Friday, March 30, 2012

And The Story Continues.....(Migraines: Part 2)

More about migraines!

Part 1 of the migraine story is here 

How fun is THAT?!

Actually they are not fun....

They suck....

Found out today through a friend that them giving me the Toradol in the ER was not OK!

This is a fact sheet about Toradol.  Everything a medical person will need to know about it.

See where it says "Absolute Contraindications"?

Yeah?

Well # 2 states: "Allergies to Aspirin or other NSAID's"

Yeah....that's what I have....and allergy to Ibuprofen....which is an NSAID!!

And they knew that...I told them...at least twice.

I wasn't harmed by it except for some hives so I'm not going to complain about it any further.  Hope the ER staff learned something from my little mishap.

Anyway I digress....

I went to the neurologist today and he checked me over.  I have to go next week and get an MRI of my brain and the week after I get an EEG to see if there is anything afoot.  He did notice some nystagmus in my right eye but he says it could be the result of weak muscles in my eye or from hitting my head too many times.  He wants to see what the tests show before he come to an educated conclusion about why my migraines are getting worse.

He gave me Imitrex that I am supposed to take at the onset of a migraine and then 2 hours afterward if it's not better.  I asked some of my friends who take it and did some research and the reviews on it are mixed.  Some people say it works but only if you take it right away.  Some said it didn't work for them.  Haven't had a reason to test it yet (but seeing as I get at least 1 migraine a week) I probably will in the next 7 days or so.

The doc told me to see a record of when I get headaches and what may have brought them on so we can see if there is an established pattern to them.  Apparently there are may things that can bring them on: weather, food, stress, etc. So we shall see what happens.

Until then folks...send out peace and love and forget the hate.

Signing off 03:40

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Fun times in Migraineland! (Migraines: Part 1)

I'm used to getting migraines by now.  They suck but usually can be dealt with by taking 2 Naproxen, drinking a ton of water and taking a nap.  Not so last night!  D came home and found me curled up in bed and not very happy. He insisted after arguing with me for 15 minutes that I go to the ER.  I was too tired, nauseous, dizzy, and in too much pain to put up a fight....so off to the ER we went.

After they put me in a room and put in an IV the doc came in to see me.  She ordered Zofran for the nausea and Toradol for the migraine.  After that was on board I sent D to go get himself some dinner because he hadn't eaten.  About 10 minutes after he left I started getting itchy.  After scratching for a few minutes a nurse wandered in and took a look at me and sent for the doctor.  I had hives from the Toradol!  I was given Benadryl for the hives and then (because the migraine was still persisting) I got some Morphine.  Then I took a nap.  We got home about 22:00 last night and I slept on the couch for awhile after having some soup broth and then I went to bed.

In talking with some people on line that I know through an allergy forum I was told that because I have an allergy to Ibuprofen (which we knew) that I should not have been given Toradol.  In thinking about it I already knew that.  We carry it on our ambulance and give it to our patients for pain.  I guess I was too out of it last night that when they said they were going to give me Toradol I didn't put two and two together.  D didn't know, so he didn't say anything.  So now he knows in case it happens again he can say something.

Lesson learned!  Docs aren't perfect and you and your family members should keep up on your allergies and medications.

Part 2 of the migraine story is here

Signing off 16:31

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pinterest!

I joined Pinterest today!  For those of you who don't know what it is:  You can create online "bulletin boards" and pin things to them.  Pictures, recipes, quotes, directions to make things....the list goes on and on.  I though it was a cool concept so I decided to try it.  I'm hooked!!  So go check it out!! If you need an invite to join let me know! 

Link for my Pinterest Profile and Boards

Enjoy and follow me once you create your boards!!

Signing off 14:40

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Troubling Times In The World

Not sure how long this post is going to be so bear with me as I will ultimately get to my point.

This story begins some time ago when I became aware of a group based in California called Invisible Children through another of the activist groups that I am involved with.

Invisible Children was founded in 2008 to bring awareness to human rights violations.  Particularly the conflict that is going on presently in Uganda.

What conflict? You ask....  Have you ever heard of Joseph Kony?.... Who?.....The Lord's Resistance Army?......What?  Do you even know where Uganda is?....let me explain.....

The short version goes like this: 

Uganda is a country in Africa where most of the people who live there live in poverty.  (The following I have copied from Wikipedia at Wikipedia article on the LRA:)
"The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The movement, led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the "spokesperson" of God and a spirit medium, aims to overthrow Yoweri Museveni's Ugandan government and to establish a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi tradition, according to its leaders.  The conflict, one of Africa's longest running, resulted in a very severe humanitarian crisis. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation, torture, rape, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers, and a number of massacres."


Yes, you read that correctly....CHILD SOLDIERS.  Joseph Kony orders the abduction of children from their homes and turns them into slaves and child soldiers. He will often send them back to their villages with orders to KILL AND MUTILATE THEIR PARENTS.  This has been going on since 1987....I was in second grade in 1987!  It's 2012!  Things like this shouldn't be happening. This guy needs to be stopped.  

The Hague wants him to try him for his crimes.  The only problem is that they can't find him.  After much work by Invisible Children and US citizens, the government of the USA was convinced (for the first time EVER) to get involved in a foreign issue that did not threaten the USA's stability.  President Obama sent troops over to Uganda to act as advisors for the Ugandan military so they can get the training and skills needed to flush Kony out so he can stand for his crimes. 

We need to make Joseph Kony a household name and make a stand for all the children that have had to suffer at his hands.  I recently watched an excellent video that details the conflict in Uganda and the whole situation with Kony.  I will post the link below.  Please watch it and if you can take action.  The only way Kony will be stopped is if we ban together and take a stand.  

Enough is enough.  We need to save the lives of these kids before more have to suffer.

 Invisible Children on Facebook

Video about Kony 2012  

Invisible Children on Twitter 


Signing off 01:01