Tag Archives: migraine

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Roller Coaster Weeks of May

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Week of May 9th: I was still on prednisone until Wednesday.  But I was exhausted every day.  Gideon ended up staying home with a fever Tuesday through Thursday and we pretty much laid around during that time.  My head pain may have been low, but my body was completely out of energy.  So we sat, watching TV, playing on our electronics, napping a lot, even Gideon.  Head pain actually remained low until Saturday, but finally on Wednesday, I got some energy back and so did Gideon, but was still running a low grade fever so I kept him home one more day.  We had a fun day of going to lunch, Walmart, lots of garage sales and then to Miss Tammy’s (his daycare before I lost my job).  Man was I whipped when I got home though.  Friday started my day with a sore throat and pain into the chest.  I was thinking it was a yeast infection from the prednisone especially because I had it down there and on a place on my stomach…so not fun.  I just felt crappy all day.  I tried to go into town, but only lasted an hour and then back to bed for me.  I woke Saturday with a migraine starting but didn’t let that get me down…at least with the help of Imitrex it didn’t get me down.  So we packed in the car and went to a few garage sales and had lunch out.  By Sunday I was completely exhausted and slept almost all day.  Migraine most of the day when I woke in spurts.  I did rally in the evening to get the kitchen cleaned, the boys to clean their bedrooms and bathrooms and organized the laundry to fold and hang…it was really beginning to pile up.

Week of May 16th: Monday in bed all day with a horrible migraine for which I finally had to take a Toradol shot just to take the edge off.  Tuesday I woke with the migraine, but took Amerge ( a Noratriptan that takes quite a while to take effect but works for a long time) and went back to bed until 1:30pm.  I got up showered and felt like I had some energy back again.  I was supposed to meet a friend for a late lunch/ice cream but that fell through, so I13265911_10154115930606897_534315005628657821_n went and ate at Taco Bell for a late lunch by myself.  I ran a few errands and hit Goodwill for a few amazing finds…Body Glove surf suit for Gideon $8 and it fits perfect, white leather Keds for $4 for me which is what I was looking for and a pair of garden shoes for $4 and I love them, they are bright green and make me happy 🙂 And then went crazy and folded all the laundry, hung up hanging clothes put it all away..and if that wasn’t enough I emptied out my entire closet to make room for all of  my clothes that not only fit but were some amazing garage sale finds and to make room for my new addiction: LulaRoe.

The rest of this week is a mystery to me really.  I woke up on Wednesday with a great deal of energy and very little head pain (1/2).  So I called my friend Mindy and we went to lunch and hung out all afternoon and chatted all day.  Then in the evening the family went to Josiah’s school for a walk-a-thon type thing and I walked 1 1/2 miles.  I was so scared…I knew I would end up with a migraine that night or the next morning, but the mystery is…I didn’t.

So Thursday I woke up feeling ready for the day and spent the entire afternoon with my friend Carrie, hitting garage sales and Meijer towards the end of the day.  Friday I went to Josiah’s field day at school for 3 hours which was so much fun and I am so glad I was able to go and participate in something this year with the schools.

Then went to ready care because a pain in my neck, possibly lymph nodes had been bothering me, he put me on antibiotics and sent me on my way. I slept until 3:30, visited with my parents and then we all headed in to Gideon’s school for his school Carnival. And again I was so pleased and excited that I got to participate in something with the kids for their school.

Little to no head pain all day and into the evening.  I did do a Toradol shot, but that is because my body was aching 🙂  Then my parents took the kids and Dan and I just hung out all weekend, hitting a few garage sales.  Saturday night we hung out with our friends Stephanie and Jared until 1:30 in the morning.  Still no head pain.  I was even wearing my regular glasses without the tint.

Same for Sunday…I did have a bad reaction to food, but other than that another great day.  It’s a mystery!  I was actually having feelings of guilt because I had gone so long without a migraine.  How weird is that?  I was also very confused…was this going to last, was the medicine working, I just didn’t know.

Week of May 23rd: Monday was another great day.  I spent most of the day relaxing at home though just in case.  But it was nice and quiet and had no responsibilities that day and that felt good..no where to go!  Then as I was on FB a notification came up from one of the virtual garage sale sites and I just happened to click on it.  It was a piece of property.  10 acres of land, with great hunting potential.  I contacted the owner and asked if we could take a look at the property.  So after we had all eaten, we headed out 14.5 miles from our house was this beautiful piece of land.  Oh my goodness, we were instantly in love.  Rolling hills, woods, the view, the potential to maybe build some day, photography potential.  So we walked all the way to the back of the property which was quite long.  When we got to the wooded area it was tough to walk because of all the prickers, so Josiah and I chose a different path and we ended up in the swamp.  It took all of my energy to get to the back of the property and then I was digging for extra energy to get back.  We saw 4 deer and a rabbit in our short time there.  The sun was setting and we were in love.  We didn’t really think about how we would pay for the land, just how beautiful it was and the potential it had.

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And then I had no more guilt, I knew the answer to the questions I was asking myself…the13241196_10154132262611897_3871821648081814738_n head pain returned and with a vengeance.  Ugh.  I went to bed with the pain rising and woke with the head pain at a 5.  I took an Imitrex and went back to bed because I had a hair apt later that day and of course I had to make it 🙂  By the time I 13233015_468205046703984_2698938692415491479_ngot home the meds were worn off and I was back to bed and in bed all day Wed and Thursday.  Friday, I woke with the migraine still, but took Amerge because I was done with the pain.  Luckily by 1:30 when I woke up the meds had done their job.  So I went in to town to see the back about financing the property (after chatting with Jennifer our realtor, she told us that there was a possibility of financing and I made some calls and found out that was indeed true).  I got all the information about getting pre approved for the loan and what it would take to get the loan.  20% down…ugh.  If we got the property for $32,000 with realtor fees we would need $7000 to put down.  No idea really how that could happen.  So I put that aside and started driving until I found a garage sale sign which lead me over towards the property.  I decided to go look at it again.  When I got out of the car, I felt this amazing peace.  So I decided to pray about this property and if it was to be in our future or not and to please make it clear 😉  One can always ask!  And wouldn’t you know it, when I left the property, 2 houses down there was a garage sale.  If you know me, or have at the very least read this thread, I love to garage sale.  It must be a sign, right?  🙂  hehe j/k  I won’t disregard it, but I won’t put an offer in based upon that “sign” 🙂  I picked up the kids from school (a treat since they have to ride the bus and walk home) and then picked up pizza.  My parents met us at the house and took the kids off for the weekend.  After they left, Dan and I sat out front and just enjoyed the peace and quiet and listened to the birds and talked about our day without interruption.  And then the guy next door started mowing…inside I go.  Allergies are kicking my butt this year.  So now to spend Memorial Day weekend however it takes us.  But I will gather all the necessary documents needed for the pre approval for sure.

 

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Mayo Clinic

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I got the call that Mayo is going to take my case!!!  Happy Dance!  My series of appointments start on April 15th.  Good thing I already filed my taxes.  And a really good thing that my mom will be home from Florida and is available to drive out there with me.  Now to start filling out headache questionnaires and gathering all of my medical files.  Just hoping that they can get me some answers.   I have my next apt at MHNI on March 31st and I really hope that they will continue with me as a patient even though I am going to Mayo to try and get more answers about the why? the migraine started to begin with.  Hopefully they will do more extensive testing or having other ideas or who knows what!  But it can’t hurt at this point!  I am kind of excited about this journey.

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Weather and migraines don’t mix

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This whole weather changing thing has got to stop. At least the drastic changes. I woke with a migraine so disabling that I could barely handle the pain. Dan took the kids to the bus stop and I went back to sleep only to wake up to excruciating pain. So I brought out my Arsenal of abortive meds and took them all. I took the one that has been working for migraine first but 30 minutes later nothing changed. Then I took benedryl to hopefully go back to sleep and waited and put my IceKap on but nothing was helping. I finally brought out the big guns: 2 doses of Toradol and I was relaxed enough to fall asleep in about 15 minutes and slept until now. The excruciating pain is definitely gone, PTL, I just feel groggy with moderate level pain which I am so grateful for. Hey at least I finished and filed my taxes last night; maybe that was the cause of the migraine 😜. And thankfully I had planned today as a day of rest. So I will continue to rest and pray that when the meds where off the migraine does not return.

Of course this migraine lasted 72 hours followed by a day of disabling fatigue and dull head pain.  The 2nd day I just tried to sleep as much as I could to deal with the pain, using medicine alternatives like the icekap and heated ricebags.  However by the 3rd day I couldn’t take it anymore, so I took abortive meds again. Fortunately the meds take the severe pain away but unfortunately they leave me very dysfunctional and sleeping most of the day, then I couldn’t sleep at night, so I slept most of the day today (migraine hangover day).  The past 3 weeks have looked exactly like this and I am just getting frustrated.  Yes, there are meds out there that take the pain away, but they don’t make me functional.  So I am starting to consider a 2nd opinion.

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How can I forget so easily?

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Even though I have found that prednisone works like a miracle drug for me and takes away my migraines and headaches for the number of days, the aftermath is not so much fun.  It is as if the week of freedom makes me completely forget about what it’s like to have migraines, what the symptoms are leading up to the migraine, what happens to me during the migraine and especially the day following the migraine.  This week came as if it was a complete surprise to me.  Every time I have gone on prednisone I have had a really bad week following, so should have known, but it was nowhere in my memory as I drudged through the week.IMG_7959

Luckily I had enough medication to get me through Monday, which was spent all day in the Pediatric ER at Sparrow.  8 hours of sitting, waiting, trying to make Gideon comfortable, dealing with fever, puking, pain.  It was a good reminder of what my friends and family have done for me over the past year.  And I was very thankful that my migraine had not returned yet.  But it was the last day of the prednisone…so now I just had to wait for the head pain and migraine to come again.
12742637_1745763652304281_8267423894534451792_nI didn’t have to wait long.  Tuesday morning I awoke with the beginnings of a migraine and the regular head pain had returned.  By the end of the day the migraine had kicked in full gear, so I took a triptan, which helped me get through the day…but I was woken up at various points in the night with the pain and then remained in bed all of Wed and Thurs. The pain was almost unbearable at times.  This happens when both the migraine and the new daily persistent headache are both competing for top spot on my pain scale.  I got a lot of use out of my IceKap and I even brought out the eye patch I bough in case it might help with the severe light sensitivity I get during the bad migraines.  I spent a good deal of time sleeping, but I also watched a good deal of NCIS on my right side with my right eye close and one ear plug in my left ear.  This minimized sound, brightness and business and allows me to block out the pain for periods of time.  This migraine also brought on a great deal of jaw pain and so I pulled out my bite guard…it was as if I had to pull everything out of my aresanol to deal with this big whopping migraine.

I had already decided I would take meds on Friday morning to help with the pain if it remained and it did.  So I took my migraine cocktail (Toradol, Zofran and Benedryl) and a triptan for good measure and went back to sleep for 4 more hours.  The rest of the day I thought I was feeling drugged and then remembered the postdrome symptoms and I was smack dab in the middle of them.  How could one week of relief make me forget how all of this works.

When I woke up Saturday (today) I felt great and I took Gideon to swim, went to CVS and to QD to get our after swim donuts (and milk and orange juice).  When I got home I asked if everyone wanted to go into town later because I was feeling great, but I just needed a nap).  Again how could I forget what 4 days of solitude, tucked away in my dark and quiet room does to me…It makes me fatigue easily and makes dealing with chaotic situations not so well.  But I had forgotten all of that and we headed into town.  After doing a return at Kohl’s and doing some shopping, I was whipped and couldn’t figure out why.  By the time we left the store I was so irritable because the boys were being boys (not even being bad, just noisy and busy: chaotic).  We had planned on going out to eat and just going inside the restaurant kicked up my anxiety a notch that when I came back to the car I had to put ear plugs in and ended up having to keep them in the entire evening.  By the time we were done eating, there was no way I was going to be able to go grocery shopping too.  How could I forget all of this during a one week of reprieve??  It is beyond me!  But thankfully I am on the flip side of that migraine and I will take it easy tomorrow in the hopes that it will keep another migraine from coming on so quickly as it tends to do these days.

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Not posting for days can mean…..

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2/10/2016

  1. That I have been completely down with Migraines and just can’t get to my computer to post anything

or

2. I have not had a single migraine and I have been busy doing things like laundry, packing for a trip, running errands and taking care of a sick kid.

Luckily for me and my family I had a nice long stretch without a migraine…6 whole days!  This was the longest stretch I have had without pain medication, nerve blocks, facet blocks, etc. and no migraine.  The daily head pain was there the entire time, but at a very low level and there were even periods of time where I didn’t even notice the headache.  I felt very fortunate that I was able to be with Gideon during his week off of school (even though my increase in meds made me incredible tired).  Luckily Gideon loves to just hang out and watch cartoons and YouTube videos.  If we weren’t running errands, we were hanging out in bed watching videos.  Gideon was finally feeling better by the end of the week and went back to school on Monday…I think we were both ready for that!  With the addition of Flexeril as a nightly preventative med and increasing my Robaxon (both muscle relaxers) I slept a lot this week.  But when I was awake, I had huge bursts of energy and was able to do laundry and pack bit by bit for our trip to FL.

My migraine free days came to an end last night.  And when it came to an end, it resulted in 0-5, full blown migraine in the matter of about 10 minutes.  The only triggers that I can think of was talking on the phone and computer time balancing my checkbook.  At any rate I went straight to bed. I woke up at 3:30 am and the migraine was still raging, but I didn’t want to take any medication if I could get back to sleep.  So I put my IceKap on with nice cool gel packs and was able to fall asleep, waking up on and off, for 2 more hours.  When I woke at 5:30 am I couldn’t handle the pain anymore, so I tried Imitrex first because I was suffering from both the classic migraine (stabbing pain over the eye) and the tension migraine (Pressure and swelling around my entire head).  Imitrex barely touched it, so after a half an hour, I changed out my gel packs for cool ones, and did my morning medications plus the migraine cocktail (Toradolx2, benedrylx2 and Robaxonx2 was already part of my morning meds).  An hour later, the migraine was completely gone and I was able to complete all of my tasks that I needed to accomplish today; safety recalls taken care of my van (and we got 2 bran new key fobs…so exciting), shopping and lunch with my friend Mindy and one of the longest oil changes ever, but at least the car is all set for the big trip tomorrow.

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And now that we are pretty much packed, with the exception of the last minute stuff, I could use lots of prayers as we travel 15 hours.  Just hoping and praying for low to no head pain…but I packed my arsenal of abortive meds if I do end up with one…so I feel prepared.  We pick the boys up after school and head straight out!  We are all pretty excited!!  Just a quick picture to leave you with from our last trip to Destin, Fl…such a beautiful place!  I can’t wait to go for a walk along the beach 😉

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MHNI Visit #13

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2/2/2016 Yesterday I had my follow up with my Dr’s at MHNI yesterday.

I woke with a full blown migraine. I took my morning meds and an IMITREX, put my IceKap on and slept for an hour. When I woke up I felt so much better, thank goodness, because I had no idea how I would make it through the day.  Gideon took all of his meds like a champion this morning (thank goodness). He had to go with us to the Dr. appointments because he couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t drive and we didn’t want to expose anyone else to his multiple illnesses.  So he got to hang out in the car with us for the day. He is all set with electronics, movies and his new little stuffed animal. Then as we went to all get in the car, we had locked our one and only set of keys in the car. Luckily Dan is a pretty handy guy and we still had a metal hanger. Car unlocked, and only 15 minutes late. Then I downed some ice tea (caffeine) to further help knock out the migraine.

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My neurologist changed the triptan I was on (Imitrex) to a triptan called Amerge for an abortive med for the classic migraine, hoping it will have less side effects.   We also discussed adding Flexeril to my preventative meds for NDPH. He had read an article that people with NDPH have had great success with Flexeril, so I will be starting that tomorrow.  We will see how it goes. It is a low dose so hopefully I won’t have to many side effects.  The last change to my meds is to increase my migraine preventative medication, Robaxon to its maximum dosage to see if I had any better luck at a higher dose.  At my next office visit if my migraines haven’t gotten any better, we will try a new preventative med.  I didn’t want to add a new medication before our vacation. If the increase in this med doesn’t work, we try another at another at my next appointment. The goal is to find a med that will break the cycle of the migraines and NDPH and prevent further head pain. I also now have the option to make an apt for nerve blocks in my temples as needed every 6 weeks which thus far has been a miracle block.  I get an entire week of pain free.

2/3/2016 Today Gideon and I had a whirlwind day.  Josiah had a delay in school, so we drove him to school, so Gideon and I went to CVS to return our late Red box movies..ugh, we have to stop doing that!  And then I realized I forgot my prescriptions…ugh again!  We did manage to get to the post office to resend for the 3rd time documents to SSDI…ugh why do they keep losing my paperwork.  We drove back home to get the prescriptions…ugh.  Went back to CVS and then headed to Eaton Rapids for lunch with Dawn at McDonalds…Gideon was so excited!  Then a follow up with his Dr.  He is still full of illness 😦  Double ear infection still, swollen glands, sinuses completely blocked up.  So she prescribed prednisone to help all of the swelling (Is it bad that I want to keep the prednisone for myself 😛 and no I gave the steroid to Gideon.  He is feeling better, but just the energy level!  The rest of his little body still hurts.

Once we got home I passed out with a migraine on my left side (very unusual for me, most of my migraines are on the right side).  Still have a mild migraine but a good day overall.

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My New Normal takes a Turn in the Road

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1/31/16 The past few days have been quite a roller coaster.  And though this post is mostly about food intolerance, there is a possibility there is a link between my migraines and food sensitivities.

I had a migraine every day last week and by Thursday night I had run out of abortive medications and was still in migraine mode, only without anymore pain relievers.  So I used what I had in my migraine toolbox to help manage the pain the best I could: dark, quiet, my new IceKap and my iPad with an ear bud to minimize sound and distract my brain from the pain.

Thursday was also the day I picked up the results of my food sensitivities and intolerance.  My first response was “there is no way my mind can take this in with this kind of head pain and I am on my way to get my hair done”.  So I set it aside and mentioned a few brief things to Dan.  And then I went in my bedroom because my head was killing me and decided to compare my list of no-no foods to my stocked Crave Cave.  I can no longer eat any of them.  Then I came out to the cupboards and could find nothing that I could eat that didn’t have at least one ingredient from the list.  Then I started swearing, throwing things, crying…you name the emotion, I likely felt it except all the happy ones of course.

12651188_10153830137376897_9210018167551688087_nFriday sucked as much because I was still mad and now becoming very depressed because I didn’t know what to eat.  So I ate nothing for breakfast, a cheese stick for lunch and a tortilla for dinner.  The worst part of the day though was that my migraine was not only awful, but the light sensitivity was awful and it was extremely bright outside and I had to pick up the kids; Gideon from the bus stop, no big deal and then Josiah from school because Dan forgot about him and had to work late.  So the picture here is of me trying to drive with an awful migraine while trying to block the sun out of my right eye where I was already being stabbed from the inside.  But it really demonstrates how I really felt as well.

And now onto my main point of this entire blog post, the Food Intolerance/Food Sensitivity testing and what in the world I am going to do and eat for the foreseeable future.

Food Allergies: Here is the list of allergies that my family and I have been learning to live with since June of 2014.   Actual allergies measured by IgE enzyme may or may not show up on the food tolerance testing but a few did show up on both lists* (and this turned our families life upside down, but not begin to compare to the upheaval it will take in the coming months):

  1. Peanuts
  2. Almonds
  3. Walnuts*
  4. Pistachio*
  5. Coconut
  6. Avacado
  7. Cherry
  8. Melons*

 Severe intolerance: (which means these foods should be avoided for a minimum of 6 months):

  1. Anchovy (which I thought no big deal at first until I read that you find it in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and other fish sauces…possibly even Fish Oil supplements.
  2. Baker’s Yeast (which is in EVERYTHING, well just about anyway.  All breads of course, processed foods, crackers and many broths)
  3. Kale (which shouldn’t be a problem because I have not acquired a taste for it and we never buy it)
  4. Lentil Bean (something we enjoy making once in awhile in our house, but we can do without easy enough)
  5. Licorice (the flavor is found in a variety of candies, soft drinks, herbal teas and cough syrup)
  6. Portabello Mushrooms (Something I really like but we rarely ever buy them, so this shouldn’t be too hard to avoid)
  7. Zucchini squash (I do love zucchini bread and we finally found a way we love to cook it on the grill, but again, not really a hidden ingredient and it will just have to make it’s way off my to eat list.
  8. BHA (These are often added to foods to preserve fats and is found in butter, meats, cereals, chewing gum, baked goods, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes and beer.

Moderate Interolerance (which means these foods should be avoided for 3-6 months)

  1. Acorn squash
  2. Apricot
  3. Basil
  4. Bok Choy
  5. Cayenne Pepper
  6. Clove
  7. Fennel Seed
  8. High fructose corn syrup
  9. Green pea
  10. Honey
  11. Honey Dew melon
  12. Kelp
  13. Kidney bean
  14. Lima bean
  15. Mung bean
  16. Red Beet
  17. Safflower
  18. Scallions
  19. Watercress
  20. Citric Acid
  21. Green dye #3
  22. Acai Berry
  23. Glucosamine
  24. Goldenseal
  25. Grape seed Extract
  26. Huperzine
  27. Resveratrol
  28. Spirulina
  29. Ammonium Chloride
  30. Ampicillin (my doctors thought I might have a slight reaction to penicillin when I was young because I broke out in a rash, but I have had the z-pack since??)
  31. Piroxicam (not sure what medication this is?)

Mild Intolerance (which means these foods should be avoided)

  1. Black beans-so sad 😦
  2. Blueberry-my favorite fruit 😦
  3. Cannellini beans
  4. Cantaloupe
  5. Cauliflower
  6. Chia
  7. Chick pea (but I love humus)
  8. Chicory
  9. Chives
  10. Cinnamon
  11. Cocoa
  12. Cucumber
  13. Cumin
  14. Dandelion Leaf
  15. Date
  16. Egg Yolk
  17. Grape
  18. Guava
  19. Mango
  20. Mulberry
  21. Nutmeg
  22. Gluten free oat
  23. Paprika
  24. Peppermin
  25. Persimmon
  26. Pistachio
  27. Pomegranate
  28. Psyllium
  29. Radish
  30. Sesame
  31. Spearmint
  32. Sunflower
  33. Turnip
  34. Wakame seawee
  35. Walnut
  36. Yellow Squash
  37. Cane sugar
  38. Maple sugar
  39. Barley
  40. Malt
  41. Rye
  42. Spelt
  43. Wheat
  44. Gliadin
  45. Agave
  46. Ashwaganha (wah?)
  47. Barley Grass
  48. Chlorella
  49. Chondroitin
  50. Elderberry
  51. Essiac
  52. Goji Berry
  53. Milk Thistle
  54. Mullein Leaf
  55. Rooibos tea
  56. Benzoic Acid
  57. Brilliant Black
  58. Red #4 Carmine
  59. Red #40 Allura red
  60. Nickel Sulfate
  61. Aspirin
  62. Ibuprofen
  63. Aleve
  64. Neomysin
  65. Penisillamine
  66. Tetracycline
  67. Voltaren??

SO WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They gave me a food rotation list, but I am still not sure how that works.  The test results came with a 30 minute call to a nutritionist that may be able to help me get on the right path.  And then they gave me the list of Foods to Avoid:

  1. Acorn squash
  2. Anchovy
  3. Apricot
  4. Baker’s Yeast
  5. Basil
  6. Bok Choy
  7. Cayenne Pepper
  8. Clove
  9. Fennel Seed
  10. High Fructose corn syrup, better known as Corn Syrup or Fructose
  11. Green pea
  12. Honey
  13. Honeydew melon
  14. Kale
  15. Kelp
  16. Kidney Bean
  17. Lentil Bean
  18. Licorice
  19. Lima Bean
  20. Mung Bean
  21. Portobello Mushroom
  22. Red Beet
  23. Safflower (oil and margarine, also in diet mayo and diet salad dressing)
  24. Scallions
  25. Watercress (a main ingredient in V8)
  26. Zucchini

So in the end I have no idea how I will even begin to manage this and it won’t come easily or quickly…but it sure might explain why my stomach or lower abdomen hurts to some extent daily.  And then I have flair ups that the doctors have always just deemed IBS (which I believe I do have symptoms of that as well, but still).  Part of me wishes that I never took this test, that I never knew the results because they make me angry and I feel like I can’t eat anything.  So I have had much grieving over the past few days and not eating.  Dan tried to pick up a few things at the store for me, but when you are only looking for a few of the issues, there seems to be 5 other ingredients that are on this list.  But he is trying.  He also made us steamed fresh broccoli, ham steaks (that had no indication of additives that I couldn’t have) and plain white rice with a little salt.)  And it felt good to know that there was a meal that I could possibly eat.  And to know that I have a spouse on my side (like he has been through it all).

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I go to my Head Pain doctors on Tuesday and I am going to ask him he thinks that it is worthwhile to test for Celiac Disease.  I read an article about the relation of having a food allergy to Baker’s Yeast and CD and though I have not been tested for the food allergy I at least have some basis to be tested.  Headaches, fatigue, acid reflux, etc are also symptoms of CD.  So it might not hurt to at least get tested at this point.

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4 days on 2days off 8 days on 3 days off 4 days and counting on

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The month of January:

Jan. 1-4: Non functional with mind stabbing pain over my right eye…pain of the worst kind .

Jan. 5-6: Baseline head pain but functional enough to run a few errands

Jan. 7-15: Three days of tension migraine (at debilitating levels), 2 days classic migraine, 3 days both tension and classic migraine (very debilitating): finally did a migraine cocktail which happened to finally break the migraine cycle.

Jan. 16-18: Lots of energy, very low head pain, got a lot done (at least on my blog and on FB).

Jan. 18-23: Classic migraine (the mind numbing, stabbing pain over my right eye).  Finally went to the ER for a shot of Nubain and finally have some relief.

So if you do the math in the last 23 days I have had 5 days of mild head pain when I was functioning.  It takes a lot out of a person having so many days of head pain in a month.  Migraines sure are a bitch.  This most current migraine has kept me in my cave for four days.  I didn’t even see anyone for two full days. Thankfully I stocked my Crave Cave because it was the only food and water I had. I felt like I didn’t exist and I was in extreme pain.  This helps show a little bit how I felt. No shower for days. No brushing teeth for days. Pain for days.  Over and over and over again.   I go to MHNI on Feb. 2nd and plan on really pushing them for something…even if it means being admitted to the hospital again.

Pretty sure I could use this for a mug shot…orange shirt and everything…but my hair actually looks better that it really was 😉 ha!  Which reminds me I need to make an appointment to get my hair and nails done soon!!

Sleep Schedule

Even though this doesn’t have much to do with this post, it is something that I have been wanted to write about.  This is very different from other Migraine sufferers I know, but I am also on several medications that keep me pretty sedated: Klonopin, Trazadone, Robaxon, and Prozac.  But the debilitation is just as real…I am just sleeping for most of the time.  I feel so bad for other sufferers that I know that cannot sleep during their migraines.

Sleep schedule during a migraine:  To bed at 12:30am, wake at 1:30 pm, nap from 2:30-4:30 pm, nap from 5:30-7:00 pm and back in bed by 12:30.

Sleep during Migraine Hangover: Usually pretty exhausted but will often be awake most of the day, just sitting on the couch watching TV.

Sleep schedule during baseline or low head pain day: To bed around 2:30-3:00, wake anywhere from 7:30 am to noon depending on the day, but I often get up and get going to get things done.  I rarely nap on these days and stay up late again.  Someday when I have only had 4 hours of sleep I will take an afternoon nap, but my energy level is so high that I can’t really sleep, so I just keep on going.

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What is a Migraine, What are the 4 stages, My Experience

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Definitions and Stage descriptions from the Mayo Clinic Website

What is a MIGRAINE

A migraine headache can cause intense throbbing or a pulsing sensation in one area of the head and is commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.  Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and be so severe that all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down.  Some migraines are preceded or accompanied by sensory warning symptoms (aura), such as flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling in your arm or leg.  Medications can help reduce the frequency and severity of migraines. If treatment hasn’t worked for you in the past, talk to your doctor about trying a different migraine headache medication. The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, may make a big difference.

Symptoms: migraine headaches often begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood. Migraines may progress through four stages, including prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome, though you may not experience all the stages.

Stages of a Migraine

1. Prodrome: One or two days before a migraine, you may notice subtle changes that signify an oncoming migraine, including:

  • Constipation
  • Depression
  • Food cravings
  • Hyperactivity
  • Irritability
  • Neck stiffness
  • Uncontrollable yawning

2. Aura: Aura may occur before or during migraine headaches. Auras are nervous system symptoms that are usually visual disturbances, such as flashes of light. Sometimes auras can also be touching sensations (sensory), movement (motor) or speech (verbal) disturbances. Most people experience migraine headaches without aura. Each of these symptoms usually begins gradually, builds up over several minutes, and then commonly lasts for 20 to 60 minutes. Examples of aura include:

  • Visual phenomena, such as seeing various shapes, bright spots or flashes of light
  • Vision loss
  • Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg
  • Speech or language problems (aphasia)

Less commonly, an aura may be associated with limb weakness (hemiplegic migraine).

3. Attack: When untreated, a migraine usually lasts from four to 72 hours, but the frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. You may have migraines several times a month or much less often. During a migraine, you may experience the following symptoms:

  • Pain on one side or both sides of your head
  • Pain that has a pulsating, throbbing quality
  • Sensitivity to light, sounds and sometimes smells
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Blurred vision
  • Lightheadedness, sometimes followed by fainting

4. Postdrome: The final phase, known as postdrome, occurs after a migraine attack. During this time you may feel drained and washed out, though some people report feeling mildly euphoric.

My Experience

Stage one (prodome): Symptoms that I have come to relate to an oncoming migraine include: Hyperactivity, Irritability, Neck stiffness and Uncontrollable yawning.  And now that I think about it I think that constipation  might also happen, but will have to track that maybe.  Any indicator that I need to prepare for a migraine are helpful for both my mental status and for my family.  It helps them prepare for the days ahead if I can tell them I believe a migraine is coming.

Stage two (Aura): I only experience the aura (flashing lights for me) once in a while and it is usually during a really bad migraine.

Stage three (Attack): My migraines last 72 hours and can occur as many as 20 days or more a month (making them chronic migraines).  In general I have stabbing pain behind my right eye brow…but sometimes can occur on my left or both sides at the same time.  During a migraine I always experience, sensitivity to light (photophobia), sensitivity to sound (phonophobia) and a crazy heightened sense of smell.  I often experience nausea (luckily I don’t have vomitting, blurred vision once in a while and lightheadedness.

April 11th

Stage four (postdrome): I am extremely fatigued but have very little head pain.  Although, because I also suffer from New Daily Persistant Headaches (see the next post), I usually have head pain across my forehead, but it tends to be mild.  I also feel a sense of heavy fog that effects me cognitively (or a mild case of aphasia: Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written.) ; for me I can’t find words, get right and left mixed up, use wrong words…have trouble communicating.  It can last a full 24 hours or just for a few hours in the morning before I really get up and around and moving.

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Several Good Days/Barometric Pressure

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In a previous post I thought that the burst of energy might be a precursor to a migraine, because that seemed to have happened before the previous two migraines.  But this time it wasn’t the case. which is good news for me really.  I have had three days in a row with functional head pain and lots of energy.  In fact I was up until 4:30am last night and awake at 7:30am…no nap!!  This is a big deal.  I am a bit tired, but my head won’t calm down…I feel like the energizer bunny, hence the Migraine Cave being created in the matter of 3 days.

Things that have changed in the past 3 days:

  1. The new glasses: Theraspecs Website.  I have been wearing them at all times both inside and outside.
  2. I have stayed well hydrated (which was very helpful when I got a blood draw for allergy testing today).
  3. I have not spent all day in bed.  I have been out and about, visiting with friends, shopping, etc.  It has been a good 3 days.

I have also been watching the barometric pressure and feel spikes in my head pain when the pressure changes.  But so far it hasn’t gone into a full blown migraine or a debilitating NDPH.  There have been moments throughout all three days where the pain spikes for a half an hour or an hour here and there but I can almost always trace it to a drop in Barometric pressure.

A great article that my mom found about how Barometric can scientifically effect or trigger migraines.

Barometric Pressure in Relation to Migraines

My mom also found a great app for my phone that allows me to track 48 hours of Barometric pressure.  It is called Pressur but you can do a search for Barometric pressure and it should come up.  I paid the $1.98 to upgrade so that I do have the 48hrs.  The free one comes with a 12 graph.