delacourtings | [spoonie post]

For the past few weeks I've been having this unbearable pain in my ear, head, even the side of my face/jaw.

It mainly started on the right side of my face, but I've had it happen on the left too. Whenever it happens I've had to stay away from sound and light and take a pain reliever but even with the combination of these things I've rarely gotten any actual relief. It seems to have been fading in and out but a couple of days ago I woke up to it flaring up again and the pain was absolutely agonizing. My head was throbbing and the ache in my ear was so painful it almost reduced me to tears. The pain is so intense I've had to ask for medicine to be brought to me since I can't even get up and get it myself. It's like the pain is so intense it's the only thing I can focus on.

I also have severe IBS and I think the pain may be affecting it. Earlier this year i had a severe sinus infection and wasn't even able to take the antibiotics prescribed to me because after just a couple of doses my system was in complete disarray. I've spoken to my mother about it which is what I do whenever I do whenever a new health problem crops up because they tend to be issues inherited from her. She's convinced it's sinus related but I don't think so because I've had problems with my sinuses before and it's never felt anything like this. I'm leaning towards it being an ear infection or something similar but who knows. It's gotten to the point where I'm scheduling an appointment with the doctor but I don't know how soon I'm going to be able to see one, since I really need my mother to accompany me in case something happens (I.e. a sudden "attack" of pain while I'm driving). She's just landed a higher position in her place of work and is working almost all hours so I have no idea how soon she'll be able to go with me.

My anxiety is skyrocketing just thinking about the appointment because I almost never have enough spoons for that. I wake up early enough before the appointment that I can take all my medication, wait the alloyed thirty minutes, eat and then have time left in case my stomach disagrees with my meal. I can't stand for more than about fifteen minutes without feeling very faint or weak, which is a problem, and I start to feel ill if the temperature is at an extreme on either end. As a doctors office is freezing 99% of the time this also presents an issue. I have to eat fairly often as well, if I don't I start to form a headache and feel overheated and my hands starts shaking. If I notice these signs and don't eat anything it progresses even further. The headache becomes dizziness, the heat becomes even worse, and I start to feel nauseous. All of which can and have happened when I've been at the doctors before.

When it does, I've usually had no choice but to pick up some fast food nearby, which is another potential problem within itself. I'm allergic to gluten and dairy and I'm a vegan. I also can't eat fruit due to my IBS. This basically leaves me with the ability to order about two things from restaurants: salad or French fries.

Usually I just order French fries because I find it easier as it's faster to eat and makes me feel better sooner. My IBS is hot and cold with potatoes though, sometimes I can eat them and be perfectly fine, sometimes not. The problem with this is that all doctors are at least fifteen minutes away from where I live so if I do start to feel bad, I'll be stuck in the car that way for a bit. I also get carsick extremely easily which doesn't exactly help matters. I could wait until I'm closer to home to order something and then just eat it once I get home, but that still means I have to drive at least fifteen minutes while feeling dizzy and nauseous, overheated, and with shaky hands which isn't exactly safe. Just thinking about this is making my anxiety levels increase by about a thousand.

In the meantime, I've just been having to force myself to go to sleep whenever it flares up, as that seems to be the only time I can get any sense of relief, but even then sometimes the pain becomes so intense it wakes me up. Ugh, I just want something to make the pain at least somewhat bearable because it's started to become so intense it makes me nauseous. Ugh.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Could your jaw be out of whack? That can be very painful. Maybe an ear infection? Make sure your doctor knows about your reaction to antibiotics. As to the feeling dizzy and overheated when you don't eat, is that hypoglycemia, perhaps? It's a reaction to your blood sugar dropping too low. Discuss that with the doc, too.

Hope you're better soon!

[spoonie post]

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