Compounded Medications

Finding ways to improve symptoms is tricky.
With medications, you have side effects, unwanted symptoms, reactions, and sometimes there are some additives that are unnecessary and can cause problems (like flavouring agents).
With herbal remedies, you have unknown or undocumented side effects, so it is harder to prepare. The research is lacking, and you have to really know how the ingredients react with your body in order to be confident using these remedies.

I am on a particular medication to help with my migraines prophylactically, which also helps me sleep.
My insomnia has been insanely frustrating. I find myself feeling absolutely desperate to fall asleep. When I do finally fall asleep, I sleep quite well (other than waking up in a sweat or needing to go to the washroom, but I tend to get back to sleep fairly easily). That presents an odd problem though - the longer it takes me to fall asleep, the more of the next day is wasted sleeping in.
Essentially, it is crucial for me to fall asleep within a certain time or the whole next day is wasted.

The medication seems to help really nicely - except there is a flavouring agent in it to which I am allergic.
This presents two problems:
1. I can only use it one or two days a week because I get hives on my face and chest.
2. I cannot use it enough to really tell how well it works. A prophylactic medication needs to be taken regularly, and to help me sleep it should be taken regularly too.

So I have been either sacrificing my sleep or my skin.
Neither of which is currently working.
I spent four hours trying everything I could think of to fall asleep (I listened to a meditation, I put on my oil diffuser, listened to soft music, put a facemask and put in ear plugs, warm milk, and even medication that I don't like taking very often). I finally relented... I took this prophylactic medication for the third day in a row and put on my Scary Story podcast to listen to some short stories until I was finally falling asleep.

Sleeping in far too late in the day and feeling entirely fatigued from difficulty sleeping, my first phone call was to a compounding pharmacy.
I wound up transferring this one medication to this new pharmacy so that they can take the base powder of the medication and put it into a capsule - without the flavouring agent.
Of course, there is an out-of-pocket cost, but if the medication works and no longer gives me hives, then it is 100% worth it.

Something to think about.
If you are having an issue with a medication, it may not be the actual medication itself. It may just be an added flavour-compound or something else that could be removed without changing the integrity of the medication itself.

Corticosteroid Side Effects

Anyone who has ever suffered with inflammation of some kind has heard of Prednisone.
It is a corticosteroid that helps to reduce inflammation. It is used in various forms (cortisone, hydrocortisone, pills, injections, intravenous infusions, etc etc...) and is notorious for its wide range of uncomfortable - and often severe - side effects.
This medication can be a miracle-drug when inflammation is ravaging the body and threatening one's life, but it is also one of the most abhorred medication according to patients. It is the epitome of what is defined as a love-hate relationship.

Over the past year I have been suffering with the most severe migraines I have ever had.
While Prednisone is known for causing headaches, migraines could be cause for concern, especially when they are brought on by cortisone injections.
When we take tablets of Prednisone, the side effects are system-wide. They go through our entire digestive tract and are carried around the body, which is why every system can be affected by it. With cortisone injections, the medication is targeting one particular area. In that sense, the systemic side effects should be greatly diminished compared to the pill. With susceptibility to the side effects, the shot is a much more effective way to help reduce pain and inflammation in a joint.
So why are the migraines so much worse?

The concern, according to my physicians, would be an increase in intracranial pressure.
The only issue is, how do we test for it? A lumbar puncture. Yep. Not happening. At least not right now. A lumbar puncture is an invasive procedure that is considered to be one of the most painful diagnostic tests. Not only that, but the risks for someone like me are much higher when it comes to the procedure and the recovery time.
My new family doctor (who has been amazing) is mulling over the idea of ordering a head ct or sending me to a neurologist to discuss this conundrum of a situation and check for any worrisome changes in my brain.

The fear (apart from the chance of increased intracranial pressure) is the possibility of being unable to ever take Prednisone or Cortisone again. (See? Total love-hate relationship). Sure the medication is scary, risky, and uncomfortable, but it is a much more frightening thought to be incapable of ever taking the medication. It may have horrendous side effects but it also saves lives.
It reminds me of the dentist. I hate having to go to the dentist. It is uncomfortable, downright painful for me, even excruciating at times.... but if I was incapable of being able to get my teeth cleaned that would be a much worse situation.

So fingers crossed that it is simply a side effect of migraines and not a dangerous intolerance or pressure change inside my brain.
I am so lucky that I have an effective medication to combat the migraines. I can handle them during a course of Prednisone or for a couple of months after cortisone injections as long as I have my medication to relieve the intensity. Otherwise I would have been in the ER a hundred times over already due to this excruciating pain.

The only thing worse than having to take a pharmacy-stock worth of medication is not being able to take medications or remedies that help symptoms like mine.

Migraine Central

So it has become pretty clear that prednisone/cortisone has been the main culprit in the consistent migraines.
After each set of cortisone injections I was suffering with severe migraines daily for 1 month-3 months straight.
Thinking it could be coincidental because they also occurred during a season change, I have been hopeful... but then I went on prednisone for this bladder inflammation. During that course I was also suffering with highly severe migraines every single day (which are still plaguing me).
These migraines are exhausting!
After a quick conversation with one of my specialists about this, I asked him if the steroids could be inducing these migraine flare-ups.
The answer: it's possible.
Obviously there is no way to know 100% unless scans are done after the injections. It's not as though you can scan my brain and there's a sign saying "steroid migraine" being held up by brain tissue.
The worry, however, is that steroids can increase intracranial pressure. With that potential, it was suggested that I speak with my family doctor and possibly even a neurologist.
Maybe they will do some brain scans after my next round of cortisone shots to see if that is what is actually occurring?
I don't know.
I just hope that there is a way to combat this side effect or that we find out for certain that this effect is not actually endangering my health.

That would just be a bummer.

I mean, steroids are by no means 'safe' or 'fun' to take, but if my body has decided that I cannot take them, that is a problem. With a body so riddled with inflammation, having a major medication (another major medication) being taken off the list as an option could be devastating.
So let's hope that it is not a danger. Even if it means not being able to get the cortisone shots but still able to take prednisone when required, I will be happy.
I hate prednisone. Frankly, I don't know anyone who has been on it who likes it. But it does come in handy as a last resort to settle things down. It can be a miracle drug when your life is on the line.

Fingers crossed.

Another Partially Sleepless Night

Here I am, lying in bed, essentially staring at the ceiling.

I fell asleep with little to no issue, but woke up just before 3am. This often happens - though it is normally around 4am.
In all likelihood it is because certain medications that cause drowsiness wear off between 4-6 hours after taking them, and we tend to go to bed around 11pm.
So it is logical.

But then I can't always get back to sleep.

Sometimes I will make my way downstairs to do some yoga and meditation, or work on some art projects. Sometimes I will go and watch a movie or something to keep my mind from wandering. Sometimes I will go in the guest bedroom to see if sleep will envelop me in a different bed.
The options are all the same though.
They don't really address the issue.

It's pain. It's restlessness. It's warn off medications and bouts of insomnia. It's nightmares and the odd night terror. It's sleep apnea, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. It's overheating and overthinking. It's an overactive mind combined with an overactive body. It's that in-between state where I am absolutely exhausted and fatigued but not necessarily sleepy. It's being sleepy but body restless. It is all about being exhausted all of the time, sleeping away most of my days, and yet never feeling rested. It is elusive restful sleeps. Today in particular it's reeling after a really awful nightmare - plus overheating and restlessness.

And the snoring to my right just amplifies my inability to sleep.
With that said, I am very grateful that my common insomnia does not seem to have a negative effect on his sleep. If that were the case I'm sure I would be sleeping in the guest room a lot more often.

So what do you do when you can't sleep but can't quite function either?

If I get up and begin something - a yoga session, reading, painting, writing - I am admitting defeat. When I do these things, I usually wind up staying awake for several hours instead of one or two. Getting up and doing something productive, while it feels good psychologically, it essentially worsens the problem.
So I write blogs. I stare at the ceiling. I try to meditate. I do nothing - so that I may be able to fall back asleep.

Lucky for me, I am not often forced to awaken early. Unless I have an appointment, there is no reason for me to really stress about trying to function on a significant lack of sleep. I've done that before. It doesn't turn out very well.

So even though I am frustrated with my body's avoidance of a restful sleep, I am also not often required to stress about it. It's just a matter of deciding whether or not I am going to physically get up and stay up for another 4 hours or so, or if I am going to try and get back to sleep within the hour.

We'll see what prevails: Exhaustion vs Restlessness.

Beginning a New Direction

Starting a new endeavor (one that will be made available and be made public within the coming weeks) has me so motivated and so challenged that I am putting nearly all of my focus onto it.
I keep wanting to go and buy or order more supplies.
I keep wanting to learn new things.
I keep having dreams about the projects I am already working on.
I continue to find new sources of inspiration.

Most of all - I have narrowed down a list of items and supplies and tutorials and a direction in which I want to follow.

That direction includes calligraphy markers, inks, brushes, watercolors, canvas, books on lettering, books on doodling, workbooks, sketchbooks, rice paper, quills, inks, worktables, easels, and an area to get messy!! (I already have several aprons because of how much I like to cook and bake, so I have that ready).
These new projects have me so excited and enjoying so many new things that I can barely contain myself.

Except I have to.
I have to have some level of self-preservation because, whether I like it or not, my health interrupts everything. I can't just go to an art store any day of the week, pick up materials, and then practice all night long.
Even tonight, with a building migraine, as much as I want to focus on new projects, I need to lie down and relax.
So with dreams of new markers and brushes and watercolors, I will lie here and watch Hocus Pocus instead.

New exciting things coming soon!
I cannot wait to show you!