It is time for my latest Frankenstein injection: the injection that lets me participate in some sort of normal life. I nicknamed them Frankenstein injections because
1. They inject the back of my head.
2. It is a bit like getting a powerpack or upgrade. Once it has settled in, it feels like I’m on jet-powered rockets running around trying to do everything I can before going on a slow decline until my next injection. The week before my next injection I’m giving out short sporadic bursts of energy coupled with long periods of rest.
3. I cannot function without them.
The injection is actually called a Greater Occipital Nerve Block and this is what it feels like:
10 mins finding the bit in my head that hurts the most followed by
10 mins injecting the bit in my head that hurts the most followed by
10 mins of the Doctor massaging the injection in the bit in my head that hurts the most!
Okay, I admit it isn’t as long as a 30 minute proceedure (It lasts about 3 minutes) but at times it certainly feels like that.
If you suffer from chronic migraine and want to see more about this treatment, I found a video on You Tube (although it isn’t from my clinic – I get treated by the good old reliable NHS). The latest injections may contain Botox, although mine is made from a mixture of Steriod and Anaesethic. I managed to qualify for this treatment by keeping a detailed migraine diary, showing the severity the attacks and symptoms. For more information about the different types of migraine, treatments available and a migraine diary visit the website of the Migraine Trust.
As a sufferer of Basilar Type Migraine and Fibromyalgia (although I’m in denial about the Fibromyalgia bit) this treatment has helped me return to an almost normal life. Maybe it can do the same for you?
Hi Suzanne
Very interesting reading about your treatment.
However my head pain always moves into my left eye. The pain is intense and last for many days, plus all the other usual migraine symptoms….I wonder if this injection might help me before the pain moves to my eye? I shall look into this.
Jill
Hi Suzanne
I saw your comment on Facebook which led me to this blog. Thanks so much for sharing this. My life since my mid 30s has been completely ruined by complicated migraine and basilar migraine. I pretty much never feel well and am really limited as to what I can do a lot of the time. Work wise I try to work full time, but in reality I am unwell for 2/3rds of the year and just makes things even more stressful and the migraines more frequent.
My doctor doesn’t think there is anything else to help me (I know this isn’t true)apart from daily medication and I really don’t want to take this due to the side effects. GONP sounds like it might be an option for me in the future. It sounds like there is more than Maxalt (the side effects are now really bad for me on this too) and paracetamol after all.
I am so glad it is working for you and has allowed you to get on with your life – may it continue like that forever!
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