Happy New Year

Here's hoping everyone has had a safe and happy new year so far. Hard to believe we're actually in 2006 already. What happened to 2005? Heck, for that matter, what happened to 2004, 2003, and 2002?

Anyway, here in our household, we are not off to the greatest start.

New Year's Eve found Ron and I enjoying a nice early dinner at one of our favorite places, Carrabba's. http://carrabbas.com This absolutely is one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The dinner bill will not be on the cheap side, but truly worth it.

That was the good part of night.

Well, I have been dealing with a headache since Tuesday night. It came on me suddenly Tuesday and I haven't been able to get rid of it since. It feels like it's coming from the right side of my neck, and it has been getting worse every day. We've tried a lot of home remedies, from the numerous Aleve tablets to a muscle rub, to Ron even going out and buying some new stuff he's seen on commercials. It's called "Head On" and you rub it on your forehead. Well, I've done it all with no relief.

By the time we were done with dinner Saturday night, I was having trouble holding my head up, my neck hurt so much. I figured the longer we waited, the worse it would be in the ER, and I didn't think I could wait until my doctor's office opened on Tuesday. At 7:30 p.m. New Year's Eve, we headed for our local emergency room.

Joke was on us. The closest hospital to us is about five or six blocks away. We walked in and the emergency room was closed. Hmmm, this is not looking good for me. There was a sign though, that directed us to the next nearest hospital a few miles to the west. At least they were open!

The service at this hospital was really awesome. They took us right in. A doctor came in and did an exam. I explained how it seemed to come from my neck. He traced a muscle that came out of my neck, showing where one part of it went on top of my shoulder while the other part of this muscle went down to the right of my spine and under my shoulder blade. When he traced this muscle, I was like YES! YES! That's exactly where the pain starts! He immediately said he thought it was a muscular problem causing my headache. He asked me if I was under any new stress or having any problems. I couldn't think of anything that has changed recently, so I'm at a loss of why I'm this tensed up.

To be on the safe side, he did send me for a CAT scan which came back normal. They set me up with an IV and pumped me full of some happy juice. They let me lay there awhile with a great buzz. When he came back to check on me, unfortunately I still had my headache. I had a great buzz, but still a headache. Next they gave me a little orange pill. And we waited again. Well, Ron waited, I napped. When Dr. Paul came to check once again, I still had my headache. I said it was a little less intense, but still there. And a great buzz!

Again, he said he felt it was a muscular problem. He sent me home with a prescription for some purple capsules that are made specifically for tension headaches. Who knew they made such a thing! We got the prescription filled and headed home.

Once we got home, I took one of these pills on top of everything else I had in the ER and I was finally feeling no pain. We were home before 10:30, Ron made us some sandwiches, and I was trying to stay awake until midnight. I think I made it until about 11:30 when I was about ready to collapse. I headed to bed and didn't even make it to my side of the bed! I took over poor Ron's side of the bed and forced him to my side. (thanks, honey!) I know he did wake me up long enough to watch the ball drop and to get my New Year's kiss, but then I was back out into oblivion. As a matter of fact, I was out for about 14 hours.

Now, it's two days later. I still have a headache. You'd think a trip to the ER would at least fix the problem, wouldn't ya?