This morning, I got up at 6 o'clock, took care of my kits, took my medication and took a shower. I was in the parking lot an hour later; it was still dark and the temperature was at zero. I scraped most of the ice off the windshield, then sat inside the car for 15 minutes until the heat worked. Then I left for Boulder Community Hospital to have ultrasound studies of my carotid arteries, and an MRI of my brain. I arrived at 7:30 and checked in, got my paperwork, and was immediately taken back for the ultrasound. My head was at an uncomfortable angle, but, otherwise, it was fine. Then back down the hall to the MRI area, and more paperwork to be filled out. Had to wait ten minutes, but, that, too, was fine. Went into the dressing room, took off my clothes, put on the gown, and stuffed my belongings, including my glasses, into a locker. Was immediately taken back to the imaging room, and while the machine was clanging away, I sang several favorite songs in my head - mostly by Marty Robbins, a few Simon and Garfunkel, and a couple I learned in grade school. Suddenly, it was all quiet, and all over. I came home.
This afternoon, I received a call from my GP's nurse. She said everything looked normal on all of my tests, and that Dr Guthrie still thinks that the two "white outs" in my left eye were migraine auras. She wants me to come back in for some counseling, to learn about things that might keep the number of headaches down. I told the nurse I'd call and schedule an appointment - and to please tell Dr Guthrie that I had been to one dental appointment, and had another next week. She said she would do so.
I have had migraine headaches since I was 15 years old - that's 45 years of migraines. I have had numerous MRIs, CTs, and X-rays, with and without contrast dye. I have seen more than 20 different neurologists over the years - including the head of the Neuro Department at Shands Teaching Hospital, when I was employed there. I have a huge box of printed material from my many visits - what to avoid eating, what to avoid doing, what to do in certain weathers, what to do all the time, what stressors to avoid, what to avoid drinking, what to avoid sun and heat-wise, etc, etc, etc. What more does she think she can counsel me on? I keep up-to-date on migraine research, I read scholarly articles, and those dumbed down for general consumption.
This Doctor believes that the two times I had "white outs" in my left eye were caused by massive auras. The auras that occur, occasionally, when I have a migraine, are yellow-greenish and have flares of blue. I've never had a white aura, or an aura without pain. That is what this Doc is insisting happened to me. I still believe that I had a capillary burst in my left eye with each white out occurrence - not a weird migraine aura, nor a TIA, nor a mini-stroke...
So, having spent over $3,000 out-of-pocket.... I am very grumpy.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Grumpy - Call Me Grumpy
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