kaberett | [migraine] miscellany (Reply)

I have realised -- and possibly this is just because I am currently in the depths of a migraine -- that my sense of Last Year's Defining Feature is... migraines, not, you know, having got a PhD. I am... going to be working on changing that.

Metaclopramide, the new anti-emetic, is strictly less useful than prochlorperazine and definitely does not make the nausea go away. (Prochlorperazine is so far the only non-analgesic drug that has made any meaningful difference to my symptoms. I am slightly wondering about what the immediate hormonal response to a deep IM injection looks like -- if that explains the incredibly rapid recovery after administration, then maybe there IS a point in trying oestrogen supplementation even if I can't start it 'til prodrome starts.)
It turns out that walking (at least in the guise of pacing up and down the flat) significantly exacerbates migraine pain and symptoms, while using an exercise bike actually seems to temporarily alleviate them. I have no idea why this is the case, but it does mean I can use "how short am I on my step count goal [of 2.5k steps] at bedtime" as an indicator of How Bad The Migraine's Been Today, Then. This is potentially useful.
I am, I think, moving into the next phase with this disease, by which I mean that I am starting to actually be able to think about how to restructure my life to accommodate it instead of grimly holding out for A Magic Cure. In the first instance, my record-keeping usefully indicates that ovulation-related migraines are generally shorter than menstruation-related migraines (24h to 3 days, vs ~6 days), which makes a certain amount of sense given what the two oestrogen peaks typically look like (short and sharp for ovulation from a high maximum; slower and gentler from a lower max for menstruation). I don't have conclusions yet, but... hey. At least, ish, I can start to think about it in these terms.

UPSIDE: I think this means! that the total number of days per month I'm spending migrained! is starting to plateau??? ~~shh alex don't jinx it~~

I am beginning to contemplate trying a month or two without any preventatives (other than my background low-dose amitriptyline), just to... confirm that they're really not having any meaningful effect. Because, hey, gotta find some way to kill time until July.

This has been your bulletin.