Category Archives: Relief

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Prednisone–>I always over due it!

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Thursday May 6th: First day of prednisone 20mg!  I should have taken my friend Jennifer’s advice today when I felt so good. On the one hand it was a wonderful day. Started my day being able to fold some laundry and get some phone calls made. I went to a garage sale, had a good Dr apt, back to garage sale to get some amazing clothes that almost all fit. That’s always a big win. Then I texted Dawn to see what she was up too and we both ended up with beautiful pedicures. I had a thumb drive to drop off to Meaghan  (hopefully you got it) and realized I was 2 miles from where she lived to drop it off. One more thing crossed off of my list. I had heard back from my friend Carrie that she was nearby too so I stopped and chatted with her and her mom Ruthanne for an hour or so. On my way home I stopped at our old day care family and all the little babies just called me in. And I was off to pick up the boys just in time to get them off the bus, but talked on the phone to my mom  for the entire drive. Did I tell you that talking is a major migraine trigger. Dan had a water loss and it was beautiful outside so the boys got the burn pile done and then got out water balloons and the launcher. We had a fun time just hanging out. And if that wasn’t enough for the night we met up with Dan in Potterville for dinner at Charlie’s Bar and Grill.  Then home to put the boys to bed and crash. My head had started to hurt already but I was able to fall asleep.

Friday May 7th: Now here is when I should have listened to Jennifer, I should not have done so much on the first day of prednisone…it’s a trick, all the energy was from the pill. So I would pay for all the fun and activity and talking.  I woke with the most excrutiating pain I have felt in a long time. The pain was coming from all directions in my head. I felt like I was under attack. I tried my IceKap but it made this one worse. Finally after taking my meds including prednisone and putting warm heat on my head, I fell asleep. When I woke the pain was down but not very functional. So today I rest! And Mindy I am so sorry I can’t come for a visit today. Hopefully next week.

My neighbor also stopped by to drop off an ottoman that I bought at her garage sale and forgot to take. We got talking about migraines (imagine that) but she suffers too 😓. So I had to show her my icekap ‪but that meant showing our house and talking for a half an hour, plus the house is a disaster but she understood. Sad to hear of another friend whose migraines are getting more frequent and more difficult to treat. Selfishly glad to have a neighbor to talk to about migraine stuff but it sucks for both of us at the same time.

13133092_10154089587201897_5739522844633282669_n (1)I did realize something today. Well not really today, but something new about one of my migraines; the one that hit this morning. Laying down isn’t the answer for this one. As soon as I stood up the pain lessened. So I made myself a Mac and cheese cup and am sitting on the porch enjoying this beautiful day. Migraines are so complex especially when you have varying types but I am so glad I decided to stand up and go outside. But now the birds beautiful songs are starting to get to me. 😕. It was still lovely getting outside but still relaxing.

 

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IceKap Review

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1/24/16 My friend Mindy said that this cool cap makes me look a Migraine Super Hero!  I kinda like that!  Not sure what my super power is…maybe living in a cave for days on end??

The sales ad for this migraine product kept popping up everywhere for this IceKap.  I read several reviews and thought that this might be something that might be great to add to my migraine toolbox.  And indeed it is most definitely awesome!  I used the IceKap both hot and cold.

Hot: In general I use heat in the form of heated rice bags.  So the first way I tried the Kap was hot.  But the way to heat the gel packs is by putting it in the microwave for 10 second spurts.  The first time I heated them it took 2 minutes at 10 second spurts…this was not fun at all with the amount of pain I was in.  Then my husband recommended the crockpot on warm since that is the way I heated my rice bags.  However this was not a good idea.  When I took the gel packs out in the morning one of them was about to explode and I could not even touch them.  In fact I couldn’t even touch them for several hours.  In other words I have not found a good way to use this Kap as heat, however the directions did suggest using hot water to heat them.  So at some point I will try it and let you all know.

Update: After sending an email to the company, here were the suggestions they gave me after reading my review 🙂  Great suggestions!  Great company!

Regarding the heating part. We say 10 second intervals as everyone’s microwave is different and we want to make sure nobody bursts them. Sounds like you could get away with doing 30 second intervals. Try 20 first. Also when using hot water the gel will expand if it’s left to continue heating or it will burst. Try pouring near booming water over them on a pot or even warming them on the stove in a pot of warm water.

Cold: After reading the information on the website and knowing so much about my migraines and what helps, I decided to try the Ice/Cold aspect of the cap.  In the past I have not been able to use ice because it caused vasoconstriction immediately and increased pain, mostly because it was cold in my hands and sent chills up to my head, which in turn caused the constriction of the blood vessels in my head and increasing the pain.  However, with these gel packs, you can put them in the refrigerator and make them cold instead of ice cold.  Using the cap in this manner, reduces the swelling and since the types of medications that work on my migraines are anti-inflammitory drugs, I thought I would give it a try.  And it provides a great amount of relief…enough so that I could fall asleep with the IceKap on.  When I woke I was able to put the 2nd set of gel packs into the Kap.  It was also a great cap to wear on the way to the emergency room today because I was able to pull the cap down over my eyes blocking out the light at the same time providing some relief.

Overall I highly recommend the IceKap for Migraine, Head or Sinus pain.

Here is the link to the website and an explanation about how the IceKap works.

IceKap.ca Website

product-profile (1)

Andrea Jones, ICEKAP founder

As a migraine sufferer, I was desperate to find a natural solution that would not only help relieve the pain but also allow me to keep up with my active lifestyle. I suffered from migraines and headaches for well over a decade. During this time I have been in and out of the hospital and had many serious and invasive tests done to determine what is causing my migraines. I had also become far too familiar with the steady flow of ineffective prescription drugs that impacted my ability to operate normally. I had become so desperate to find something natural and drug free to help me I started going to work in a tuque filled with ice. This is where it all began.

I developed this product for anybody who suffers from pain, sick days, lost wages, and the pure frustration of having a migraine or headache. When our whole ‘control center’ is in pain, how are we supposed to accomplish anything?  Never mind getting dressed in the morning. My work was suffering, my pocket book was suffering, I needed to find another way. Now there is – a soft, soothing and natural way to sooth you in your time of need and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with you! I am not making any claims that Icekap is the miracle cure for migraine headaches but I can assure you it will soothe your symptoms, offer great relaxing relief and help you along the way to recovery in style!

How your Icekap works…

Icekap uses a combination of cryotherapy, aromatherapy and pressure therapy to treat symptoms. Cryotherapy is the general use of cold temperatures in medical therapy or the removal of heat from a body part. During a migraine the blood vessels in the head dilate causing pain. These vessels become swollen with blood and thus put pressure on the nerves surrounding the vessels. Both heat and cooling therapies use temperature manipulation to reduce migraine/ headache pain.

The use of cold therapy (Cryotherapy) is believed to cause the swollen blood vessels to constrict, thus reducing the pressure of the migraine/ headache pain. The use of heat therapy increases blood flow, increasing the amount of fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients to the head.

Icekap Essential Oil:

This combination offers an amazing soothing and cooling effect to the migraine sufferer. Cooling to the touch, it offers instant relief and a wonderful sense of well being. Lavender oil has calming properties that aid in relaxation and reduce anxiety while peppermint oil has cooling properties that create a cooling and soothing effect. Distilled essential oils have been employed as medicines since the eleventh century and are 100% natural.

Icekap Pressure System:

Some migraine/headache sufferers feel relief when pressure is applied to their head. To accommodate this, Icekap has an adjustable pressure band which allows the user to adjust the pressure of the cap to whatever tension they desire. The pressure system offers a comforting support to the key migraine areas – occipital, frontal, parietal and temporal regions. With this band the user can apply pressure to sooth the key areas of ‘pounding’ during a migraine.

Sincere thanks and joy to you for trying Icekap.
Andrea Jones, ICEKAP founder