I can’t keep up with this blog any longer.
The nerve pain is back. The injections on the 22nd didn’t work. Once again I can’t type.
I’ve written so few posts this past year I don’t think it’s worth it.
It’s been a good ride, but it’s time.
Farewell my friends.
I appreciate you being there throughout these many years.
Be good to you.
I don’t even know where I left off so I’m just going to ramble a bit. I guess I’m too lazy to read my last post, or just not in a good frame of mind lately.
A lot has been going on. I had an injection (epidural) in my neck to help the disc bulge on February 22nd, and lately it seems to be wearing off. I’ll be getting a second injection on the 22nd of this month. They say it can take a couple of injections to get the full effect when you first start getting them, so hopefully this one will last a long time. I’m just concerned because they don’t normally give more than 3 injections a year, what if this one wears off in just a couple of months? Even if they would give me more injections, I’m not sure that’s wise considering I had Avascular Necrosis (AVN) in my left hip causing a total hip replacement, which they believe was caused by steroid use. Trying hard not to think about all of that, just take it one day at a time, but wouldn’t it be irresponsible of me not to at least be concerned about this? When I talk to my doctor he just said that it’s always more of a chance once you’ve had AVN, but it’s the only thing they can do to relieve the pain right now. Later, if it gets worse, they can do surgery, but who wants to have surgery on their neck? That’s pretty darn scary to me. But I will NOT think about that! That really is getting worked up about what might never happen. Of course, I was getting upset about the whole injection thing, so I guess I really should just take it as it comes, and not get worried about things that may never happen.
I was about to tell you how happy I was about something that caused me to look at the calendar to check the date….Wow! It’s been a long time since I posted! It’s been a bit busy here. Anyway, my happiness… I had a Vyepti infusion on the 16th of March, it was my first infusion at the higher dose. Afterward, I had NO migraines on the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st!! After a YEAR of migraine pain, I had FOUR days without one!! I was so happy and so hopeful. even after a bad on the 22nd, I was still hopeful that I’d have migraine free days once again. That hasn’t happened. Since then I’ve had 8 days where my migraine made it impossible for me to do anything except curl in a dark room. The rest of the days I’ve still had migraines but I was able to do something, even if just a little.
I’ve been feeling so disheartened. It looks like the PT didn’t help the pain at all, only with the injection have I been able to get relief from the horrible nerve pain. It did however, improve my range of motion and strength. So I’ll continue my exercises and hope for the best. I had a little break in my migraines, but it was very short lived. My mood has fluctuated from happy, to anger, to sadness…
Then last night I saw in an article on Migraine Strong that a new neuromodulationdevice for migraines has been approved by the FDA. I already have the Cefaly and the Nerivio and bot word to some degree. The Cefaly is the best for me. It stimulates the supraorbital branch of the transgemial nerve. The Nerivio stimulates nerves in the arm that makes your brain focus on it and off the migraine pain, it’s kind of interesting. The Nervio works for me only if I use it at the very beginning of a migraine, when you are intractable it’s impossible to catch it at the Start of a migraine.
This gives me hope. Hope that I might get some relief. However, since it isn’t on the market yet they don’t know how much it will cost or if it will be covered by insurance. Since I’m on Medicare, if they have a discount I won’t be eligible. That’s very unfortunate. I did just find out that if you are on Medicare you should reach out to the manufacturer to see if they will offer you a discount. We’ll see if I can get it. crossing fingers. If not, I guess it wasn’t for me.
I’ve been looking at a headache clinic in Phoenix, but I don’t see where they offer more than I’ve already tried. I honestly don’t know what to do or, where to go for help. Would Mayo offer more? I just don’t know. I have an appointment with a new headache doctor, but the first appointment she had for new patients is in November! It’s really crazy how in demand headache specialist are, and how few there are. I just read in Practical Neurology “If all patients with migraine were cared for by a UCNS board-certified headache specialist, each would see approximately 78,000 patients per year”. UNCS is the United Council for Neurologic Specialities. Personally, don’t actually think that all patients with migraine need to see a specialist, however if you do not respond to typical treatments you do need to see one. That can be very difficult. The average neurologist receives just 4 hours of training on headache disorders. There are about 500 headache specialist in the US. Migraine affects 1 in 7 people world wide. It’s just crazy that we don’t have more doctors who specialize in it. Tucson has 2, one is certified by UCNS, the other is certified by the Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ). The later is who I’ve been seeing, the former is who I have an appointment with in November. I’m very lucky that I have access to a headache specialist at all, there are some states that have none!
I’m so grateful for all the new medications and new neuromodulation devices that have come out for migraine. It’s amazing really since there is so little money allocated to migraine research. There is so much they do not know.
On a good note, I got my first vaccine shot, and get the second on Saturday! Woot! I’ll still wear a mask and be careful, but I might actually go out some.
I plan to have a give away soon. I received a lot of things from the Retreat Migraine conference (virtual), and I can’t use all of it. Stuart also got a goodie box since he attended too, so I have some of that to give away too. I just want to give back to you, after all the support you’ve given me over the years.
I’m thinking of starting Mindfulness Monday again. I’d like your input if you’d like that or not?
“See” you soon!
When last we spoke I was hurting too much to type. I’m happy to say that I can type again! I’m not sure I have too much to say, but at least I can type. I’m going to try to be brief here, just letting you guys know that I’m okay, and I’ll try to post more often.
For the past few months I’ve been consumed by the nerve pain going down my arms and bursting out of my hands. The pain also traveled down my back, in between my shoulder blades. I’ve had a lot of pain in my life, but this nerve pain has, by far, been the worst. I believe in accepting what comes and being okay with it. Everything changes, you just need to go with it. This pain I could not accept, and that hurt me as a person. I couldn’t accept what was happening to me, the pain was just too great. I have a much deeper understanding of what severe pain can do to you. I saw what it was doing to me, and I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t change it. How can anyone accept feeling like their hands are on fire from the inside out, every morning! I would scream with pain. I made bargains, if it would just stop I promised I’d be a better person…ect. I have never wished to die so often, and I’m not depressed. Can you imagine how messed up I’d be if I was going through this with depression? I can’t even imagine.
I was in physical therapy in January, and it seemed to be working, then I had a set back and we kind of started over. Then I felt like I was getting better, then I hit a wall and crashed. Every time we tried adding any strength training all my symptoms would return. It has been hell so far this year….but it’s getting better.
Last Monday I finally got an epidural in my neck and trigger point injections through my trapezius on both sides. I cannot express enough how this has changed my life! I’m no longer afraid to go to sleep for fear of what will happen when I wake up. I’m sleeping more than 4 hours a night. I actually slept for 10 hours one day this week! I think I’m still catching up on sleep.
Migraines are still here. Both my physical therapist and my pain management doctor think that my migraines may be so much worse because of my neck. The last two days I’ve had a very intense migraine. That’s really hard when you don’t have a rescue med that works and Medicare won’t pay for the only one that does. I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on medication each month. So I’ll live with the pain, for now. The pain changes from day to day, hour to hour, it’s often just in the background, but when it climbs too high, I really notice. But that’s the thing, yes I’m in pain all the time, but it is constantly changing, that gives me hope. Everything changes.
Okay that’s it for today. I promise I’ll try to be back soon. I have lots of migraine stuff I want to share with you all.
How is everyone? I really want to know.
Writing this is causing me a lot of pain, so bare with me.
Is 2020 really over? Funny, I still feel the same.
Maybe after January 20th, when our new president takes office I’ll feel different. I’m sure I’ll feel better mentally and emotionally, but physically, not so much.
The nerve pain is excruciating. I wake up each morning in such severe pain I pray to die. However, I do have a little bit of hope that things will get better. I started seeing a physical therapist last week who specializes in nerve pain. He says my nerves are lit up like a Christmas tree. Yup, I believe it. We aren’t sure why, there could be numerous reasons, or no reason at all. I only know that it is the worst pain that I could ever imagine. If you have been following my blog for a while, you know I’m no stranger to severe pain. The medication, gabapentin, isn’t working any more. and I don’t know if increasing the dose would do any good. My physical therapist is helping me calm the nerves down. He said all of my pain is connected. My migraine, back pain, and this horrendous pain in my arms and hands, all connected. He believes we can get it better, but it will take a long time. Unfortunately, until then typing causes such severe pain I simply can’t do it for long. I’m wring this a sentence at a time, then I have to rest. But……
I have hope.
I think hope is what got us through this past year, and will continue to get us through until we can all get back to normal.
Until typing no longer causes so much pain, I won’t be here much. Please know, I will be back as soon as I’m able, and I miss you all.
May this year be filled with love, and hope.
As much as I love most things about the holidays, the stress is not one of them, and oh, how stressful they can be. This year, it’s different.
Having multiple chronic illnesses that have kind of ravaged me lately, I’m thankful this year the holidays mean no stress…or as little as can be.
There’s one person (or maybe two) that I always have to see during the holidays that I’d prefer not to spend time with. This year is different, I don’t have to. When we were asked what the plans were for the holidays, it was nice to say that we are isolating. (With the number of COVID cases rising each day, why would anyone risk getting together? I don’t get it. I’d rather have my loved ones alive and well so we can get together when it’s safe.)
I don’t have to get upset if I’m not invited to parties.
On the other side, when I am invited to a party, I don’t have to worry I won’t be able to go, or might get sick while I’m there.
I don’t have to decorate my house for drop in guests.
I don’t have to feel bad when I can’t host a dinner…no matter how much I’d like to.
This year it will be quiet. I still feel like I need to make nice meals, and cookies, and…. But I don’t have to, and if I don’t, no one will know.
I can just sit back and watch Christmas shows on TV, sing carols out of tune, and eat Chinese take-out if I want.
Okay, the first two, yeah, that will get done, but the Chinese take-out might not. We’ll probably have Dad over for a social distance meal on Christmas, but who knows. Maybe not. It’s a no stress holiday after all.
Remember, we aren’t STUCK at home, we are SAFE at home….and so are our loved ones.
Merry Christmas!
I know my last post was a bit bleak, but things are getting better, I think.
I still have this dang migraine with no relief in sight, but I haven’t given up hope. My useless stay in the hospital and the indifference my migraine doctor showed about the akathisia has lit a fire under me to find a new headache specialist, which is much harder than you might think.
Luckily the medication that my PCP sent and the medication that my psychiatrist gave me have mostly taken away the akathisia. I still feel a bit antsy and my anxiety is higher, but I don’t HAVE to move all the time. I’m amazed the akathisia was so bad and has lasted so long from 3 doses of Compazine, I’m so grateful for my PCP and psychiatrist for helping me. My PCP even offered to call my migraine doctor to stress how important this was. My migraine doctor did call, after I sent a message to her about how unacceptable it was that she hadn’t gotten in touch with me. When she called she had to talk to Stuart, of course, and said she was out the office on Monday (in my message I told her that another doctor in her practice should have been covering her for her if she was out of the office. I also told her how my other doctors had helped), and said he had been researching how to help. Really? When Stuart first called her we gave her the name of one of the drugs that help with akathisia, so she already had that information. I got it after a quick Google search. It sure didn’t take me THREE days to get it.
Now I have to not only search for a new headache specialist, but I also have to look for a new PCP because mine is moving next month. Hopefully, this will be an easy process, and I’ll find some great doctors. I know finding a new headache specialist is going to be hard, there are only around 500 in the country. I don’t like the idea of having to travel 100+miles to see a doctor, but I may have no choice.
One thing that came from this, I’m really proud of how I advocated for myself while I was in the hospital and for messaging my doctor about how unacceptable her actions (or inactions) were. Since I lost my hearing it has been very hard for me to do that, but I made sure in the hospital when a nurse and tech ignored the fact that I have hearing loss, that they understood what they were doing wrong. Hopefully they will change their actions in the future.
One of the medications my doctors gave me for the akathisia makes me so stupid. I am forgetting everything! I can’t remember what I was talking about in the middle of talking! Right in the middle of a sentence I’ll look at Stuart and say, “What was I talking about?” It has been very confusing, luckily it will go away once I’m off the medication. I cut it down from 2 pills a day to 1 a day since my symptoms are so much better, and the confusion is much better all ready.
I don’t remember what else I was going to write, so I’ll close for now.
How is everyone holding up? Have you known anyone personally who has been infected with COVID-19? Do you happen to know a good headache specialist in Tucson? hahaha
Another day, another migraine day. It’s the way it’s been for over 6 months now, and it’s been getting worse. How does 6 months of migraine get worse? The severity has been worse….much worse.
The new way to log your migraines now is with the “traffic light” system. With a GREEN migraine, yes you have pain and symptoms but you can still do what you need to do. YELLOW means you have limitations as to what you can do. RED means it stops you. You can’t do anything else buy exist with it.
I saw my migraine doctor virtually on Friday, Yes the same doctor who said she can’t do anything else for me and wants me to go to San Diego for treatment, she didn’t mention this during this last appointment. She saw how many RED days (17 in October) I’ve had this past few months and asked if I thought she should admit me for treatment. I reluctantly agreed. I really wish I hadn’t.
I arrived at the hospital just as shifts were changing. It was confusing and very overwhelming. The pain was high and because of COVID-19 everyone has to wear a mask which means I can’t see their face to read lips, it was horrible I was so glad that Stuart was able to stay longer than they said he would be able to. He answered questions for me, which is really hard on me. I’m the patient. I’m the one who needs to know things, but I couldn’t hear well enough to understand what was going on a lot of the time.
The migraine doctor gave orders for me to get DHE shots, only. She didn’t prescribe anything else. I could do that at home! I expected a
DHE (Dihyrdoergotamine) is given with an antiemetic, so you won’t get nauseous. They gave me compazine instead of promethazine (what I normally take). Compazine isn’t just an antiemetic it’s also an antipsychotic. Antipsychotics can cause akathisia. (a state of agitation, distress, and restlessness, you feel like you have to move ALL THE TIME) You may remember a few years ago when I took Latuda I had a terrible time with akathisia. Now if I take any antipsychotic I get akathisia. I am having a helluva time. I cannot be still. On top of it all, I’m having PTSD because of my past experience with this. I can’t do this much longer. I don’t know what to do.
We called my migraine doctor on Monday morning. Stuart talked to the triage nurse and she said she’d send the message to the doctor “Top Priority”. My doctor didn’t call back until today, it’s Wednesday. So I’ve had akathisia since Saturday!! We called my PCP after hours yesterday and Stuart talked with the doctor on call, he called in something that is supposed to help. I’ve had two doses so far and I’m still moving. I
t’s hard to sit still and write this. I’ve started it over many times over the last few days. I have a horrible migraine right now, I can’t walk around with this pounding in my head. I feel like I’m being tortured. I NEED to MOVE, but I can’t because the pain gets worse and I’m dizzy. Stuart is calling my psychiatrist to see what she suggest since she is more used to this class of drugs. I think the drug the doctor put me on last night might be working a little, but with this SEVERE migraine pain I can’t move as much I as NEED to because it makes the pain so much worse. It really is torture.
Cross fingers for me that this medication works. I can’t write any more. I’ll be back after I feel better. xoxo w
It’s been so long since I posted I’m sure you all thought I was gone for good. Unfortunately this has to be a very short post.
Presently I’m in a lot of pain all the time. I still have that intractable migraine I’ve had since late April, luckily it varies in intensity, often having much lower pain days. However, there are days it is absolutely excruciating. That isn’t the worst thing I’m having to deal with right now, I’m also having very severe nerve pain across my shoulder, down my arms and the worst is my hands. It’s better when I’m lying flat with my arms at my sides, but I can’t do that all the time. I’m getting a CT scan soon to see if the nerves are impinged in my neck, if so the pain doctor will give me an epidural to help. It hurts so much I have to stop posting this every few seconds just so I can tolerate it a little.
On top of it all I’ve had a severe rash for over a month. The doctors aren’t sure what it is. It is incredibly itchy, it is torture. My allergist thinks it’s the rash you get when you are Celiac and got gluten, dermatitis herpaformis. I had a biopsy last Thursday to hopefully get an answers.
I think I’m a pretty strong person. After all I’ve been dealing with Meniere’s for MANY years, and I broke my neck in 1992. I’m not a stranger to healty adversities. But I have to admit, this is really getting to me. It’s just so much on top of another. It hasn’t just been a straw that broke this camel’s back, I was hit bye an anvil! I’m so grateful my antidepressant (esketamine) has been working, or I’d be worse than I am now, and right now I feel like blowing my head off.
Now I have to close, I simply can’t type any longer, but I have so much more to say. Hopefully I can post again soon.
Last I was here, a loooong time ago, I mentioned all the new things I’m trying, or would be trying. Well, nothing is working to get rid of this migraine. Some of the devices (Nerivio and Ceflay) help reduce it so I am somewhat able to do things on better days, but they never take it away.
I had my Vyepti infusion on the 26th, I should have seen progress within the first week, unfortunately there has been no change. I still have this migraine I’ve had for MONTHS now. Some days it’s a little better, many days I just want to rip my head off. The pain really gets to you, especially when it’s accompanied by other symptoms that aren’t so pleasant. The light sensitivity is especially hard for me, I feel like I’m living in the dark all the time, if I’m not in the dark I’m wishing I was. I live in the desert, it’s friggin’ bright here! And the heat! Last two months have been the hottest on record, thankfully it’s starting to cool down a bit, we’ve had some days that have been in the 80’s this week. Yay! I’m finding that bright light and heat are a trigger for me. Or maybe it’s just because I have a migraine that WILL NOT STOP!
So I wrote my neurologist (who is a headache specialist) and asked about two things. I wanted to know if I haven’t seen results from the Vyepti by now would it be worth trying the higher dose. I also asked about a new symptom (I’m having some weird headache pain when I turn over in bed at night my head will suddenly explode in severe pain. It feels a lot like when I was having Idiopatic Intracranial Hypertension, but I’m not getting symptoms when I’m horizontal or vertical. (normally when you have intracranial hypertension the pain is much worse when you are lying down and relieved when you sit up, if your cerebral spinal fluid is low then you have pain when you are up and not when you lie down). In closing I asked her if she had any recommendations.
I received an answer that was disturbing.
"1. so any new headache as you might imagine I cannot assess by email. I would need to see you in person to really thoroughly discuss and evaluate. We can set an appointment but I am taking off a week at the end of the month and have surgery so my schedule is a little bit messed up 2. We can certainly try the 300 mg however it is not covered by any insurance and statistically it was not that much better than 100 mg so unfortunately it would probably be a cash pay situation which I would not suggest. However overall I would have expected some benefit by now. 3. Next option would be to get another opinion unfortunately best next opinion in my opinion would be in San Diego"
My response to that, which I haven’t sent, is 1. I already have an appointment set up for October 7th, I doubt I can get in before then; even when she doesn’t have all these things it’s impossible to get in to see her in a timely manner. I sure hope this new headache isn’t anything serious. 2. Well no I don’t want to try the higher dose under those circumstances. and 3. Well it’s obvious I’m beyond her capabilities. I understand how frustrated she may be but, San Diego?!?! That is over 6 hours away from here! I do not understand why there isn’t anything at Mayo, it’s just a couple of hours from here. I am willing to go anywhere but not when my husband doesn’t have a job, and often insurance companies won’t pay for treatment out of state unless it’s an emergency. I tried to go to a doctor in San Diego before and my insurance would not approve it. Perhaps if my doctor here is sending me it would be different? Who knows, my insurance can take months to decide things anyway.
Stuart still doesn’t have employment. He did have a very encouraging interview, so we are hopeful, but who knows. It’s a big pay cut if he gets it, but it’s much better than nothing., and it’s easier to look for a job when you have one. We are doing okay financially, but going to San Diego right now isn’t possible, and when he gets a new job I can’t ask him to take time off to cart me to a different state for treatment. I’m hoping when he gets a new job that we have better insurance. The one we have now is a pain to deal with. It was much easier with Blue Cross. Not that any insurance company is great. I’m so grateful I have Medicare to supplement my private insurance.
I’m so discouraged. It seems like any treatment I’ve gotten for my pain hasn’t worked. My pain management doctor tried injections in my neck and it didn’t work. I can’t take most things they give people for pain. I can’t take opioids, they make me itch like crazy! I can’t take NSAIDS because they eat up my stomach. I started a new medication, Low Dose Naltrexon. With this medication I probably won’t see any effect for months. We’ll see, but after everything, I don’t have a lot of hope. (this is the same medication they use to help with opioid addiction, but at a much higher dose. You can read more about LDN on the LDN Research Trust site.
I realized the other day just how long I’ve been dealing with being sick. I’ve basically been sick most of my life, but things got much worse in 2001, that’s when the Meniere’s disease started getting worse and basically consumed my life. In 2008 I stated seeing new doctors at Duke and they told me I was disabled, from both the Meniere’s and my chronic migraines. It took me until 2015 to accept that and actually file for disability. I just realized though how many treatments I’ve tried to help me, and how long of a fight it has been. 19 years I’ve been dealing with being severely chronically ill. I’ve been ill for basically my whole life, but it wasn’t severe until 2001, it was at that time that I had to stop working full time, it wasn’t long after that that I had to quit working all together. I’m so extremely lucky that I was able to not work.
I’m still trying a few things, I’m seeing an allergist next week, maybe some of my migraines are coming from that. Stuart is going to call the doctor in San Diego and see if they have virtual visits, how the insurance works, how they treat intractable migraines, and if there is a patient portal or email so I can communicate with them directly. Then he is going to call Mayo with the same questions and see how different it is.
This is getting long and I feel like I’m just whining. I don’t mean to be. I realize that when you have a chronic illness you end up having to grieve over and over, every time there is a loss. Having my doctor tell me she can’t help is a huge thing I have to accept. I have to accept that no one may be able to help. Right now I’m just trying to survive with a status migraine (formerly called an intractable migraine) and increased Meniere’s attacks (a lot more vertigo, hearing changes, even with my cochlear implants, and the feeling of fullness in my ears.
One day at a time.
I can’t believe it’s been a MONTH since I posted! The last time I posted I was having a very hard night, thank you all for supporting me and caring, it means the world, really.
I saw my neurologist/headache specialist a few weeks ago and we came up with a new treatment plan for my migraines. First I went in and had an occipital block on both sides, unfortunately it didn’t help. I was very hopeful it would since I had an occipital block on the right side in December and it seemed to help. That was disappointing.
I’ve tried one the new migraine medications for acute attacks, Ubrevly, and it helped as long as I took it early, if the pain is too far gone it didn’t help. So now I’m waiting on insurance approval to get a prescription for it.
Almost every rescue medication for the treatment of an acute migraine only works well if you take it within the first 30 minutes of an attack. When you have a status migraine, it doesn’t go away, so there is no way to catch it in the first 30 minutes. The only thing I can do is use it when the pain starts to increases when having a lower pain day, unfortunately that doesn’t always work.
After I get insurance approval I will be starting Vyepti, it is a CGRP blocker given by IV. Unlike the CGRP drugs that you take by shot every month (Aimovig, Anjovy, and Emgality) you may see a difference within the first week or so, instead of the months it takes with the aforementioned medications. I would get the IV treatment every 3 months, instead of giving myself a shot every month. I’m really hoping this will be a good preventative for me, but I’m afraid it won’t work since neither Emgality nor Aimovig worked.
I have been using the Nerivio device and it does help some, but it is another treatment that must be used in the first 30 minutes of an attack, so I’m only getting partial relief. From the Nerivio website: “Nerivio is a wireless non-invasive remote electrical stimulation wearable applied to the upper arm at the onset of migraine headache or aura. Nerivio induces an inherent pain inhibition brain mechanism, resulting in clinically significant pain relief. Nerivio is safe and well-tolerated.” (I plan to write a review of the Nerivio soon, I’ll give more information at that time. If you’d like to learn more about it check out their website here.
Just yesterday I received the Cefaly device. As described on their site, “Cefaly is an External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation device (e-TNS) for migraine treatment. A self-adhesive electrode is placed on the forehead and the Cefaly device is magnetically connected to this electrode.” I’ve only used it twice so far and it helped. I’m actually feeling better today than I have in a long time. There are 3 different Cefaly devices, one is for the treatment of Acute Migraines, one is for prevention, and one is dual, it does both. I have the Dual Cefaly device. I’ve only used it in the Accute mode so far, hopefully I will be able to use it as a preventative once this status migraine is gone. I will also do a review on the Cefaly after I use it for a while so I can give more information. You can read more about the Cefaly device on their website.
I was so surprised and pleased when I wrote to my doctor and told her that the occipital blocks hadn’t worked and she wrote me back and said she was sorry she didn’t know how to help break this cycle. She is normally very abrasive to me when I contact her outside or an appointment. It’s like she has been two different people, one in the office, and one in the portal. She surprised me, in a good way. I do think she cares, I just think she has too many patients, and doesn’t know how to deal with patients when they are not responding to treatment. Stuart contacted another migraine specialist here, but she isn’t taking new patients for the next 6 months because a colleague is out and she is covering for both of them. I’ll make that decision as time goes on.
I’m so tried of being in pain and having severe light sensitivity. Which reminds me, I also got the Allay lamp. This light helps with light sensitivity. I’ll be reviewing this lamp soon, in the meantime you can read more about it here.
All of the devices mentioned here have some pros and cons, I’ll address those more in my follow-up posts reviewing them. I’m so lucky that I can try these devices, thanks to my wonderful father-in-law’s birthday gift. Since Stuart was laid off I wouldn’t have felt comfortable getting these devices if Dad hadn’t given me that money.
What’s the cost of these devices? The Nerivio is $99 per month for 12 uses, you get a new one each time you refill. The Ceflay is a one time cost for the device, it varies depending on which device you get, but the electrodes do need to be replaced regularly. The Allay lamp is a one time cost of $149 at the time of this blog post.
I purchased all of these devices with my own money, I am not an affiliate and have not been asked to review these items, nor have I received anything from the manufacturers.
Picnic with Ants 