Catching Up

This is a compilation of several days, having taken a holiday and having been unable to keep the blog up to date.

Wednesday - 9th May

I'm feeling unbelievably tired because I'm still waking up between 3 and 4 am and failing to get off to sleep despite taking 10mg of Temazapan. When is it going to get better? I've been falling asleep during the day whenver I sit in a comfortable chair: should I be forcing myself to stay awake until bedtime in the hope of getting more rest at the right time? Can this still be amitriptylene withdrawal or is it the menopausal sleep problem I suffered from before starting amitriptyline for migraine and finding it made me sleep better? What will happen during my holiday which starts on Thursday with flight to Venice? My husband was dealing with the same questions at 9pm on the internet and had discovered that women suffering sleepless nights after withdrawal were taking the occasional 10mg of amitriptyline as a sleeping tablet with immediate good effect. We agreed that I would try this tonight and take the tablets with me to Venice.

Thursday 10th May

I had the best night for ages, amitriptyline-fuelled, and my husband had one of the worst. Apparently at about 3 am he was awakened by me chatting in my sleep and twitching regularly - Rapid Molly Movement sleep he called it - and this kept going for a couple of hours before I woke up and he finally drifted off to sleep again. I felt very groggy and spaced out for most of the morning, which was no bad thing because we flew to Venice. Here the hotel was so hot (air conditioner putting out more sound than cool) I doubt if either of us would have slept well under any circumstances. In the event, 10mg of Temazepam were useless.

Friday 11th May

We revisited St Marks Sq. in the morning, discovering it had lost a lot of its charm in the last 10 years, thanks to its increasing popularity and an attack of graffiti. Spent the afternoon touring around the city in a vaporetto and had a quiet dinner in a pleasant restaurant just north of the Rialto. The hotel room was a little cooler having kept the sun out all day and having complained about the noise at breakfast.

Saturday 12th May

Moved on to Dubrovnik, arriving Sunday am after another great nights sleep on 12.5mg amitriptyline. Once again very groggy and dopey during the morning. Must reduce the dose to around 6 mg to see if it still works without the "hangover" the next morning.

Sunday 13th

A day out in Dubrovnik and Cavtat. Slept well with 10mg temazepam.

Monday 14th

A day at sea - heading for Turkey. No medication, no headaches and a good night's sleep. What's going on here? I'm also eating a wider range of foods due to the inability to control my intake while eating only in restaurants.

Tuesday 15th.

Kusadasi, Turkey. I'd decided against taking the tour to Ephesus in view of the heat and difficult walking conditions. Just as well, a migraine started in the afternoon, but I managed to keep going until bedtime, taking a walk around the port area of Kusadasi. Needed a temazepam and woke up with a worse head in the morning.

Wednesday 16th

Santorini, Greece: Solpadienes taken to keep going - went ashore but the queue for the cable cars was about 2 hours long so I returned to the ship after an hour on the shore below Fira. Things improved in the afternoon and evening, but I decided to go to bed with an amitriptiline - about 8mgms this time.

Thursday 17th

Corfu, Greece: Feeling better so I had a look round Corfu town which was quite disappointing. Apparently the rest of the island is quite beautiful.

Friday 18th

A day at sea heading back to Venice. Feeling OK until the evening when another headache started.

Saturday 19th

I've often wondered what it would be like if I had to spend a day travelling with a migraine, not being able to collapse in a chair and try to chill. Today I found out. It was very grim, waking up with it, having to trudge round Padua - the last of the planned tours - taking it to the noisy airport, nursing it on the flight home, and finally taking it to bed when we got back home that night. 16 hours of continuous motion, boat, coach, trudge, coach, plane, bus and car while feeling like death. I really was very brave, and felt I really deserved my 12.5 mg of amitriptyline.

Sunday 20th

Woke up groggy but with a clear head, determined to get back onto the migraine diet.

Sunday 27th

As I write this in the evening of 27th May, but for one nocturnal headache (midweek) which responded to a couple of Solpadienes, I can say its been a good week back in the relative peace
of our Warwickshire village. I've been getting increasingly tired due to waking up early every day, and have to admit to taking about 6mg of amitriptyline on Tuesday night for some respite. Tonight I might do the same. For the last couple of days I've been fighting a sore-throat and a cold, which I guess is not helping. Nevertheless I am feeling a little migranous for the first time in a week.