This has been quite the frustrating journey.
For the last three years I've been blown off by almost every doctor I've seen, ER doctors included. I was constantly told since I was about 18 that I had high blood pressure but the nurses would just shrug and say it must have been a fluke. Finally, in January, I found a doctor who truly felt that I should be diagnosed with high blood pressure. My normal rate was about 180/120. In the last 4 years I have been suffering from severe, extremely debilitating migraines. The kind that make you throw up, you can't walk because your blood pressure is so high it's pounding and throbbing, shortness of breath, etc. They went from a couple times a month to a couple times a week.
Here is my medication list:
Preventative:
- Amitriptyline
- Verapamil
- Metroprolol
- Flax Seed Oil
- Multivitamin
Abortive:
- Excedrin (If normal headache and below 5 on pain scale)
- Phenergan (Anti-Nausea)
- Vicodin (If above 7 on pain scale)
Usually this regimine works just fine. No, I don't get rebound headaches from Vicodin. I know the difference between migraine and rebound headache. It drives me crazy when people try to tell me I get rebound headaches. I use the correct dosage and follow directions as they are given to me.
Did I have a seizure? Stroke?
So, three days ago, I was in the grocery store with my friends and suddenly my brain PHYSICALLY (NOT audibly) felt like it was convulsing, vibrating is the best way I can put it. Then I lost my sense of balance and I became extremely dizzy, so I grabbed on to my friends hand so I wouldn't fall. This lasted about 1 minute (from the buzzing in my head to dizziness), and then I felt pretty disoriented for a few hours afterward. My boyfriend was a paramedic so I called him and I asked him what I should do, he said go to the ER immediately because it could have been an aura for a stroke or seizure. This has only happened about 4 times since January, I mentioned it to my doctor but she didn't really say much about it, she just said that it sounded weird.
The doctor at the ER was extremely concerned about my hypertension, it was 200/130 that day. I was in a lot of pain from a migraine as well but I was more concerned about what that buzzing thing was. I was there for about 6 hours and he came back in and said that I was a really puzzling case, they had me do a CT scan, and blood work which came back fine. He said that he wasn't sure what to do next but he wanted to admit me to the hospital if I wanted to go. This is the first time any doctor has taken a step to help me. So I agreed.
The first doctor I had when I was moved upstairs was amazing. She had an entire plan mapped out for me as to what they were going to do to try and find out what happened. She thinks that I might have a tumor on my adrenal gland. She was really concerned that my blood pressure was so high and that I am so young to have it. She started a 24 hour urine catch for me and had planned out a few ultra sounds and blood work tests. Unforutnately she left because she was going on vacation.
So I got switched to another doctor. I waited about 6 hours for her to see me and tell me what was going on. She finally popped in and she made me repeat the story about what happened in the grocery store. She repeated it back to me and said "So you know, sometimes people can feel disoriented from stress." I said, "Ma'am, it wasn't just feeling disoriented, I physically felt in my brain that it was buzzing." Then she said that she wasn't sure what to do about it and that it could be from stress. Then she didnt say anything else besides that she ordered a ultra sound and left. The nurses kept coming in and asking what the doctor wanted to do, but the doctor didnt say anything, so they constantly had to page her and track her down to see what kind of medications to give me. I didn't see the doctor for about another day and a half.
Last night she came in my room about 8 hours after I had tests done and she said that she didn'tknow what to do with me and that I needed to just see my regular doctor. So I asked her why they wanted to keep me there if no one can't figure out what the hell to do with me. She said "well what do you want to do?" I said, I didnt know, I wasn't the doctor- If I knew how to treat my condition I wouldn't have to be there. She said "I can't diagnose why you were feeling disoriented other than you have hypterensiveness." I had to repeat myself AGAIN and tell her it wasn't JUST feeling confused, m brain physically convulsed. She just nodded her head and said "mmhm." She didn't really care, at all. I was in tears. Then she said she didn't really think they could keep me there any longer. And "Oh, we noticed you have about 10 cysts on your right ovary which might cause some of your symptoms, but I don't know." I wanted to scream! WHY CAN'T THEY TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO HELP ME?!?! If they THINK all this stuff is happening, then why can't they take the next step. So she wandered out of the room and disappeared. The nurses came in and asked what the doctor wanted me to do, and I just wept, I told them she didnt really say anything. I could tell by their response that a lot of patients were having issues with her.
I left feeling like a lot of stuff was unanswered. Why can't anyone give me a straight answer? I'm so tired of being blown off because people don't want to put the effort in to helping me. I'm sick of people telling me that it's stress. I just feel so lost and alone.
Thoughts?
PM