On October 6, 2012 we were at Thriller, dance production put on by Odyssey Dance Theater. I do not like to be scared, and part way through the show my left arm and left side of face went numb. I wasn't super concerned at the time because I figured it was anxiety. When I got home, I took xanax. When I woke up Sunday morning the numbness was still there. I got a little concerned, but not uber worried, I was in school at the time so I figured it could be from that too. On Monday morning the numbness was still there and I just didn't feel right. I went to my doctor and he was very concerned that I was having TIA's (mini strokes). He started me on plavix right away and scheduled me for ultrasound of carotid arteries and MRI of brain. US was normal. The MRI showed right frontal lobe angioma, small little blood tumor/a bunch of veins feeding into one specific area. They said they do nothing with it, unless it starts growing or changes to a cavernoma.
I was referred to a neurologist, who talked to my husband and I about DHE infusions that can be done to fight migraine. She said that when I had a really bad migraine, to call and I could get the infusion. In November, 2012 I went for my first and last infusion of DHE. I had severe allergic reaction to it. My blood pressure bottomed out, I had difficulty breathing, I was incoherent, and could not see anything. My neurologist and nurse giving the infusion were very concerned. My neurologist said she had never had anybody have a reaction to it. So, I am that statistic.
Between Oct. 2012 and Jan 2013, I was missing more days of work than actually working. My neurologist said she was going to put me on disability for 6 months so she could get my migraines under control. I honestly didn't think I would be on disability for 6 months. When I applied for Short Term Disability with The Hartford, they disputed it. They said I should use FMLA for migraine because nobody ever goes on disability for migraines. After reviewing all my medical records, I was approved for Short Term Disability, but had to keep them updated. I was also required to under go a psych consult to make sure that it wasn't psychological. I went to a psychologist a couple of times and she signed off on me. Told me it was not psychological. I started going to counseling with a LCSW sometime in the summer and was seeing her every two weeks.
July 13, 2013 my Short Term Disability expired and I was no where close to getting better. I was actually getting worse instead of better. I had to apply for Long Term Disability, but I was told that I would most likely be denied. I was not denied. They called and approved me for LTD before they received all my records from all of the specialists I had seen. LTD is valid for one year. I was required to apply for Social Security Disability at the same time, which I did. It was denied, but we are in the middle of filing an appeal.
To Be Continued...
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