Ever have an exhausting day? This was me today

[Draconator]

Wake up a bit late. Right to my desk and work. Non-stop for 3 hours. My wife sits down for lunch. Takes one bite of her sandwich, starts coughing. Almost immediately after she starts coughing, she grabs her head and is crying. Instant throbbing headache and pressure at a scale of 15 out of 10. I help her to bed to lay down for a bit, get her an ice pack for her head. Pain isn't going away. I argue we need to call the ambulance. She (being stubborn) wants a same day doctors appointment. I make the appointment. On the way to the doctors, she gets hella dizzy and is very nauseous. We detour to the ER. Not only is she my wife, she's my boss. I'm her office manager. So in the ER waiting room, I'm cancelling her appointments and the staff meeting for tonight. We wait for 3 hours. Finally back not to an ER room, but a triage room as the ER is absolutely slammed with patients today. There were almost no seats remaining in the waiting room. She gets settled. I ask her daughter to come to the ER, as I need to go home to feed all of our animals and the foster cats we have. I get back to the ER, and as I sit down in the waiting room, my wife and step daughter are walking out. The hospital didn't look for what caused this to happen. Just treat her pain and on to the next patient. I'm tired. Skipping my daily drink. Good night. 

[Fleezoid]

Get back to me when you have an hour and 20 minute commute to work. J/K! That's a really bad day, and a bit scary. 

 

Hope your wife/boss is doing better. Probably being a little too obvious here, but I hope she's going to do a follow-up with the regular doc. May have been an isolated incident, but then again, some other underlying cause at play.

[Draconator]

14 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

Get back to me when you have an hour and 20 minute commute to work. J/K! That's a really bad day, and a bit scary. 

 

Hope your wife/boss is doing better. Probably being a little too obvious here, but I hope she's going to do a follow-up with the regular doc. May have been an isolated incident, but then again, some other underlying cause at play.

The same thing happened 5 days ago, but the head pain and pressure went away in about 15 to 20 minutes. This time it lasted for hours. She has an appointment with her primary doctor tomorrow. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Fleezoid said:

Get back to me when you have an hour and 20 minute commute to work. J/K!

You don't have to live an hour & 1/2 away...😉

 

Aren't there houses near work?🤔

 

 

[Fleezoid]

23 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

You don't have to live an hour & 1/2 away...😉

 

Aren't there houses near work?🤔

 

 

 

It's 33 miles. With no traffic, it's 38 minutes. 

 

Yes. More expensive, significantly less value, more cramped and not nearly as nice a neighborhood. 

 

I complain, but I don't really complain because I knew what I was getting in to. It was a tradeoff I was willing to make

[Just Jack]

I'm not going to try to diagnose it, because I have not stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately, but based on what you wrote, and what someone I know had that sounds similar, get her brain scanned. 

[Goin Breakdown]

Man I'm sorry. Days like this are scary and confusing. I pray all

works out and that you guys actually find the root of the issue. Doctors sure know how to throw on a bandaid and collect that paycheck. Not all are like that but the last few ER and or urgent care visits my family has had was the same. 
 

[Draconator]

We posted about this on Facebook. A very good friend of ours contacted us, and said her mom would have the exact same symptoms that my wife had. She was diagnosed with a condition called Carotidynia. Carotidynia is a condition characterized by sudden-onset, severe pain in the neck along the carotid artery. The exact cause of carotidynia is unknown, but it is believed to be related to inflammation of the nerves and blood vessels in the neck. 

 

This would make sense as my wife's cancer took place in the muscle and skin surrounding her carotid artery (right side). She had two surgeries to that muscle. One to get a small tumor that developed after her tongue cancer, and the last surgery that removed that muscle, and the doctor (Same doctor as Jim Kelly) flipped her pectoral muscle into her neck to protect the carotid, and a skin graft from her thigh to cover the area. All that followed by radiation. And with radiation being the gift that keeps on giving, something like this is not surprising. The pain just radiated into her head which can be common with this. 

[Another Fan]

Damn this is a lot to process. 
 

@Draconator  hope it all works out there 

[US Egg]

6 hours ago, Draconator said:

And with radiation being the gift that keeps on giving, something like this is not surprising.

My wife’s chemo/target/radiation ended over 4 years ago, yet a few of the side effects linger and none too pleasant. Get the flowery stock answers, “yeah, it’s possible, when asking why symptoms are there that should be gone or why new ones are occurring after the treatments ended.

 

Just got to keep on keepin’ on.

[PonyBoy]

@Draconator Dude rough day, sorry man. 

 

Not comparing stories. In NY my wife had issues 25 years ago, daily migraines etc... I would get calls from her job that she was lying on her back on the floor in stock room etc..

 

Ultimately we went to a head & pain clinic in Michigan. They helped tremendously, but by that time she was legally deaf in one ear, legally blind in one eye, they helped her headaches to be manageable not outrageous like they were.

 

After getting home from clinic, next day she yells out from bedroom she was completely blind,  couldn't see a thing. 

Went to ER, slowly vision came back 🤷‍♂️.

 

Long story short, she's doing better since we moved out West, low humidity. 

 

Life is hard, even when it's good. The vows of marriage we take you cannot fathom when you're young.

 

For richer or poorer, better or worse, in sickness & in health. We've experienced them all! 

Hang in there, love your posts & Go Bills! ❤️

[Draconator]

3 hours ago, PonyBoy said:

@Draconator Dude rough day, sorry man. 

 

Not comparing stories. In NY my wife had issues 25 years ago, daily migraines etc... I would get calls from her job that she was lying on her back on the floor in stock room etc..

 

Ultimately we went to a head & pain clinic in Michigan. They helped tremendously, but by that time she was legally deaf in one ear, legally blind in one eye, they helped her headaches to be manageable not outrageous like they were.

 

After getting home from clinic, next day she yells out from bedroom she was completely blind,  couldn't see a thing. 

Went to ER, slowly vision came back 🤷‍♂️.

 

Long story short, she's doing better since we moved out West, low humidity. 

 

Life is hard, even when it's good. The vows of marriage we take you cannot fathom when you're young.

 

For richer or poorer, better or worse, in sickness & in health. We've experienced them all! 

Hang in there, love your posts & Go Bills! ❤️

 

Thank you. My wife has been much better today. She did have a minor episode where she had a dry throat, coughed, and had the instant headache, but it didn't last long at all and the throbbing pain was a lot less. She has a doctors appointment on Monday. 

 

Best wishes to your wife. Undiagnosed conditions are so frustrating and frightful. 

 

Edit to say, for Better or Worse, we get it. When my wife went through her cancer ordeal, she had 3 occurrences of cancer in one year, and 18 months of continual cancer treatment. We went to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC, The Cleveland Clinic, and the most effective care for her was right here in Buffalo. Dr. Lorie at ECMC for her surgery, and Dr. Singh at Roswell's Radiation Oncology Department. Both of those men saved my wife's life. What she experienced a couple of days ago, is the ongoing side effect of radiation. But with cancer, my wife won't be "what do we do?" She will be "what do we do now to rectify it?"

Edited September 27 by Draconator

[BuffaloBill]

On 9/26/2025 at 10:29 PM, Draconator said:

 

Thank you. My wife has been much better today. She did have a minor episode where she had a dry throat, coughed, and had the instant headache, but it didn't last long at all and the throbbing pain was a lot less. She has a doctors appointment on Monday. 

 

Best wishes to your wife. Undiagnosed conditions are so frustrating and frightful. 

 

Edit to say, for Better or Worse, we get it. When my wife went through her cancer ordeal, she had 3 occurrences of cancer in one year, and 18 months of continual cancer treatment. We went to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC, The Cleveland Clinic, and the most effective care for her was right here in Buffalo. Dr. Lorie at ECMC for her surgery, and Dr. Singh at Roswell's Radiation Oncology Department. Both of those men saved my wife's life. What she experienced a couple of days ago, is the ongoing side effect of radiation. But with cancer, my wife won't be "what do we do?" She will be "what do we do now to rectify it?"

 

 

Hope things are going better - that has been some tough sledding.

[Draconator]

18 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

 

Hope things are going better - that has been some tough sledding.

They are. My wife is going to the doctor in just about 2 hours. 

Thank you for asking. 

[Draconator]

Results from wifey's doctors appointment. She is going to schedule an MRI. The doc told her to keep her inhaler at the ready in case she goes into a coughing fit. Prescribed a couple of different medications to take on her business trip. She is also going to schedule a visit to her cancer doctor. Part of the post treatment process was an esophageal dilation about 7 months after radiation to get her able to swallow food. At that time, we were told a follow-up procedure might be necessary 5 to 10 years after the fact. The dilation was 6 years ago. It's a quick 45 minute procedure to stretch the esophagus. No biggie if she needs another one done.