Migraine Update: Discharged From PT

physical therapy, migraine awareness month, chronic migraine headaches, treatme

Hey, friends!

I took a sick day today for a migraine and slept on and off all morning and afternoon. If you read my Migraine Story you know that my Neurologist recommended physical therapy and weaned me off of the preventative medicine that I’ve been on for years.

Well, my headaches have been terrible since weaning off of my medicine. I have had to take ibuprofen four times per day in order to dull the pain enough to go to work. My long-term goal is to not need to take any pain medication unless I have a migraine because it’s extremely bad for my body.

So I’ve had this migraine for about four days now and haven’t taken any medication in 30 ish hours. The reason I’m not taking anything for my migraine is because I know that I’m having rebound headaches which are caused by overusing medication. I need to get to the root problem which means stopping any rebound headaches.

Today was also a scheduled physical therapy day for me which I did not want to cancel. I went to PT expecting to do the stretches I have been practicing and maybe learning some new ones. My physical therapist is awesome but she knew that our appointments were not helping me reach my goal of being pain-free.

I didn’t expect to be discharged today. I didn’t expect to cry over being discharged. I didn’t expect to feel a wave of hopelessness when she told me that she didn’t think she could help.

I did feel like she heard me and believed me. I felt like she wanted to help me find an answer. She empowered me to not take “no” for an answer from my neurologist and doctors.

She will be sending a note over to my neurologist with her treatment recommendations which include a pain clinic or headache institute in either Ann Arbor or Chicago. I am doing my research and will talk to my family and doctors about the next steps. I’m sad that another door has been closed but I am hopeful that another will open very soon. My physical therapist reminded me that on the outside I look healthy but I need to remind people that I’m still suffering.

I did take away one important thing from physical therapy that I wanted to share with everyone. I know that I am extremly lucky to not have a brain tumor or a terminal disaese. But just because I can’t be “diganosed” doesn’t mean that I’m not still fighting for my life. Every day I am fighting for a quality of life that doesn’t involve constant pain, sleepless nights, and bottles of medication. I am fighting for a life where Brett and I can start a family which is currenly not an option. I am fighting to travel and spend a day at the lake with my family like a normal twenty-something.

I’m not asking for a miracle. I’m just asking to feel okay again.

June is migraine awarness month. Hopefully me sharing my story can help others who are suffering the same fate that I am. I’m not alone in this and I won’t stop fighting for myself and everyone else who is impacted.

I’ve ordered some books and will be spending the next few weeks researching my next steps. Let me know if you like these updates and want to stay informed on my treatment options!

Thanks so much for reading!

 
Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

 
Photo by Imani Clovis on Unsplash

19 thoughts on “Migraine Update: Discharged From PT”

  4. myplace3187 says:
    Reply

    Hello Hayley I have been in a Pain 101 Course up here in a city called Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This starts with a group session each Monday for two hours. Since chronic Pain can not be healed we have to learn how to live with it for life. I did not finish this course as I had to drop out for heart surgery on June 5th. Please check under the Pain Clinic at the University Hospital here. I wish you all the best with getting your headaches under control. I have had chronic pain problems for twenty years or so now. I am going back to the course after I heal up in a couple of months and enroll again.

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  7. The Lexington Bookie says:
    Reply

    I am so sorry to hear about your struggle. I too suffer from migraines, and I don’t know if you’re tried this route before, but chiropractic work is what finally helped me control my migraines. At the peak, I was having a migraine every other day or for multiple days in a row, with aura. So I went to a chiro who specialized in migraine relief. I now might get a migraine once or twice a month. If you haven’t tried that yet, I hope that becomes something that can give you some relief. At any rate, I hope that there is a breakthrough coming your way.

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