"Ictal"

I learnt a new word today.

Medical Dictionary: ictal
(ĭk'təl)
adj.

Relating to or caused by a stroke or seizure.

Really, I was just looking to know what interictally means--it pops up a lot in the articles Google Alerts throw at me, and it seemed the simplest of the new words.

I don't read all of these articles, and I certainly don't read them all to understand, since they're at different levels of medical intricacy. But once upon a time I had a brain, and maybe I can pretend right now.

Why can I pretend? I think I may be in a moment of stasis. I don't want to shout it from any rooftops, since it's only been a few days. But since my ER visit on the 14th and the lowering of my morphine dose to 30mg/8 hrs, the world seems clearer and less painful. I've been able to stave off every migraine with Stadol, although its side effects aren't fun. Still, I can take it and go to bed, and all's well when I wake up.

I don't know if this is it. I'm on Namenda, Elavil, Depakote, Lyrica, and Sansert as well as the morphine and various nutritional supplements. It's like soup in there. I tremble, I tire easily, I'm light-headed and I'm way too close to sleep at every moment. But it's a lot better than a week ago.

Not a moment too soon

Finally. An ER visit that worked. Partly coincidental, but I ended up with doctors who trusted my word. I don't know what's up with the documentation, but suddenly UCLA hasn't been able to find the note on my file that tells them about my dosages. At the best of times I hear a hushed "Six milligrams of dilaudid? I've never given anyone that much IV at one time." from the nurse's station. This visit was the fourth since my sister came into town--just over a week. The previous visits involved too little meds, or spaced too far apart.

This time, the second doctor (it was a risk going in when I knew there was an upcoming shift change, but I couldn't wait much longer) cut me off. Didn't care about my history. Wanted to know what I thought would work for me, and that's what he gave me. Pure and simple.

That was yesterday. Today I've had twinges of a headache, but nothing serious. Acupuncture this morning, and a massage scheduled for noon tomorrow. This is so much better than it was two days ago.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, during which I won't tempt fate, I promise.

Since Wednesday's ER visit, I haven't had that much pain. I'm having a sinus migraine right now, which is actually pretty intense, but it doesn't have the same grinding down effect as the more traditional one.

I've taken triptans at the onset--and the onset has been slow enough I've been able to catch it--and they seem to be doing their job.

That's huge. I've had two days of almost being like a normal person, although I am skittish around loud music and other potential triggers.