Hammered by Hemicrania

Brain Bopped

Was able to work today, will be there tomorrow, but The Headache is still hanging on.  The brain fog is hammering my brain, not sure if I'm coherent.  Thank heavens I seem to work with a multitude of mind readers.  No medication for The Headache today nor tomorrow as need to gather my wits if I have any. Started working on a small programming project this evening, it will be a good exercise to rescramble my three working brain cells into some semblance of order.  I reviewed my emails this evening, spelling is atrocious and parts of words are missing - need to spend extra time reviewing documents because my mind sees it as I think I am writing, and seems to ignore reality.  Wish I had that quality about everything!!  Reality is very overrated, and I certainly don't recommend it if you have an alternative.

I really think this is Bad Headache No. 4 of 2010, which is pretty good.  Last year I was at Bad Headache No. 36 of 2009 by the first part of August.  That is almost a 90% decrease in severe headache exacerbations just due to the occipital stimulator.  The best the study offered was a 50% reduction in overall pain.  For me, the stimulator has certainly been worth it, but patience has been needed since it didn't happen overnight - the stimulator had to "scar" in, and then it has to be on continuously for it to work on The Headache. The crosstalk between the occipital nerve and some of the frontal nerves (trigemenal and supraorbital nerves) didn't really start until I had been runnning the thing between three and four months. 

I'm hoping that it becomes easier for people to get stimulators installed, and for insurance to pay for the implant and surgery.  I'm not sure how it would work if you had migraines that were not constant, or cluster headaches that came in intense bunches, since my headache is pretty bad most of the time  - still there when I turn the stimulator down for a few hours.  I don't even notice that it is on anymore and don't find it annoying at all, just a little bit ouchy if overstimulated.  If I have one or two bad headaches a month, it is still sooooo much better than the two years before when The Headache was nonstop agony.

Not going to be a very good night, but I hope to get a couple of hours sleep before I go to work tomorrow.  I need to be there ON TIME (hear that Headache??  Pay attention!) and then remember to pick up dog food and something else I can't remember on the way home.  Oh, and reschedule some sort of appointment and heaven knows what else I have forgotten by now. But I absolutely positively must be ON TIME tomorrow. 

Glad to be back at work, and hopefully my brain will kick into gear because I will be ON TIME and ready to go tomorrow morning!