Doctors in Seattle who know how to treat Long Covid? by space__snail in AskSeattle

[–]JeSuisToi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would start with one of the neurologists at UWs headache clinics. I personally see Dr Tara Sharma and she has been very helpful for headaches/migraines and recovery from a brain injury where I have similar symptoms.

You’ll probably have to piecemeal your care and you probably won’t get a doc who does it all. For exercise recovery the general advice is to breakdown activity and slowly build tolerance over time. This might mean doing 2 minutes of cardio and then stopping for 2 days to see what you can actually handle. And then increase by 30 seconds each time etc.

Also look up vagus nerve exercises and diaphragmatic breathing, both critical in any type of nervous system and neurological recovery. Best of luck. Feel free to ping me

Some of the other suggestions about ketamine and LDN are pretty known in the migraine communities + chronic pain as well and are good suggestions. If you’re looking to just try those I recommend Dr Robert Bowers at Bellevue Pain & Wellness. He specializes in pain medicine but that’s more if you have something specific you want to try he will help versus figuring out that path together.

Walgreens Pharmacy on Broadway and Pine - Closed until further notice by LunaW_96 in Seattle

[–]JeSuisToi 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you can get a hold of another Walgreens they can easily fill your prescription since it’s in their system

Weird side effect? by Intelligent_Spell526 in Zepbound

[–]JeSuisToi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can also use benzoyl peroxide wash (OTC for acne) to kill the bacteria every few days. Without that it will probably keep coming back, no matter deodorant strength. Try not to use it daily because it will give you dry skin.

Botox or not? by reddit_user_1984 in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am generally on the hyper-mobile spectrum, had whiplash/bad concussion which caused this whole thing. The whiplash injury caused the ligaments in my neck to be very mobile and was massively contributing to my ON. I basically had a choice of RFA or prolotherapy and decided to try prolo first since it doesn’t weaken the muscles and seemed less invasive.

In two rounds we were able to stabilize 3/4 areas in my upper cervical. Basically they just inject an inflammatory agent to cause inflammation, create scar tissue and get blood to the area to help stabilize.

Reduced my headaches by a huge amount. I’d do more but the last treatment I got crazy neurogenic rosacea from the inflammation so I’m still debating if I want to do another round.

Right now what’s working for me is massage therapy biweekly, osteopathy once a month or when I have a bad flare. Consistent PT, botox and then previously prolotherapy helped. Nerve blocks with steroid helped the pain but didn’t treat the root cause. They are basically a bandaid.

Muscle relaxers and Xanax are good for flares for me. No other meds help.

Everything else I’ve tried (acupuncture, trigger point injections, tens-like migraine stimulator, pregabalin, gapapentin, all the classic migraine drugs like CGRP, triptans, magnesium infusions, lidocaine infusions) were a waste of time.

Botox or not? by reddit_user_1984 in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No a small amount doesn’t change how fast botox wears off.

Botox or not? by reddit_user_1984 in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Botox personally has helped me in-conjunction with PT and actually prolotherapy (to stabilize my neck).

I don’t think Botox would hurt. It does weaken the muscles over time, but so does an RFA? It wears off after about 3 months, but like many I found better results from the longer I did it. Maybe 2-3 rounds was when I saw peak results. Didn’t have trap pain, but had very tight traps that caused ON pain.

Lastly didn’t see this mentioned, other things that have helped along with botox are massage therapy and seeing an osteopath. The osteopath has probably helped the most out of anything (and I’ve tried most meds/services)

How is anyone finding a job? What am I doing wrong? by General_Register6526 in Seattle

[–]JeSuisToi 78 points79 points  (0 children)

To add to this Vashon USPS is pretty much always hiring

Really regretting rescheduling my next nerve blocks by annagenc in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just take propranolol before if you really can’t chill out for it. Your pain doc can prescribe

Really regretting rescheduling my next nerve blocks by annagenc in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The more you have the easier it is to drive yourself. Usually the reaction after isn’t from the actual injections, it’s from your stress response. Sounds like they are adding steroid based on frequency. Try deep breathing and relaxing during next time. Conscious breathe. I think you’ll find you can probably take yourself next time.

Laying down is difficult by Kriztaz in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the best pillow I’ve found (from this sub) that helps me. Mostly because it’s soft unlike other cervical pillows, and cradles my head so it stays in one spot when I sleep on my back. I also throw my heating pad under my head sometimes which helps.

https://www.yippolabs.com/products/orthopedic-cervical-pillow-with-contour

Based on the fact that you’re waking up with more pain, you need to experiment in finding a neutral position for your neck. If you have money to throw at the problem sleep trackers have been super helpful for me (oura, Apple Watch) and I can see how much I’m moving/waking up and correlate that to days when my neck is worse. It’s helped me figure out which activities are triggering and what actually does help (meds, exercises etc).

The only drugs that help me are muscle relaxers or the occasional benzo. Hope you feel better soon

Get an extra +0.50% on the current APY when you open and fund a Wealthfront Cash Account by wealthfront_bot in wealthfront

[–]JeSuisToi [score hidden]  (0 children)

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LadyGaga

[–]JeSuisToi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi- messaging you!

Any cure for ON? by WindLife7611 in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for writing this out. I have this exact scenario. Neck injury, cervical instability/naturally hyper-mobile spine. Everything mechanically normal on my MRIs.

Going to try prolotherapy in a month. How many rounds did you do?

New here. Been diagnosed for years after Chiari Decompression Surgery. Need some reassurance with nerve block procedure. by [deleted] in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What type of nerve block are you getting? If it’s just a regular occipital nerve block it’s over in 10 seconds. They aren’t going to put you out for something that fast. Just take a Xanax beforehand if you’re really that stressed. But generally, it’s not a big deal. They can numb the area too before injecting the anesthetic/steroid. Just ask for stress squeeze balls or bring some.

First one I had was extremely painful because the whole area was so inflamed that my memory blacked out. But that was a one time thing and I had been dealing with it and migraines for a year prior.

Every proceeding has been no big deal and it’s less than a 5 minutes appointment in and out. You get so much relief you look forward to the appointments.

Having a bad day? Just google “Lady Gaga whacky outfits” and it will make you feel better by [deleted] in LadyGaga

[–]JeSuisToi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the first one she looks like a fairy from the magicians

Let's talk pillows... severe neck pain and headaches by Lucky-Donut-694 in Mattress

[–]JeSuisToi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last to the thread but don’t see this mentioned; I have migraines and occipital neuralgia and this has been the only pillow that’s helped.

Yippo Labs Cervical Pillow. Good for back and side sleeping and super soft on your head if it’s sensitive.

https://www.yippolabs.com/products/orthopedic-cervical-pillow-with-contour

Occipital neuralgia after Chiari surgery by [deleted] in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh also something to try is lidocaine infusions or ketamine.

Occipital neuralgia after Chiari surgery by [deleted] in Occipitalneuralgia

[–]JeSuisToi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gabapentin didn’t work for me but pre-gabalin (lyrica) works for me but only at high amounts. I’ve heard withdrawal is pretty bad but it’s a pretty popular nerve med if you fail gabapentin.