Neurologist Appointment

Today's appointment went very well. I am not sure if many of you know but I was diagnosed with epilepsy almost 4 years ago. To make a long story short I have seen two neurologists and the first neurologist diagnosed me with epilepsy. Since the diagnoses I was being treated with a medicine by the name of Keppra however my doctor stated if Joe and I wanted to get pregnant I could not stay on this medicine because of birth defects, so needless to say I stop taking this medicine about 1 year ago. Since I wasn't on medication I had several headaches everyday however I was treating the headaches with Advil. I was going through a bottle of Advil a week.

Then Joe and I got pregnant and I could no longer take Advil. Therefore my obgyn recommended me to see another neurologist. This doctor was completely rude!!! He made me feel horrible, like this was all in my head. He made me feel like I was creating a problem that was not there. He told me "he could not deal with pregnant women that I should see another neurologist."

So, I did! Today was the best day of this entire experience. I meet a great neurologist. First; my neurologist is a woman, second she is pregnant herself, and lastly she is the number one neurologist in Wisconsin that works with pregnant women. So, already I felt like I won the lottery. Well, the check-up went really well. She asked so many questions, and she could tell I have been through the pins and needles with this diseases. She let me know she cared, and she was going to find out why I was in so much pain. All it took was one question she asked me and then the dots started to connect. She asked me when I lay down do my eyes water! I said, “YES”! It took this very tiny detail to figure out what I have. This tiniest detail may not seem like a lot to me because I deal with it everyday however to my doctor it was huge, especially with all of the other symptoms I was experiencing.

By the end of my visit which was an hour and half later; my doctor was able to diagnose me. She said she is almost 95% sure I DO NOT HAVE EPILEPSY she can not be 100% sure until after the baby is born because of all of the testing she would have to do, and that she is 99% sure I have Chronic Cluster Headaches! Every symptom she stated was right on! I could not believe this, I was sitting in a doctor’s office and I felt relieved that finally somebody believed me and that I wasn’t going crazy, that this was not in my head. She expressed to me; she knew was I was going through, she has heard that the intensity of these headaches are far more painful than giving childbirth. So, if this is true, hell I will be a pro at giving birth. I have to find something comical about this situation. Ha-Ha! Anyways this can be treated with the proper medication, and I can take the medication while I am pregnant! This is great news for me, my hubby and for work! So, everyone wins! This disease is very hard to diagnose and many patients go without treatment. This disease is also very rare and normally runs in men, so maybe that is why the doctors could not figure it out. All I can say is that I am relieved! Now, I can start the recovery plan. The only thing is that the doctor said she didn’t think it would be a good idea if I was thinking of breastfeeding. I would have to go off of my medication and then I would have to experience all of this pain that I have already been going through. So, this is something I will really have to think about. Also, this is genetic. It runs between the ages of 20 and 40 therefore the doctor said it made sense that these headaches started about 4 years ago, because I was 20. This disease also affects less than 1 person in 1,000 people.

Well there you have it, I honestly can say I am okay with this because at least I know what the problem is and I can somewhat treat it. So, great news!