The Land of The Living

This whole blog-a-day-in-September had to take a brief hiatus yesterday (I just now posted yesterday's blog) as I lay in bed with a migraine all day. That was sad, considering it was evidently the nicest weather day we have had since I've lived here.

My regular blog-readers are all-too-aware of my migraines, which have been somewhat well behaved lately. But we traveled to a wedding this weekend. I didn't drink as much water as I should have, being on the road and all, then the weather change knocked me flat on my back. Literally.

At one point I couldn't keep anything down -- no water, no food, and worst of all, no pills. So I could lay with an ice pack on my head, in too much pain to sleep. It's really no way to spend a Labor Day, I tell you.

I totally need one of these things! Found it while  looking for pics of ice packs.

However, it gives me opportunity to practice "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess. 5:18). Too often the first thing to come out of my mouth is a complaint, an "if-only", a "why isn't it that way...?", so laying perfectly still in pain gives me time to practice being grateful. And I realized that I am.

No, I was not grateful to be inside a dark room flat on my back, unable to be medicated on a gorgeous day. Here are things I was grateful for:
*This is not my usual life.
*My family was so amazing and sweet and took good care of me.
*The ice pack.

And on it went. Above all, I went back to being grateful for being generally healthy, so that days like this are rare.

And this morning, when I could keep down half a banana, then a whole pill, it was an amazing day for rejoicing indeed. Look at me! Back in the land of the living. Now if I could figure out how to get one of those ice helmet things...

Drive-by Blogging

Ugh.

What a crummy day yesterday, and went to bed with a migraine as a souvenir. So, I woke up with the room spinning in circles and still feel a little dizzy -- yes, I always ACT a little dizzy, but I'm not usually actually dizzy.

I don't really have time for dizziness, of course. I finished an article this morning, after chopping one almost to the death yesterday after an editor requested that it be 25% shorter (y'all, that is like asking if I can be 25% shorter -- it is painful!). I've got laundry strewn hither and yon, both of the clean and dirty variety, about to leave for Meals on Wheels, need to recycle first, then... you get the idea.

Much happening.

But today my daddy is 360 miles away, having a spot on his lungs biopsied. We are praying for the best and would be honored if you would, as well. All other indicators (blood work, etc.) indicate that these (there are several) are non-cancerous, but it is, of course, unsettling to face. And it certainly puts laundry and article editing in perspective.

Before I hustle off to the next thing, I want to leave you with one thing I read this morning from John 15. If you remember, that is the chapter where Jesus is talking to his disciples right before he is to be crucified. He is basically reminding them to be faithful, saying over and over, "Remain in me." verse 16 says:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

It blessed me SO much to be reminded that I was CHOSEN. Chosen and APPOINTED. And so are you. May you go and bear fruit today.

Migraine Info Posted

I am not a doctor, I don't even play one on blogland TV. But I have learned a LOT about migraine in the last 8 weeks. Every time I mention that I have come through another victory about my migraines, someone asks me about it.

So, I wrote up what I know. I didn't put it here, because it's ridiculously long. I put it here. I may put a link to it on the sidebar. If I can be a pro about anything, I guess it will be headaches!

If you are a migraine sufferer you may want to check it out.

Beginning of a Great Week

Oh, we are gearing up for end of school madness. In a fit of insanity, I reluctantly agreed to be in charge of the 5th Grade Talent Show at Riley's school. One very sweet empty-nester said, "Well, he'll never be this age again." To which I replied, "Yes, and I don't want to HATE one of the last activities he is in at elementary school, and I WILL by the time it gets here!" It's only 2 weeks out of my life. What else would I do, right?

Well, that is currently the question. I have mentioned here off and on that I have occasional migraines. In the last 8 weeks occasional has gone to regular to frequent. I am VERY blessed to have medication -- $10 per pill -- that effectively treats the pain of the migraine. I can be mostly pain-free within an hour, but it's the post-migraine "hangover" that kills me. I still haven't figured out if it's the medication or the migraine itself, but I lose at least the rest of the day, and frequently part of the next day being completely useless.

Unless you get them, I don't know how else to describe it besides limp dishrag syndrome! For an example: I'm not a TV watcher, and if I ever do sit to watch TV, I HAVE to have something else to do. Read a book, work on a crossword, paint my nails, whatever. I can't stand to sit idle in front of the flicking screen. Unless I am in post-migraine hangover, at which time keeping up with a flicking screen plot line is about all I can manage. I am completely void of energy. I can physically do the most important things -- I just can't think of what the most important thing is.

So the past few weeks I have been in migraine/ hangover/ realize all I didn't do during migraine/ hangover cycyle. It's not a great way to raise a family and not much of a way to live. Please don't hear me saying it's the worst thing ever. Oh, no, God keeps reminding me of MANY things that could be worse. But it is annoying. And expensive, at $10/pill.

I know that there are also medications that are migraine preventives -- a daily medication. One woman told me she quit taking them because they were $100/ month. I'm already spending $100/ month, and maybe I could prevent getting them. I don't know.

I'm also looking at external factors/ triggers I can control to eliminate -- chocolate (not much of a chocolate eater), caffeine (how sad would that be), aspartame (Diet Coke, even sadder), and many, many others. My head kind of hurts thinking about trying to figure it out!

So, that is my boring news, boring quest for this week: try to avoid getting a migraine. And that is why the blogging is becoming increasingly lame these days -- I can't think straight or I'm so busy catching up that I don't have time to write anything.

I'm still listening for the Lord, still appreciate teachers, and still have a rockin' family. Back tomorrow for more excitement!

What I Know About Migraine

Because my experience with migraine has led me to become somewhat of an expert on my own migraines, I wanted to share what I know here. Obviously, this is not medical advice, but I will tell you that I had to learn far more on my own than my doctor has been able to tell me. More than anything, if you are a migraine sufferer, I encourage you to do your own homework and research and discover your own solutions, rather than assume that a health care professional will do it for you. 

Most of the information that worked FOR ME I got from this book:

Author Bucholz has, just as the title suggests, a 3-step program to virtually eliminating migraines. I am writing this only two weeks past my last migraine, but I am confident I am on the right track. You can find MANY books out there on migraines -- I bought another while I was at it -- and you will probably get conflicting advice. This one worked for me and made logical sense to me.

Step 1: Eliminate Quick Fixes.

This means (to me, especially) wean yourself off of all caffeine and all (can you believe it) prescription migraine pills. Did you know that prescription migraine pills have a rebounding effect, and can cause migraines? Lovely. I didn't know, and my doctor didn't tell me (he may not know, for that matter...). We all know that caffeine does that which is why we get headaches when we go too long without, etc. To eliminate caffeine headaches, Bucholz says it's okay to 'wean', but make it quick, 'lest you spend your life in a 'really, I'm drinking less today than yesterday, so I'm weaning' pattern. He says make it where you are completely off  caffeine in 10 days or less. Also, he says take no more than two prescription migraine pills a month (I was taking 12-15) to avoid rebounding. For all other headaches, use ibuprofen or acetaminophen (there is much about acetaminophen being VERY hard on the liver, and as much as I need, I try to stick with ibuprofen) and use an ice pack on your head. 

This is a ROUGH two-week de-tox (longer for some folks), but well worth it.

Step 2: Eliminate Potential Food Triggers

Bucholz has a list of common food triggers and says you should get off of ALL of them and here's why (even if you don't think they are a trigger):

There are so many triggers that we can't avoid (weather changes, hormones, environmental factors, stress, etc.) that we should take extra precaution to know and avoid the triggers that we CAN avoid. Also, many people are unaware that a food is a trigger because for instance, let's say that a storm is coming in (classic migraine trigger), hormones are raging (classic migraine trigger), and you had a horribly stressful day at work (classic migraine trigger). You get home from work without a migraine and eat a slab of chocolate (classic migraine trigger). The chocolate is the 'straw that broke the camel's back' and sends you to bed for the night with a migraine. Three days later, when the storm has passed, hormones have leveled off, and it's your day off, you finish off the chocolate and... nothing. So, you think, "Whew! So glad chocolate isn't a trigger!" 

So, Bucholz says to get off of all of these and stay off. He said for 4 months. I confess I started 'cheating' after about 2 weeks, thinking, "I really miss this, and I really don't think THIS is one of MY triggers." Guess what? Found a trigger! Almonds! 

Without any further ado, la list (in order of how frequently they are a trigger for people according to Bucholz): (a copy of the list)

• caffeine (he includes decaffeinated drinks due to the chemicals used to take the caffeine out as well as the amount of caffeine left in)
• chocolate
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) -- no bacon, sausage, and few prepared meats
• processed meats and fish
• cheese and other dairy, including yogurt and sour cream
• Nuts and nut butters
• Alcohol and vinegar, especially red wine, even condiments made with vinegar (ketchup)
• a vague array of fruits and juices (mentioning citrus)
• a vague array of vegetables
• fresh bread (less than one day old)
• Aspartame/ Nutrasweet
• anything that YOU find that gives you a headache

Some things about this: he recommends to go off of ALL of these things, then slowly add back in only the things you actually miss (he says things you don't miss aren't really worth it, which is why I still haven't had yogurt!) HOWEVER, his one caveat: he says that caffeine is simply too much trouble, and anyone that suffers from migraine should get off of it, stay off of it, and never re-introduce it. You know, I don't miss the feel -- I especially don't miss feeling crummy later in the day. I miss the taste. Oh, heavenly days, I miss the taste. Seriously, licking my lips as I type. It helps that my preventative that I take has changed the way Diet Coke tastes, so even if I were to drink one, it isn't my old friend Diet Coke. But, oh, I miss it so....

I have been off of caffeine about 6 weeks. I can honestly say that I can go without it for the rest of my life, but I don't know if I can go the rest of my life only drinking water, which is pretty much all that is available to me currently (once you eliminate high calorie, Aspartame, and caffeine). It's pretty boring.

Oh, one more: he also says that pizza, due to being yeasty, full of cheese and if it has meat on it, MSG, can be one of the worst things for a migraine sufferer. It doesn't seem to bother me. FYI. Whew...

Step 3: Raise your Threshold.

This means, basically, go to your doctor and get on a preventative. Which, to be honest, I did first, and would highly recommend doing BEFORE you go through all of the detoxing, what-have-you because it can also reduce the severity of migraine symptoms. However, like any other medication, these are not without side effects. Mine has been a God-send, but I can't rely on it as the be-all, end-all savior to end my migraines. Also, I am on one that my doctor said, "Start at this dosage, and go up dosage every week until migraines are almost eliminated." Well, by the time migraines were almost eliminated, I felt HORRIBLE 24/7. Vague headache, no energy, just terrible. I felt so bad, it took me two weeks to realize this: "At the lower dosage, I did have 3 migraines in a week, but I actually felt good for the other 4 days!" I went to the lower dosage, and have now had 1 migraine in the last two weeks. A HUGE victory for me.

My doctor wants me at the higher dosage -- I don't know why -- but I'm perfectly happy here. Truthfully, I will stay here a few months and maybe see if I can get off of this and control migraine by diet.

So. My migraine life. Happy to share what I know. There are many alternatives that I wish I could afford to try -- accupuncture, for example -- but for now simply eliminating certain foods and being good to myself seem to be working. 

I'll be happy to answer any of your questions -- it would work best if you would leave me your email address -- but keep in mind I am NOT a medical professional, and I would encourage you to keep doing your own research with a medical professional.