A Visit to the Headache Clinic
I recently told you about my life with migraines. This past Thursday I visited the Headache Clinic in what I hope is a positive step toward ending my misery. When you walk in the door, the very first thing you notice is that the clinic is dimly lit. Most migraine sufferers have an intolerance for bright lights and loud noise. It wasn't really noisy, but there was a middle aged man there being rather loud, obviously thinking he was amusing and cute. No one reciprocated his rudeness by telling him to shut up. One young lady came in walking slowly and wearing dark sunglasses. I knew the feeling, except I would have hit the loud guy repeatedly where she just sat quietly in a chair.
The examination room was also rather dark. I was able to enjoy the serenity of this room all by myself for about 30 minutes! I've never been a big fan of "staged waiting". You know the routine, they request you get there 30 minutes before your appointment time then you wait 30 minutes after your appointment time before they call you to the examination room. Then the nurse takes your blood pressure, asks some medication questions and another 30 minutes passes before the doctor comes in. Honestly, if they can help reduce my headaches I'll wait as long as necessary.
To make a long story short, the doctor came in and we discussed my headaches, i.e. how often, where they are located, sensitivities, triggers, auras, etc. The doctor turned out to be very friendly and understanding. I was pleased. He prescribed Topamax, a migraine prevention medication, in addition to the other medications I already take. He warned that it could make me "stupid". So now I have to watch for signs of stupidity outside the ones I normally exhibit. The side effects are short term memory loss, kidney stones, loss of appetite, fatigue, etc.
Next Tuesday morning we have scheduled an MRI so that the doctor will have a baseline for future reference. Then, at the end of the month I have a follow up appointment to see how I'm doing on the Topamax. If I remember.
The examination room was also rather dark. I was able to enjoy the serenity of this room all by myself for about 30 minutes! I've never been a big fan of "staged waiting". You know the routine, they request you get there 30 minutes before your appointment time then you wait 30 minutes after your appointment time before they call you to the examination room. Then the nurse takes your blood pressure, asks some medication questions and another 30 minutes passes before the doctor comes in. Honestly, if they can help reduce my headaches I'll wait as long as necessary.
To make a long story short, the doctor came in and we discussed my headaches, i.e. how often, where they are located, sensitivities, triggers, auras, etc. The doctor turned out to be very friendly and understanding. I was pleased. He prescribed Topamax, a migraine prevention medication, in addition to the other medications I already take. He warned that it could make me "stupid". So now I have to watch for signs of stupidity outside the ones I normally exhibit. The side effects are short term memory loss, kidney stones, loss of appetite, fatigue, etc.
Next Tuesday morning we have scheduled an MRI so that the doctor will have a baseline for future reference. Then, at the end of the month I have a follow up appointment to see how I'm doing on the Topamax. If I remember.
Mama undoubtedly gave you Topamax when you were little, because I certainly considered you STUPID.
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Oh yeah, well...I got it because you had it and she took it away from you to give it to me because I'm her favorite. So there. I'm stupider than you, nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.
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Actually, she gave it to both of us, but you gobbled yours down and then threw a fit for mine and she made me give it to you. Brat.
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Blah-blah-blah. Face it, you're just jealous 'cause I was smart enough to figure out how to get all the stupid pills.
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