It has been awhile since I have done a health check-in. I have been meaning to update, but I kept waiting on test results/updates, and then everything happened with my brother...
Migraines
In November, I saw my neurologist, and I confirmed a complete switch over to using Nurtec as my rescue medication. And that has been going well. We did determine that my migraine pattern has changed {who knew that could happen?}, and it's not that my meds are not working. So basically, my new pattern is more having a migraine every 4-5 days. I take the Nurtec, and usually I only have to take 1 pill, and I am good for another 4-5 days. Sometimes I have to take another pill on day 2, but not always. Every now and then, I have to take a pill on day 3, but that is rare. But overall, I am still only taking my prescribed 9 pills in a month, which is still a praise.
Now, I stretched that over December, and I gave myself some grace on that with all the stress and grief of my brother. With crying being a trigger for my migraines, it was inevitable that I was going to get more migraines. It was unavoidable, and trying to keep myself from crying in that situation was only going to make it worse. So over December and January, my pattern has been closer to every 3-4 days, with more times of me having to take multiple-day pills. Which is not awesome or ideal, but I am hoping that it calms down as time passes. Even coming home, I have seen improvement. I honestly expected my migraines to be worse than they ended up being, so I am thankful for that grace. And I am just so thankful I have a rescue med that works. Even in the most intense grief, the Lord was taking care of me.
GI Follow-Up
At the beginning of December, I also had a 6-month follow up with my GI. He ordered all the routine lab work, and he gave me the option of doing a routine colonoscopy or an MR Enterography {MRE}. I asked what the downside was to the MRE {thinking it would be better than having to do the colonoscopy prep}, and he said there was no downside. So I opted for that.
We also discussed the upcoming patent expiration for Stelara and insurance moves to biosimilars {which has already happened in the UK/Canada}. He said he hadn't seen any moves to that yet, but that we would just have to wait and see what the U.S. insurance companies did. He didn't seem confident that they would make decisions in the interest of patients, but instead would make decisions in the interest of cost. No surprise there. But he promised he was watching it, and he was definitely in favor of keeping his patients on the name brand drugs, as he didn't typically see the same efficacy of the biosimilars {they are not like generics}. So that still remains to be seen what will happen.
I had to reschedule my tests until I returned from Texas, but when I received my labs back at the end of December/beginning of January, all of my numbers were normal. All of my inflammation markers were still normal. Praise God!
MR Enterography
I had the MRE in January, before we left for Texas the second time. I had the {false} assumption that it would be easier than a colonoscopy. No one gave me any instructions for the procedure, and I just had previous {brain} MRI experiences in my head. And I just didn't think. When I called to make the appointment, and even when I received my confirmation call a week out, they told me to arrive 15 minutes before and said nothing.
The day before, I got a call from the imaging center. She asked if I knew I was supposed to arrive 2 hours before the test, because I was supposed to drink the contrast beforehand. I was definitely not aware, though in hindsight, I should have known better. I had to drink 1500 mL of contrast before the imaging! Thankfully, it didn't taste bad, it was just A LOT of liquid. And it's meant to distend your bowels haha.
It definitely hit my GI system right before the test. At the risk of sharing too much, we'll just say it acted much like a colonoscopy prep. Not pleasant. I started panicking, because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to make it through the whole scan {which lasted 45 minutes}. They assured me that no one had ever had a problem {gee, thanks}, and I prayed really hard. {Sorry, mom, for all the graphic texts begging for prayers that I didn't embarrass myself in the imaging center LOL}. Thankfully, I made it through, but I was fairly miserable the rest of the day.
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So I will wait for the results of the MRE, and I also have a dermatologist appointment tomorrow {just my usual 6-month skin check}. There are too many doctors and too many appointments...and I'm not even 40 yet! :)
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