I know we all talk about medical problems related or not related to ataxia.
Four years ago i started to get severe migraine headaches. My Neurologist said it was not ataxia related it was my age i was 21 at the time. I am now 25 my headaches have become less and i manage them well. Talking to my ataxian friends i was surprised how many others suffer from headaches.
I have now started to get a slight pain at the top of my stomach after i eat food, not a bad pain but irritating. I have made an appointment to see the Dr.
When do you decide your body is talking to you and you need to seek medical advice and go to the Dr.
How do we know if our medical problems are ataxia related or not.
It is unlikely that the pain in your stomach is due to your ataxia. It may be caused by acidity in the aesophagus. Don't panic, big word but only relates to the upper part of the small intestine. An antacid which you can easily get over the counter can make it disappear. Its good to get confirmation with your doctor. You can browse the internet and look at symptoms related to your specific ataxia. Sometimes this doesn't help if your ataxia is of unknown cause like mine and it would be best to talk to your doctor. Unfortunately most doctors don't know much about ataxia.
I use trial and error. Meaning I test elimination of a food for a a few weeks, journal how a food makes me feel then introduce it after a few weeks just to see. Dr's would hopeful tell ya to do that anyway, or a Nutrionist would. At least I have been told that's how you can listen to your body.
I schedual regular apt with my Dr. team. General Practioner, Gyn, Nuro, Eye etc. even if I don't need an apt so that I can be well tuned like my car! :0)
I too suffer with migrain. It worries me because the pain comes from the back of my head. I told my consultant about it and he told me it was nothing to do with Ataxia.
I always give any aches or pains two weeks if they havent sorted themselves outby then, I see the doctor.
I'm resistant to see my doctor, as I've always been healthy (except for ataxia), so I usually wait and see for a few days if something "unusual" comes up. At this point in my ataxia journey, I seem to know what's normal with my ataxia and what's not. If something continues to bother me, I'll make an appointment with my doctor. For instances, I fell on my tush in November and had quite a bit of pain. A couple days later the pain was worse rather then better, so I called my doctor for an appointment. I had an x-ray, and found out I hairline fractured my pelvis. So it was good I went to my doctor! ;o)
Thank you all i went to the Dr got med's for a Hernia, It's so easy for us to neglect our health thinking it's just a nagging pain it will go away. I think it's important for us to listen to our bodies. I went from active to no energy all in a week, this was a sign for me that i needed the Dr. I have A0A2 . As far as i know ataxia and hernia are not related. The Dr said its possible but unlikely that my bad walking and body movements could have helped the hernia along
While a lot of is is vague annoying neuro type stuff, it sometimes worries and and bugs me that ANY problem is seen as 'probably your ataxia'!
Incidentally are you on diamox? I was on it and it did horrible stuff to my stomach.. I'm going for an endoscopy next month to see if it has damaged my stomach lining.. I have pain and weird sensation ever since the diamox. But they will probably put that down to my ataxia too.....!
I have not experienced the stomach pain (and hope I don't), but I do have severe migraine headaches. The nuerologist gave me Relpax. Took the migraine away right now.
Hi Macfome the Dr put me on Nexiam 40mg i take one at night on an empty stomach. I took my second tablet last night i feel a little better. I made a list of foods to eat, foods to enjoy in moderation and foods to avoid. I hope a small change in my eating habits will also help.