New Year, New Hopes

I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder if it's easier for us to manage head pain than when we have pain someplace else.  Since the end of last year, I've had a few other pain areas and I find myself where I would rather have the headache of a Migraine than these other discomforts.

(Stop, they're knees!)

I was so glad that last year finally made it into the history books and was looking forward to a new beginning that only the New Year could bring forth.  Last year was a very tough year with Migraines and the health of everyone in my family. We each had our own medical experiences, we met our insurance deductibles in January and our max out of pocket expenses were met during the summer.

Last year ended with a bang when I found I needed to have a root canal right after Christmas and the New Year has started off with its own lumps and bumps.

The good news for last year is that I tried Botox for my chronic Migraines and I am still hopeful that it is helping.   My doctor would like to see me wean off all of my other preventatives which would be great if I can do that as the side effects of Botox are nothing like the side effects of my other medications.

Although I don't think my second round of Botox worked as well as my first and third treatments, my doctor said that sometimes you can get an ineffective batch from the pharmacy.  Botox gives me more mental clarity than I get from my other preventatives. Does your doctor have the same goal if you are using Botox?

One week into this year and things already seem a little reminiscent of last January.  My son has already had to go to the orthopedic doctor due to a football injury to his knee. Can you believe that it happened during a flag football game?  The picture above is an xray of my son's knees. You can see how much bigger the one knee is as compared to his boney looking knee. My husband still finds himself with various new issues cropping up since his ordeal last summer and has already needed some emergency care for himself.

And now as my mouth and head conditions have started to settle down in my crazy life, I find myself in the middle of yet another health issue.  Probably the worst part is that I needed to go doctor hunting. I hate looking for a new doctor, but I was between doctors and wasn't really pursuing a new one since I had been trying to get my Migraines under control. I'll also use the poor excuse that I was just too busy with other things, but I know we still need to take care of our whole selves.

I have to say that the doctor I was able to obtain is awesome and very pleasant to work with.  After the exam, he was even able to make an appointment for me to have two tests done in another location on that same day and to see another specialist for this coming week.  It is so nice to have good doctors where I didn't need to look for these other doctors myself.

I am still hopeful that it will be nothing too serious. I've read that some of my symptoms are actually good signs plus denial is the only way I know I can deal with the situation.  Heck, that's still how I deal with my Migraines most of the time! I'll find out more in a few days and can't wait to get some relief from the increasing pain.

In many ways I find it so much easier to handle head pain than other areas even though it can make it more difficult to think and even talk clearly. Any pain can distract us from our task at hand, but I think we have already come up with our own coping skills with our Migraines since we've had years of practice.

Do you find it easier to deal with the pains in your head or with pains that you have elsewhere?