As for the docs, I guess it is kind of strange, but there’s a lot about doctors I’ll never get. As for the tumors themselves, the first one was an epidermoid tumor, and the three later ones are pituitary tumors that are apparently quite common, and are often discovered in a lot of people during autopsies after they die from other causes, so most people go their whole life with them, and never know they have them. I have to get hormone levels checked a few times a year, and MRIs ever two years, and as long as they don’t get any bigger, I’m cool. The only commonality between the tumors is they are congenital, but apparently that still doesn’t make them “related,” according to doctors.

In other news, look! St. Patrick’s Day!

I was afraid the tumor had come back, had an MRI, and it hadn’t come back. But they found three OTHER tumors all up in there. But here’s the kicker: the doctors say they tumors aren’t related to my earlier one, and they also don’t think they’re causing my headaches because they are so tiny. (They’re also benign, thank goodness.) I find that hard to believe, but whatever. I was suffering from daily headaches for about 6 months, and it was absolutely horrible, but through a mixture of meds, I am able to keep the pain down for the most part. For the migraines that come up once or twice a month, I can usually take an Imitrex and get through it OK (although the Imitrex makes me feel like my entire body is asleep, like when your leg falls asleep.)

I still wonder if they’re actually migraines, though. I don’t get an aura, I’m not sensitive to light, and I don’t get nauseuos. I just feel like someone is jamming an ice pick into my brain. Or sometimes it feels like my brain is spagehtti, and a fork is slowly twisting it tighter and tighter. But I’m assuming since the Imitrex works, it must be migraine…

Sorry for the length, but thanks for letting me share!

What he says about the panic breeding panic and the panic about migraines breeding migraines makes so much sense to me. Whenever I’d start to get an aura, I used to start freaking out. It was the signal that intense pain was coming on and that my day would be ruined, so I’d jump into flight mode and start trying to lay out my provisions or would just generally freak out over what I knew I would have to endure. Now, I simply pound a fistful of whatever OTC NSAID I can find and maybe some B vitamins, if they’re handy. I turn off the lights, lie down and take deep, relaxing breaths. The majority of the time, this totally works. Usually I’ll avoid the excrutiating 12 hours of pain and instead, I’ll just feel slightly drained and clammy for awhile. I’m pretty sure my migraines are triggered by stress and anxiety, more so than any food, etc. So, I’ve learned to take control of the stress and anxiety to avoid the migraines.