Neuro News

The day after Sophia had her one year check-up, I had my doctor's appointment with the neurologist. As it turned out, the doctor was in the same building that my Obgyn had been in before they moved....so very easy to find! Too bad my appointment was scheduled right during the worst part of rush hour. Oh well. Luckily, traffic wasn't too bad and I got there with about ten minutes to spare. I had filled out all the paperwork before my appointment so all I had to do was show my license, insurance card and hand over the paperwork and then wait. And wait. And wait. My appointment time was 9:20am. By 9:40 I was seriously annoyed. By 9:50, I was seriously ticked off. Oh, and it wasn't like the waiting room was packed, I was the only one in there, with the exception of one other patient, who walked in about ten minutes after me. I was finally called back by a nurse who weighed me and put me in a room to take my blood pressure, ask me a few questions and then leave me to wait for the doctor. I actually had seen the doctor I was going to be seeing walk in to the office as I sat in the waiting room right around my actual appointment time (McDreamy he was not.....oh well....real neurologists probably don't really ever look like that anyway). So I figured I was probably his first patient. And that he was in no hurry to actually see me. I would say it was probably 10 or so by the time he came into the room.
He asked some questions about my migraines (when I started having them, was there a history of them....glad I spent time filling out all that paperwork....guess reading it is NOT what he was doing while I was in the waiting room), looked in my eyes, ears, mouth, checked my reflexes like a regular doctor.
Generally I do not like to go to the doctor. I don't go unless I really have to. The fact that I was even at this doctor meant that my migraines have gotten to a point that something needs to happen. That being said, when I am at any doctor (or dentist, hate going there too), I try to joke a bit to make the mood light. Just imagine all the comedy when I was pregnant and going to the doctor every couple of weeks. Ugh. Anyway, there was NO joking whatsoever at this appointment. When I felt like answering a question with a bit of humor, I just choked it back and said nothing extra at all. This doctor just didn't seem to have even a touch of a sense of humor. At one point, he asked me what I do for work. A LOT of funny responses came to mind, but instead I just said, 'nothing, I'm a stay at home mom'. He said (in a very dry monotone), 'well, that can be a lot of work'. If there was a neurological diagnosis of brain exploding due to holding back funny/sarcastic comments, well, the migraine thing would've had to have taken a back burner. When I was telling Michael about this later, he pointed out that I probably didn't really want a jokester dealing with my brain. He has a good point, brain issues are nothing to joke about. But there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable with going to the doctor and the doctor should try to make the patient feel comfortable. You definitely don't have to be a comedian, but geez, crack a smile at least!!
We did not chat for very long. He asked if I had even been given any daily medication for prevention of migraines. Um, what? No, I certainly have not. And if I have been, it surely would not be working very well, seeing that I am here for terrible migraines, right?? Some scribbling on a pad, grabbing of some migraine relief pill samples, directions to keep a migraine diary, instructions to return in a month and we are done. The whole thing was between ten and fifteen minutes. And I waited like forty. Oh, and something else I found out after the fact....since that was a specialist the co-pay was FIFTY dollars!!!!!!
Anyway, tomorrow will be one week that I have been taking something called Topomax, a preventative medicine for migraines. Actually, it is often used to prevent seizures, but is very effective in adults against migraines. I take one pill a night and we will see how that works for the next month. Oddly, the only migraine I have had so far (although it has been less than a full week) occurred on the night of my doc appointment. I took one of the samples and within about an hour, my headache actually went away. A few side effects of the Topomax may be decreased appetite (is this supposed to be a negative??) and decreased sweating (again, am I supposed to complain about that?) and possible kidney stones after prolonged use (ok, finally...I do not want kidney stones)....but the doctor really doesn't want me to have to use it for a long time so hopefully that one won't be an issue. I am optimistic that preventative medicine is a good way to keep my migraines in check...and if they do happen every now and then I can at least have a prescription that actually works to get rid of them. That is all I ask!!