I stopped taking the meds because I felt they were making me worse and causing that Pain Coma. Pat took me into work because I had to send a few emails (omg - the pain of looking at a computer screen is crazy-bad) and do a little paperwork. An hour later he was called to take me to the ER. Poor Pat. We went to St. Joe's with the thought that they have a neurology center attached so perhaps the ER doctors would have some neurology knowledge. I had to wait for about an hour...and of course, there was no place to lie down. Oh, how I wished I was at the vet. I did the best I could by resting my head in Pat's lap. Poor Pat. The doctor saw me and wanted to start me on some IV meds and get another CT scan. I was anxiously waiting for them to take me to a hospital room so I could lay down. Except that at St. Joe's, they don't have hospital beds!! WTF? The pod-like area had two chairs, one reclining chair like a dentist chair (not fully reclining, btw!) and one living-room type leather chair. Seriously? I'm admitted to a hospital and I can't lay down?? At John C Lincoln, they wheeled my bed to take me to my CT scan. At St. Joe's, they put me in a "wheelchair" that had no armrests and no headrest and looked very much like the wooden elementary school chairs modified with wheels and a foot holder. Then the left me in the hallway. This place was crazy. I cried. I'll admit it. The pain and the weirdness and the discomfort really did me in. However, whatever drugs this doctor gave me WORKED. It really felt like the migraine was knocked out and I was left with just a strong headache and absolutely no energy. I could walk super-slowly...but I was upright.
In the days since then (days 11 through 15) I have recovered some mobility but the migraine hangover (look at me learning new terminology!) and the anti-nausea drugs they've put me on have made it impossible for me to relax or sleep or think straight. I can't drive for long distances. I can't be on the computer for more than 30 minute increments. Worst of all, I've got the attention span of a puppy and I feel like I could crawl right out of my skin. I'm still moving so slowly and I can't move my head without pain, so exercise is out of the question but I really just feel the intense need to run and scream and shake loose. ERRRRGGGHHHH.
Remember when I was healthy? Like two weeks ago when I won the Great Urban Race? Jeez. Count your blessings, kids. You never know when your reality is gonna shift into something crazy.
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