Ariel's Two Cents

 I guess it's time for another update about my autoimmune life.  I've had another medical emergency this past week.  Tuesday night, I took my first dose of Carbamazepine for my Bipolar mood swings .  I had an appointment scheduled with the prescribing doctor the next morning, Wednesday.  Well, when I woke up Wednesday morning, I had a rash starting on my chest.  When I met with the doctor, we decided to stop the medication, which I had already decided that without his input as soon as I saw the rash starting.  We decided to just get back to a more natural state for now and will discuss adding a new medication on our next appointment.  He told me what allergic reactions to look for and a sore throat was one of the things that he mentioned.  I woke up Thursday morning with a sore throat and the rash was much, much worse than the night before.   After doing a bit of research, I decided that it would be best if I went to Urgent Care ag...

 I saw my neurologist last month and she finally changed my medication.  I was on Emgality for migraines, but it just was not effective, so she prescribed me Ajovy.  I picked it up last week and did my first injection Saturday evening.  It went fine.  It was actually easier than Emgality and it did not hurt at all, whereas Emgality would burn and sting so bad that I would cry.  I stayed on that medication for a year before the doctor finally listened to me and changed it.  I thought this medication would be a good one, but I was terribly wrong. A few hours after I woke up this morning, my bottom lip started to swell, but only on the left side, which I thought was strange.  I made some phone calls to my medical team and the pharmacy that just filled the Ajovy for me.  All medical personnel directed me to seek immediate medical attention.  The main suspicion was that it's an allergic reaction to Ajovy, although it is strange that it took 4...

 Yesterday was a stressful day for me, but I survived it.  I had too many appointments scheduled that day, so I had to miss out on my group therapy session, and I hate when I miss out on any opportunity for growth and progress of my healing journey.  However, it was important that I attend the other appointment.  It was a follow-up appointment with my neurologist, Dr. Jennifer Rock.  She has been treating my migraines for about a year now.  I have been on Emgality  since last May and it's just not working out for me.  Yesterday's appointment was the day I chose to advocate for myself, and it was not a simple feat for me. When the doctor started my appointment, I explained to her some of the problems that I'm having like the high number of migraines I'm experiencing every month.  I get over 20 migraines a month and that is while I have been on Emgality for a year.  It has never gotten any better as far as the quantity of migraines is conc...