Back to Square One

Two years ago I was in tremendous pain, constantly for nearly two months. I had started getting migraines. I wasn't just getting the occasional migraine, I was getting chronic migraines. I couldn't stand up, or even sit up for more than a few minutes without feeling like my brain was catching on fire from the inside out. I couldn't go to school, I rarely ate, I couldn't function at all. In total I missed the last month and a half of school, I missed all of my finals, because all I could do was sleep. The pain  was too much to bear for long. So, logically I contacted my doctor.

My doctor pretty much just said I was in some sort of migraine cycle so I needed to go to the ER where they would set me up with an IV and pain medication, this was SUPPOSED to make my migraines go away, so I followed her orders. After lying on one of the uncomfortable plastic benches for nearly four hours I was brought back to one of the rooms where the nurse proceeded to inject three different medications into my left butt cheek. It was a miracle! No more migraines! I was so happy. I took my prescription and was on my way. I felt a little goofy and doped up, but I was pain free... For about two hours.

Long story short, I ended up back in the ER at about 5:00 am. because my stomach was on fire, it was like my stomach was filled with lava, and on top of it my migraine was back. Shortly after seeing a doctor, I was diagnosed with Gastritis (from taking so much ibuprofen and receiving the pain medications), I came away with three more prescriptions (pills to make my stomach better even though I was only in the ER because of all the pills? That's... logical, right?) and a recommendation to go see somebody who specialized in headaches. The headache specialist then referred me to a neurologist, who had me get an MRI. The MRI came back clear (no weird brain tumors or anything, WOO!) so she prescribed two more medications... At this point I had 6-7 different prescriptions all prescribed with in just a couple of weeks. It wasn't much longer before I had a small pharmacy under my bed.

After going through months of hell, I had come out with having lost 25+ pounds and gained a hell of a lot more pills than any 17 year old should have in possession (the majority of them I didn't even need to take). My neurologist prescribed a pill called Nortriptyline, which I have to take every night for probably my whole life. 

Common nortriptyline side effects may include: 

• nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite; 
• anxiety, sleep problems (insomnia); 
• dry mouth, unusual taste; 
• little or no urinating; constipation; 
• vision changes; 
• breast swelling (in men or women); 
• or. decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm. 

Oh, and if I ever get pregnant while taking this medication the baby will come out with severe physical defects. 

Two years later, and I am nearly back to square one. I have gone to my neurologist around five times in the past few months, I have to get another MRI and my medication dosage has been tripled since I started taking Nortriptyline. I have been showing a lot of the side effects mentioned in the list (not pregnant so that one doesn't count). I have seen a total of 6 doctors regarding my migraines and not one of them suggested something other than pills (aside from the MRI).

"Pills are the solution to everything," at least, that is the impression one would get visiting an American doctor. There is little to no investigation of other remedies for things like migraines, ADHD, Depression, etc. The automatic solution is a pill... or two... maybe even three? In 2010 the pill industry was worth over $275.6 billion. The sale of antidepressants has risen over 400% since the 80's. The amount of pills prescribed and advertised is only going to keep growing because the pharmaceutical lobby is one of the strongest in the U.S. We hear everyday that the United States is the fattest country in the world, but what we don't hear is that we also spend more than every other country on pharmaceuticals. We are one of two nations that allow pharmaceuticals to advertise directly to patients. We are the sickest first world country, but that is okay because it's just business.