Face down. Needles were ready to lance the thick skin at the back of my head, left and right. I wondered if this procedure would finally bring some long overdue relief to my almost never-ending migraines. Occipital nerve blocks were on Wednesday’s menu. The doctors were using ultrasound to guide them to the exact location. The occipital nerves are very close to arteries! I made it through okay, though the first needle went in abruptly and harshly. All that was left to do afterwards was hope this nerve blocking would have an impact on the old migraine brain.
That was more than two days ago. My head hurt that night, but I woke up the next day with no migraine big or small. My luck held out all day yesterday. Today was different.
Again, I woke up just fine. Yet through the course of the day I felt as if a migraine were just under the surface of my head, bringing the storm without the thunder. It was awesome not to have the pain, but it did feel weird. My sister Marsha, who used to suffer terribly from migraines but got “menopaused” out of them for the most part, understood exactly what I was experiencing. It was almost as if a mole was burrowing around inside my head trying to poke its way out. The makings for the migraine were all there but it wasn’t breaking through like it normally did.
That was until around 8pm. Our neighbor, whom I’ve mentioned before, was mowing his lawn when we arrived home from dinner around 7:25. He likes to idle it at full bore for long periods of time and near our side of his property. I’ve timed the barrage of noise before, and he sometimes idles the damn thing for up to ten minutes.
Tonight the mower kept going and going. It seemed as if Chuck took a loop or two and then let it idle anywhere from a couple minutes to almost ten. We kept thinking he would be done anytime. Nope. The repetitive, obnoxious noise drove both of us toward the brink of craziness. This beast of a mower is the very same one Jim gave to Chuck when we got a newer one because Chuck didn’t have a riding mower. Oh what can of worms that opened up!
The migraine that tried breaking through my head all day did exactly that in accompaniment to the mower. I was so disappointed because I immediately thought the occipital nerve blocks weren’t working. But the migraine didn’t last and though it’s still present, it’s at a very tolerable pain level (thanks to the very forbidden Vicodin fruit). Chuck finally quit mowing a bit after nine. Both Jim and I were numb brained after being subjected to over an hour and a half of revving-idle-revving-idle-revving-idle ad nauseam.
Time for sleep now.
Disclaimer: Any medical treatments listed in this or other posts are from my personal perspective and not meant as advice to anyone. Please see your doctor before trying any medications or treatments.
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