Life at the Headbanger's Ball

Well, H - E - double hockey sticks

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know.  It's been a while.  So shoot me - PLEASE!  The Methysergide did the same thing as last time.  By Day 4, my shins/calves were swollen and red.  Discontinued the med, but the red didn't go away this time.  It kept getting worse.  The skin turned red and purpley-brownish, bruised and blistered looking.  This isn't a real good picture, but it gives you the general idea.
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I went to the doc and what I have is called Static Dermatitis caused by a combination of my weight and the methysergide.  The Methysergide, coupled with excess fluid buildup/retention, have constricted the blood vessels causing insufficient circulation in my legs.  Blood is having a hard time flowing back up the veins in my legs and is seeping into the surrounding tisues.  Treatment is to elevate the legs above the heart as often as possible, a short course of a diuretic, some steroidal cream for the rash and itch and lose weight.  Yet another potentially harmful side effect of being a fat body like me.  On the plus side, my blood pressure even with everything going on and a shadow was only 127/72.  My last cholesterol check was something like 145.  I'm fairly healthy - I'm just fat.  The doc is going to help me work on that.
 
Thanks for the advice and concern, everyone.  Another lesson learned the hard way. 

You don't graduate from the school of hard knocks - you survive it!
 

Once more with feeling...

Okay, the redness is gone and the swelling is all but gone.  I waited 24 hours from my last dose of Imitrex and then started back on the Methysergide on the 14th.  Going to follow the same ramping up schedule as before to keep the conditions the same as when I had to quit taking it.  Starting at 2mg per day and going up 2mg every 4th day.  2 days in and no change in the clusters.  No strange side effects, no trippy feeling, no feeling at all actually - good or bad.  So far the legs are about normal. 

I hope my willingness to try again pays off for me and I hope that writing it out for other clusterheads to see may help someone else. 

The Dance Continues...

...and the band plays on.  Still doing my normal number of hits every day.  Life goes on.  The van died on us again.  Spent two days tracking down and repairing an electrical short.  Too much fun.  I guess I really can't complain.  It's a 94 Chevy Astro with 227,000 miles on it.  It's already lived two lifetimes for a vehicle.  Still...I can't afford to replace it right now, so I try to take good care of it.  My other vehicle is an 86 Nissan Sentra with 178,000 miles on it.  I don't think I'd know how to act if I was to ever get a new vehicle.  LOL

I had to go to Tulsa this past weekend so I called a clusterhead friend and we had a good reunion.  We met at the Family Diner and minutes turned to hours as the breakfast crowd finished their meals and the lunch crowd came and went.  For any cluster headache sufferer who reads this, if you have never met another clusterhead, you absolutely MUST.  There is an instant bond that is inexplicable.  No need to explain that droopy eye, no need to apologize as you excuse yourself to deal with an oncoming attack, just a quiet understanding and acceptance.  There's no telling how long Steve and I would have sat there drinking coffee and swapping stories if I had not gotten hit.  After dealing with the attack, we noticed how late it was.  I had to hit the road to get home.  I can't wait until the O.U.C.H. Convention this summer.  All you clusterheads should attend this.

http://www.ouch-us.org/gatherings/milcon06/convention06.htm

On the medicinal front...I called the neuro's office and they agreed with me that I should wait until the swelling and redness had cleared up and give the Methysergide one more try.  If the redness and swelling returns, we can scratch yet another medication from the list.  Why am I not hopeful???

Houston, we have a problem

Methysergide update:

Day 3 came and went with no change in the number of hits.  I started to notice a little swelling of my ankles.  They swell up now and then so I didn't think much of it.  Increased fluid intake to see if that would help.
 
Day 4 - upped dose to 4mg.  No change in the frequency or severity of attacks.  The swelling has spread to feet and shins.  The skin on my shins has turned red (looks like I have a sunburn) and is painful to the touch.  Feet are not cold. Capillary refill is still good - when I press on my toe nails, the skin underneath goes white and then turns back to pink immediately upon release.   
 
Going to discontinue the med and see if the swelling clears up.  Also going to report this to the neuro to see what he says. 
 
Needless to say I am severly depressed by this latest setback.  I was hoping that this med was going to be the one to finally give me a break.   I guess that's what I get for getting my hopes up.  I wrote the following poem after a series of bad attacks a couple days ago.  Pretty much sums it up for me right now...

Pain

Pain shrouds my life
Like a Widows black veil
Keeping me in the darkness
Of my own personal hell

Letting through only glimpses
Of life and of light
I tear through the fabric
But try as I might

Just as I think
I might see light of day
There stands the Beast
Guarding the way

Burning hot poker
And fiery claw
He tells me he'll be here
'Til last breath I draw

To drive home his point
He stabs at my eye
His claw burns my skull
As time slowly drags by

Just before he leaves
And drifts out of sight
With a scorching caress says
See you later tonight

The veil is replaced
Blocking out skies of blue
And my struggle for freedom
Starts over anew

I'm tired of this game
Of my weakness I'm sick
Spin the cylinder once more
Pull the trigger, .....

04-30-2006

Playing catch up

Okay, it's been a couple days.  Was hurting too bad to even look at the computer for more than a few minutes.  The storms are gone now and my head is clearing up some as well.  Only 6 hits yesterday.  Only.  That's a laugh, but it's better than the previous 3 days.  Funny how your perspective changes as your situation changes.

I started the Methysergide on Saturday.  One hour after taking it I felt a little droozy (drowsy + woozy = droozy LOL) for about 10 minutes.  Then I had a kind of strong heartbeat for a few minutes and that was it.  No weird side effects.  No hallucinations.  Nothing.  Sunday's dose brought no effect at all.  Still got all the attacks.  A friend of mine who took it said he started feeling the effects after the second day.  Maybe three will be my lucky number.  I know it will take time to build up in my system.  After two and a half years without a break I guess I am just over anxious for it to be my magic bullet that kills the beast and lets me return to a normal life.  Hey, if you're going to dream - dream big, right?

Well, it's 3:00 in the morning and I can feel the beast heating up the railroad spike - again.  It's already looking like today is going to go into extra innings.  Just great.  In addition to the everyday stuff, I have to babysit Sahara and tonight is Zack's (youngest son) Band Banquet.  I hope I can get through it all.  Geez, between the clusters, the insomnia and the depression I'm just about friggin useless.