My tummy had just calmed down from a four day assault, when two days ago I had one of my 'bad' days. The kind where I wake up already in a brain fog and having trouble walking around the kitchen to make tea just after getting out of bed. Never a good sign. Of course within an hour or two I'm a complete basket case. I still haven't been able to find the triggers for these odd days where I wake up more of a mess than I went to bed.
And then comes today. About 2 or 3am while I'm fast asleep, I bring stomach acid up into my mouth. I wake suddenly with my throat in searing pain unable to breath due to the acid. I swallow fast and eject my dental appliance out of my mouth so that I can gasp for air. My husband jumps out of bed scared to death. I send him off for the Tums and a glass of water while I sit on the edge of the bed catching my breath. I decide I have to sleep the rest of the night sitting up. Just peachy.
When I wake up at 8am, which is wicked early for me, I don't feel quite right. I want to sleep some more but I'm restless and my tummy doesn't feel right. Instead I watch morning TV which is a treat for me since I usually sleep through The Today Show and Rachel Ray. I finally decide I need to get something into my stomach but the only thing that is remotely appealing is black tea with milk. Of course I was supposed to be starting my elimination diet today. Hah. Fat chance. I'm having tea. I brew a whole pot and settle down with a hot mug to watch Rachel talk about how to spice up your profile for an online dating service. Rachel finshes up with her usual pasta dish of the day and I finally decide I had better get something on my stomach. I toy with the idea of having GF oatmeal made with almond and coconut milk from The Diet but it sounds thoroughly unappetizing. Instead I go for my old icky tummy standbys; a banana and a soft boiled egg. So much for the elimination diet.
To add insult to injury the headache starts. I know this headache. It is the evil kind. The kind that if I don't do something fast it is likely to turn into a full blown I want to rip my head off with my bare hands migraine. My kid calls from work and I ask him to stop by the donut shop and pick me up a cup of coffee on his way home. I don't normally drink the stuff which is why I don't have any in the house. He comes home with a hot cup and I down it along with an Excedrin migraine tablet. I go and sit down and wait. Will this fix it or is it going to get worse? It can go either way.
While I'm waiting I start to feel my shoulder muscles tense up. The pain in the back of my head hurts so badly my shoulders and neck muscles contract and add to the mess. Years ago, the last time I ever went to see a doc about my headaches, he told me they were tension headaches and not migraines and refused to refill my migraine meds. Hah! BS! My muscles tense up after the pain starts not before.
Anyway the kid and I had appointments with my wonderful chiropractor so off we went headache and all. Dr. J almost twisted my head off but got my neck adjusted and he was happy with it. The fact that my ears felt like they were on fire did detract from the headache pain so I guess it was a win for me as well. Back to the house we went, stopping for a second cup of coffee so that I would have a chaser for the second round of Excedrin.
Lucky for me, someone on one of the FM groups I subscribe to on Facebook also had a migraine and was asking for help. I heard all sorts of odd remedies including medical marijuana and mixing prescription pain killers with Jack Daniels, neither of which were options I was willing to try out. Instead I did hear about taking B6 with magnesium. Of course being a walking supplement dispenser I had both of those on hand so I decided to try that out. What the heck I take this stuff daily anyway, although I had skipped this morning's fistful of pills due to the funny tummy problem.
Roughly half an hour later the headache stopped getting worse. It didn't get better but it stopped getting worse. Huh. Maybe the supplements did some good. Maybe I can avoid escalating to the next level of pain warfare; prescription pain killers and muscle relaxants.
Hubby and I went out to dinner and I tolerated the restaurant okay even though it was noisy. The pain didn't go away but it didn't get worse. We went back home and I lumped on the couch to watch TV and it didn't get worse.
After five hours of sitting still and relaxing the headache is almost gone without having to turn the lights out and sit in the dark. Of course I'm probably going to be up until the wee hours due to all the coffee I drank (which is why I don't drink the stuff) but I didn't have to resort to the heavy pain artillery. Yay!!
The elimination diet is toast. Depending how my stomach is doing I may not start it tomorrow either. We'll see. Each day with CFS is a new adventure.
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