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Lizzie2
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success w/new neuro
« on: Feb 18th, 2004, 9:18pm » |
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Today I had my first appointment with Dr. Michael Gallagher at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. It was going to be a second opinion appt...but after today, I will probably be switching over to them!
He told me that my two headache conditions have to be treated completely separately in order to have success. For now, he told me that because I am on methergine, I cannot take DHE or any other triptans. His goal would be to get me off the methergine probably after the first couple of appointments. For the verapamil, he wants to lower my dose back down to 480mg...and he wants me to take 120mg - 4 times a day instead of the sustained release because it should be more effective for someone my age and also with a chronic daily headache type. He wrote a script for a smaller travel size oxygen tank so that I might be able to travel with my choir and still take the oxygen with me. 
For my chronic migraine, he added elavil (amitriptylene). He wants me to take only 10mg the first week and take 10 weeks to get up to 100mg. This is to minimize side effects because I tend to have so many. For pain relief when my abortives don't work, he gave me a prescrip tion for ultracet. I'm only going to use the ultracet until I am off of coumadin in April and then I can get a cocktail of a triptan, compazine for nausea, and an NSAID. For now I'm continue to use thorazine as an abortive when I just need to knock out.
He wants me to call and talk to him every 2 weeks to give an update on how things are going, and I'm going back for another appointment during the first full week of march.
Dr. Gallagher had lots of great ideas, so I was excited about it! I even gave him a letter from Ozzy on behalf of OUCH PaNJ so that the chapter can possibly hold its next meeting there. I'm sure there will be more on that later as they reacted positively to it! 
Overall...not a bad day!
Lizzie
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Leesa
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #1 on: Feb 18th, 2004, 9:20pm » |
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Damn just what we needed round here is more good news!! Glad to hear it Lizzie!! *happy dancin for ya gal*
Leesa
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"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
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broomhilda
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #2 on: Feb 18th, 2004, 9:29pm » |
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YAY Lizzie, I am so happy for you and hope this all over the next few weeks works and not give you too many side effects!!!!!!
Congrats, I am so happy for you!!!!!
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Suck it up Princess...
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Belle
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #3 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 12:55am » |
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Glad to here you've got a great doc. After 14 years I still haven't met one. Keep on keepin' on.
Belle
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Take the time to stop and smell the roses!
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pubgirl
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ozzman
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #5 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 8:59am » |
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Good Lizzie,
Sounds like you made the right choice going there as I suspected.
And I am so very happy that they were recptive to the OUCH PANJ idea as well.
Take care of yourself.
Ozzy
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Lizzie2
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #6 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 9:02am » |
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Thanks everyone!!
Ozzy, it was great! Dr. James Rogers should be contacting you soon regarding your letter!
It is tough to walk away from Jefferson...being that I'm even going to school there in May and everything...but...I'm not feeling better and my current neuro is a jerk. So why stay? Sure, I like the hospital there, and my former neuro was great...but what's the point of putting up with this crap when I now have another, better option?
We'll see how it goes!
Lizzie
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bobkip
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #7 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 11:06am » |
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Great news Liz. We need more docs like that.
Kip
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KevinD
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #8 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 12:47pm » |
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Thats Great! Also because I was considering Jefferson, but decided on Temple. Hope it goes well!
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Kevin_M
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #9 on: Feb 19th, 2004, 10:31pm » |
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Glad you're in better hands Lizzie2. Takes courage, guts and support to change. Cain't get um at Wal-Marts. You sound upbeat.
Kevin M
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helpless23
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #10 on: Feb 21st, 2004, 6:20pm » |
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Happy to hear that Lizzie!
You have just given some of us hope!!! And you found him in New Jersey????? Excellent! That's where we live!!! Too bad it's SOOOO far away though!
But I'm really happy for you!!! *yay*
Toni
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Opus
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #11 on: Feb 22nd, 2004, 7:59am » |
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Treating each ha as a separate illness, what a novel idea, sounds like he's got some common sense. Hope all goes well.
Opus/Paul
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Lizzie2
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Re: success w/new neuro
« Reply #12 on: Mar 3rd, 2004, 7:21pm » |
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Update....
I called the new doc today for my 2 week check-in. He called me back later that afternoon. I can't believe I'm going to a doctor who calls me back personally!!!
He decided to decrease my elavil (amitriptyline) back down to 10mg a day because of how tired I was getting trying to increase it. We'll decide what to do next when I go to my appointment next week.
On Saturday, I was only awake for about 5 hours!! I had gotten up at 11am, and then I laid down to take a "2 hour nap" at 4:30pm, but I didn't wake up until 12:30am!! Well, I didn't want to throw off my sleep schedule any worse, so I took the meds again for the nighttime, and I fell back asleep from 2am-9am.
I definately think that if I'm going to stay on this med, it is going to take a looooooong time for me t o get up to 100mg!
Anyways, that's my update
Lizzie
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