Emergency [Adventure]

 

[Adventure 69]

It wasn't quite the result I was looking for.

I've been struggling with migraines for most of my life. This past year and a half they have gotten increasingly worse. Twice we've thought I was having a stroke. More often than not, I have a migraine. It's getting more and more difficult to function. 

I finally received a referral to a neurologist. The neurologist is doing more testing and referred me for occipital nerve blocks to see if they help at least with the neck pain and cervicogenic headaches. 

The nerve block procedure itself was fairly simple - four injections into my neck. I was in and out of the doctor's office in fifteen minutes. By the time I got home, I was having trouble moving my head. By the time I went to bed that night, my neck had seized up, was swollen, and incredibly painful. By 5AM, I couldn't take the pain anymore and headed to the emergency department.

My husband had to drive because I could barely lift my arms. Pain was radiating from my neck, through my shoulders, down my arms. My neck and shoulder muscles were tense. And it didn't help that a jaw infection was also causing half of my skull to throb. Not usually overwhelmed by pain, my husband knew it was serious because I could barely speak without sobbing. Not only was the pain unbearable, but I didn't know if something was majorly wrong with the injection sites or because of the injections or if it was just my body overreacting as usual. 

After checking in, I was called in, my husband told to wait in the waiting room until I was settled. I entered the room and was informed to change into a gown and the nurse would return to take my blood pressure and the doctor would be in shortly. The nurse took two steps toward the door and the doctor entered. He chatted with me, examined me, and prescribed antibiotics and a limited course of pain medication. And made sure I'd be contacting the doctor who did the nerve blocks to inform him of my body's violent reaction to them. All before I could even sit down. The nurse then took my blood pressure, went to retrieve my first doses of medication, and returned with my discharge paperwork as well. I never did put on the gown. My husband never was called into the room. It was the quickest visit I've ever had to the emergency department. 

We stopped for a macchiato on the way home. Large. With an extra shot of espresso. A little over an hour after we left for the hospital, I was home, snuggled in my bed, waiting for the meds to kick in. It wasn't the morning I'd planned, but it was definitely an adventure.