Cranial Osteopathy

I'm sick to death of having more and more pills thrown at me, I can't take much more of it I'll just end up not being able to function at all soon.

I've decided to try a different approach after being given the suggestion of cranial osteopathy. It took a while to take the plunge as it's costs money (which I really don't have much of..) and initially it was to try and help with my seizures but I'm quite the skeptic when it comes to these kinds of things but now I'm stuck with chronic neuropathic head pain as well I'm willing to try. I finally made an appointment and during the week I went to my local clinic for an initial consultation to find out what it's all about and if it might be able to help me. 

The session began with meeting a really lovely osteopath at the clinic. He asked about my medical history and any significant illnesses and if I'd wait for it... "suffered any falls"... well, I could write a scroll... and so began my mammoth explanation. After that there were a few quick tasks like signing a treatment consent form etc and writing down what to do should I go into a seizure given that sometimes osteopathy can initially make symptoms and problems worse (but thats only for SOME people and only for a short amount of time). 

The beginning of the examination involved walking in front of him so he could check alignments and things then he sort of felt my muscles, then asked me to do things like turn my head from side to side. Most of the stuff I can't really say why they ask you to do it... It's all new to me! After, I had to lie down and he massaged my head and neck (at which point I realised that the muscles at the base of my skull on the right were much more tender than on the left..) The result from that part was that my pelvis is out of line which would probably explain why I feel like my back needs clicking all the time! He asked when my bigger falls were (the 3 biggest being May this year and about July 2011 and late August 2010) he didn't think it felt new enough to be this year or even last year so is most likely to have been knocked off centre when I fell down a flight of concrete steps a couple of months before I was diagnosed. Anyway, once we'd established something of a starting point I then had to lie down on my back with his hand flat beneath my hips and seriously he was doing the TINIEST of movements through his fingers and I could feel my back sort of slipping little at a time almost like little bubbles were bursting strange feeling and with so little force! 

At the end of the session we talked through what we had done and what his conclusions were. He said that I am quite a complex case (now where have I heard that before??) and he could not be sure if osteopathy would be very helpful but I could give it another session to see if my symptoms improve any. The miss alignments and tender muscles on certain sides might be an indication of crushed nerves or some sort of damage, which could be whats causing head pain so it's worth a try. So that was it, my back ached a little afterwards but other than that no extra seizures or more pain so it's all good :) 

I must say I find that rather than trying to locate the cause of my chronic head pain, doctors and in particular hospitals just think it's easier to throw painkillers and anti-sickness drugs at the problem and cover it up, which I agree it is easier but in a way it makes me even sicker. I'm really hoping this might help at least a little bit so I'm going back on Wednesday... we'll see what happens. 

Video of my "small" seizures.

These are some of the smallest seizures I have. In fact these ones in the video are TINY... most people would see them as strange movements in my sleep but notice how they have repetitive, I chew with my mouth and take a deep breathe after my arm finishes moving. The ones in the video are subtle or weak complex partials. I also have these whilst awake, my head and eyes deviate to the right with stronger ones along with staring, blinking and more pronounced movements with the arms and mouth and i am completely unaware that they are taking place. 

This was taken while I was in hospital, the shirt over my eyes was because I had a unbelievably bad headache (chronic neuropathic pain) I was extremely sensitive to any light. I was dehydrated from not being able to eat or drink much for nearly two weeks because of the nausea brought on by the pain which is why I'm attached to a drip. This all in turn led to far more seizures than usual particularly when sleeping. My friend who is also in these cases my "witness" was the one recording the video while waiting for a tests. Literally don't know what I would do without her! 

Off sick!

Just out of hospital - be back soon x

Poorly poorly poorly :(

Long time no swim.

What an eventful couple of days and believe me I'm feeling it now. Today though, I've done pretty much nothing but lay around and listen to the storms that have been rolling over. I haven't slept well the past couple of nights for some reason. Normally I'm out like a light, which isn't unusual given the meds I take, but for the past couple of nights its taken what feels like forever to fall asleep. Then during the night I wake up with strange feeling sensations crawling all over me. The might well be aura's which are strange feeling, smells etc that some people get as sort of warning sign before seizures. I rarely get them and whatever it was these past couple of nights it isn't something I've ever felt before so I can't definitely say if it was an aura or not. Hopefully it'll pass and I'll get a full night sleep again very soon. I NEED my sleep! 

Since I was a baby I've always loved the swimming pool. I swam competitively from a young age too and have always loved and taken part in water sports. Since having seizures though it's not as easy. One, there's the risk of seizures in the water and two, the side effects of large amounts of Keppra and Vimpat I take make energy levels very low. Now I live a five minute walk from a leisure centre though, I've found I can't resist the lure of the pool any longer! So yesterday I dug out my swimwear and went off. Obviously I have take my time but I swam a few lengths I have to say though I was SO jealous of the girls swimming up and down length after length without it seeming to bother them in the slightest. I used to be that fit. I really enjoyed being there, even the smell of the chlorine was invigorating! I have to be careful and not push myself to much but I've decided I'll try to go at least once a week if I can and build up some strength. If I can get a good night sleep tonight and feel rested and of course am well enough then tomorrow I think I might go for another quick dip. 

Oh here's a bit of drama though... I literally had just showered and got into the pool when a woman walked up to the side behind me and started talking in a foreign language in a distressed way. You know the kind of sound where you immediately realise something is wrong? Well there was... her young daughter who (as we later found out) had never been swimming before had climbed into the pool and was out of her depth and struggling to get to the top of the water!! Instincts kicked straight in and before I even realised what I was doing I was grabbing her out of the water. An older lady helped me lift her onto the side and she immediately started angrily shouting at a lifeguard who even by then STILL hadn't noticed what was going on. Why the girl was in the pool on her own though is beyond me!! Everything was fine in the end though. Nothing like a quick bit of drama to get the adrenaline pumping!

Anyway sleep first, swim later. 

One sunny week.

Guess what?! It was SUNNY! Yep that's right Britain was treated to a week of beautiful sunshine. Of course I'm typing this after a day of rain... with yet more rain forecast over the next few days.. but you have to look at the positives! 

While the sun was shining (perfect timing) I was staying with friends in Portsmouth, it was such a nice, chilled and fun 5 days! We strolled a million miles around the streets, into the city and along the coast, ate delicious food both home cooked and in various cafe's and restaurants and I got the chance to sample various things Portsmouth and Southsea has to offer. 

Beautiful sunsets, amazing cafe's with tasty food, a trip up Spinnaker Tower, and a visit to A Hundred Seas Rising exhibition at Aspex art gallery. We also went shopping... but that's meant to be a secret so my bank balance doesn't find out..

I couldn't have asked for a better time away, it was a wonderful time with lovely friends :)

Bring on more summery adventures!