Medication Side Effects Causes more problems than the Illness.

Well once again i have had to change medication after stopping my last lot due to an allergic reaction and really bad side effects. The doctor seems to feel my body is super sensitive to any type of medication and the neurologist thinks that Amertriplin will be the one that works. Well he wasn't far wrong. After starting the medication i noticed in the first week a massive reduction in the attacks i have and also the sharp pain down the left side of the back from the neck to the base of my spine seems to have eased away and only plays up once or twice a week as opposed to 3 or 4 times a day. I also noticed that the pain in the left side of my neck has eased so what ever the tablets are doing it seems to work. 

The second week was a bit harder as i started to have very bad nightmares but i am used to them from medication as i used to get it from my Mirtazapine that helps to keep my Bipolar on the level i need to be. It took a while for those dreams to ease off so i think this will be the same with the Amertriplin. The third week was a totally different story! Suddenly one day i started to get the beginnings of withdrawal symptoms as though the methadone i am on is no longer working properly. I have asked several times to be taken off the methadone but because i have been having so many health issues the doctors are reluctant to reduce me and i have to stay with the same dose for a while until they feel happy with me. OK it was my own fault for self medicating and becoming addicted but years ago i had no other choice as no one could diagnose what was wrong with me.

Now i am in the 4 th week and the withdrawal symptoms are getting worst. I have seen the doctor and she told me it could be the Amertriplin running out and the body is now looking for the drug and i end up in cold sweats all the time and a very high level of anxiety. She decided to give me a 10 ml tablet to take in the mornings to ease the symptoms until i take my 25 ml dose at night. Even though i only started the morning dose this week i am still getting horrible withdrawal symptoms. Thankfully the stomach cramps and sickness doesn't start and its only the sweat and anxiety that gets to me. The biggest problem i have due to being Bipolar is that anxiety brings on panic attacks and it actually causes physical symptoms rather than mental. I end up with severe chest pains, breathing problems and shake horribly. 

I am praying the body starts to level out after the fourth week and i start to get used to things as i don't know how much more i can take of these symptoms. I have found myself seeking things to calm me down like Valium or cannabis and this is the last thing i want. To start self medicating all over again after over 16 years of hell is the one thing i don't want to do. Now i know the condition i have is incurable it has taken me a long time to learn how to handle the level of pain all the time that the attacks bring and to end up back at the start isn't something i thought would ever happen. I am praying to god the doctors are right and these tablets will settle eventually otherwise its another medication that has failed to help me and yet again made me even more ill. Why do i agree to take theses medications i don't know, but with out something i wouldn't survive or last very long. It Just seems to me that ever since we started trying to get the attacks under control the medications i have been on have all ended up making things worst and effecting my health in a negative way. I really hope things will change and this year will be a better one as i am having less attacks but am paying the price with my health.

Good start to the New Year 2016

Thankfully we have found a combination of mediation that doesn't actually cause me side effects or other problems resulting in me having to take even more medication just to feel comfortable. The neurologist decided to try me on Amertripterlin as not only does it help ease nerve pain but also acts as an antidepressant and with me suffering from Type 2 Bi-polar it may help me and so far i have to say i am very happy with the results. Slowly but surely i have seen a decrease in the amount of sharp pain i get going up and down the back to the side of my spine. I have also noticed that the neck problems are not setting off as many attacks as they used to but now the cold weather is here there has been a slight increase.

I have come to terms with the cold being one of my main triggers for the CH attacks and try and avoid situations where i am out in the cold for too long. The trouble with this is that i am sat indoors all day and its starting to drive me slowly insane.  Not being able to get out or go fishing has really taken its toll on me and now for some unknown reason i have been suffering mild panic attacks on a regular basis with every now and again i get this huge panic attack that actually feels as though i am about to have a heart attack or stroke and die. The pain shoots across my chest, the sweat suddenly pours off me and the sound i hear become like echoes. My vision seems to slow down and the outer vision becomes blurred like you are looking down a tunnel. This is the worst one and the most scary and the sharpness of the pain in the chest also increases my heart rate and where a normal panic attack will end and your heart rate will return to normal this seems to last all day until i have slept it off.

Ever since i was diagnosed with CH Cluster Headaches and was then told there is no cure and that using medication you can learn to live with it. I though it would have been like bi-polar where you have your down periods that can sometimes last weeks or months and then you are back to normal in between mood swings. CH doesn't seem to stop at all either you have them or you don't. In my case its every day with out fail. I have the main one  early hours of the morning which is normally my wake up call at around 3 am where i use one of my injections to deal with and if i have a good day then i will get no other attacks. Then there are the days where its attacks after attack and i can have up to 8 during a 24 hour period and that really does take it out of you. Thankfully it hasn't been that bad for a year now but its still a daily issue i have to deal with and wonder if i will ever be completely pain free ever again.

All i know is i really need to do something about being stuck indoors all the time and have to make the effort to break the cycle and get out and do some fishing again. I know as soon as i am out on the bank side setting up my fishing gear all my troubles and illnesses seems to melt away and my mind then focuses on one thing and that's catching the fish, Everything else gets pushed to the back of the mind and this is one way i manage my depression. If i feel down just get out and do some fishing. The trouble is i have missed out on a lot over the last year due to the back pain all the time but now the tablets seem to be taking care of the pain i have a feeling that 2016 will be a good year for me and my fishing, fingers crossed.

Happy New Year ...2016 begins , lets hope this year is a pain free year!

Well the last year has surely been a challenging one with regards to my health and the Cluster Headaches. I have had so many problems arise from side effects of medication and allergic reactions not to mentions the problems i have been having with the bowels and the back all the time. I managed to see my Neurologist just before Christmas and he has put me on Amirtriptyline  tablets to help ease the nerve pains and hopefully help ease the attacks and start reducing them even further. So far this year the last 3 months have been amazing as the attacks have been very few but i still get the early morning ones where the temperature seems to drop at 3am every morning and no matter how hot i keep my flat with the heating on i still can tell when the drop happens and it wakes me every time.

Most of last year i found myself locked away in the flat only going out to do shopping or if an emergency and i had to see the doctor. The rest of the time i have been shut away not wanting to go out in the cold air just in case it starts off attacks again and i end up having to deal with them every day once again. It was hard when i was getting 8 attacks per day and having to ride at least six of them for an hour at a time. I really did think my world was over and my life had ended. If it wasn't for some close friends and my fishing i really don't think i would have been able to manage and possible wouldn't be here today.  The support i have had from my friends and family has been amazing and i cant thank them enough but i know its time that i dealt with all these problems myself and see if i can get my life back in order.

I am determined to go out and do as much fishing as is possible this year and hopefully a few of my friends will join me on this journey. I am fed up giving in to the pain and worry all the time so no matter how bad i feel i have to start getting out and making sure i get in as much fishing as i can as it is the only activity that actually relaxes me and helps me to forget all my worries and problems. I have been blessed to have won the Korum competition a few years back which gave me all the fishing gear i needed to start out and then over the last 2 years i have been slowly collecting more and more tackle and am now proud of the gear that i have. I can honestly say i can go out fishing and not want for anything as i have all the gear i need to try any type of fishing i want but my favourite type of fishing is specimen hunting and carp fishing (including cat fishing). I prefer to target the larger of each species as it is more of a challenge and takes skill to get them to take your bait. 

The last few moths i have been suffering bad anxiety attacks that are giving me physical symptoms and making me feel as though i am about to collapse or have a heart attack. I spoke with the doctor and refused to take Valium as i would only end up totally addicted to them and would end up with more problems so i am now being sent on stress management coarse's to see if that will help me learn to control the anxiety. It only started as i was having pains and didn't know what was happening to me and i didn't think it would become a problems but when you start having chest pains and find it hard to breath or walk, Lets hope i can get this under control quickly as its not long before we start fishing again. By the end of January or mid to end February i want to be back out on the bank fishing and chasing those carp. Lets hope my new years resolution comes true......

Happy New Year Readers....... Hope all your dreams and wishes come true in the new year.