Rainy Days and Mondays

Yep, "they always get me down". Mondays are obvious... They're Mondays!

Rainy days are a different matter entirely. I am (blessed?) with being a human barometer. I know in advance of any weather change, by the pressure in my head. I live on the east coast, and I could feel the front coming in last night. So much so, that I had to take a shot in an attempt to downgrade the migraine level.

Barometric pressure is known to be a big trigger to many of us. Terri Robert wrote about it back in 2006, "Migraines Often Triggered By Change In the Weather". I've also seen that many of you mention the weather when you complain of another migraine attack.

I am curious. How many other of you are affected by the weather? And, can you tell from your pain, what kind of change will occur? Please feel free to comment, or use the poll I have created in the right side panel.

It's Not Funny, But I Have to laugh?

Migraine's are not funny. But, laughter is good medicine. So, are these people actually healthier because they force themselves to laugh?

It seems to silly to think that forced laughter may actually make us healthier, but how many times have I faked a laugh only to begin laughing for real... A few, I'm sure.

Has anyone really died from laughing too much? I do know you can laugh so hard it hurts. But, at the same time it feels good to laugh that hard. I recently, was read a story that put me on the floor gasping for breath, and I might have suffocated if my friend had not stopped when he did.

But, I didn't get a migraine.

Is there a joke in here somewhere? I'm not feeling very punny today. (:{) ... Oooh, that was bad.

Twofer

What a lovely day I had. Sarcasm. I went to a concert on Thursday evening where David Wilcox was the headliner. This was my fifth time to see him in person. I think that this was the best performance I have seen him give. He has a new album coming out in April, and I can hardly wait.

I had started the day with no pain at all. Zero, zilch, nix, nine, nil, nada. No pain. My day progressed and I felt confident enough to mark this status on my blog, and on twitter. My friend and I got dinner on the way to the concert, and we were the first one's to enter the venue (a narrow, but long room seating about a hundred fifty people). All was right with the world. What a great concert it was. I enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost.

Everything seemed just peachy, when suddenly my nose was overwhelmed by some woman's perfume, from a couple of rows behind me. She may as well have been in my lap. I was unable to do anything, as the cloud enveloped me. I couldn't move. There was nowhere to go.

I told myself over and over again, concentrate on the music. Concentrate on the music. And, I was trying to do just that. David was having fun on the stage, not just performing by rote (as if he would). I was laughing, and crying (all at the appropriate times) until the lovely funk caused my neck muscles to go slack and my head fell forward as the piercing pain began.

I pulled my pill box from my pocket and took a Zyprexa, but it was too late to stop the pain. Here I was listening to one of my favorite artists, while sitting on the second row, and suddenly the dream was squashed. My migraine shadow overcame my perfect day. I stayed seated, listened as best I could, but the beating in my head nearly drowned out the music. My only luck was that he was nearly finished when the trigger was pulled.

Friday morning, I awoke with a full on Quasimodo headache, AND A COLD. A twofer. My head ached, my nose was running like a sieve, and my throat was full of slime. I ended up giving myself two DHE shots through the course of the day. I also took some Dayquil to attempt relief of the cold. I hardly left my bed all day.

Today, was much better. My migraine limited itself to a dull roar, and the Dayquil kept most of the cold symptoms at bay. I'm going to bed early, and I pray that tomorrow allows me to wake up fresh and pain free. Good Night.

Migraine: Buzzing In The Brain

I have tinnitus and it never stops. This constant buzz in my brain sometimes nearly drives me crazy. There are times when this tone is so loud, that I cannot hear someone speaking within a couple of feet to me. I sometimes talk to loud, because I cannot hear myself talking unless I nearly yell. There are times when I cannot sleep due to the rude sound. Ringing in the ears is not uncommon among migraine sufferers, and I believe that quite a few of us may have this problem.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, can be caused by many different things including; Advancing age, anything in the external ear such as wax or a foreign body, Fluid, infection, loud noise exposure, disease of the middle ear bones or ear drum (tympanic membrane), inflammation and/or damage to the microscopic endings of the nerves in the inner ear. Any of these can cause tinnitus.

The ringing in my ears sometimes makes it hard to concentrate or even get to sleep. In order to overcome this, I like to turn on a fan. The noise the fan makes, masks the buzz in my head. If a fan is not available some sort of white noise will help. I have created an mp3 file of a white noise loop, that I can play on my ipod, through the speakers of the radio on my nightstand.

White noise is, in layman's terms a random signal, such as the static on the television tuned to a channel with no station signal. There are noise machines sold for home and professional use that mask sound to help with tinnitus or to mask other sounds. Sound machines that make the sound of a waterfall, or ocean waves are helpful as well.

Here is my sample loop. It is a 1mb file, so give it a minute to load.

Migraine: Pain Free Day (PFD)

I wish I had found this heart generator before Valentine's day, but you know what, we should be showing our love, our compassion and our feelings for the one's we love every day of the year.

You too, can generate a heart (image on your computer) to share with others by clicking the link above. After making your heart, you will need to do a screen capture in order to download it. If you are using Windows, click "F3". On a Macintosh click "Command"+"Shift"+"3". After downloading to your desktop, use your favorite graphics program to edit or crop the image to your liking. You may then upload the image or email it to the loved ones in your life. I hope that you had more than a Happy Valentine's Day,

I hope you had a pain free day (PFD).

Migraine: Make It Easy on the Family

I found a series of videos sponsored by Zomig about planning ahead. I tried this medicine, but determined that it was not right for my migraines. Even though this series is sponsored by a pharmaceutical company, the information contained here is priceless.

The video below is about dealing with family. This one hit pretty close to home. I have been trying very hard to make each moment with my kids, and wife, as positive as I can. Everyone in my life is affected by my migraines. I need to remember each of these five things as my family and I cope with this illness; communicate, make peace, stick to routines, love them, and have an emergency kit.



These things are a little different for me; my family is made up of adults. My youngest is 15 and she is much wiser than her age, and my other two are in college. In my communication with my family, I try to keep my pain out of my conversational voice. Too often, the pain in my voice seems as if I am mad at the one I am talking to. My tinnitus doesn't help. I sometimes talk too loud, because I can't hear my own voice over the buzz in my brain. My family may take the loudness in my voice to mean, I am mad at them. I need to always communicate my true intentions and feelings.

Making peace, for me, means retreating to my lair. While at the same time, not disturbing the other activities in the house. If I need to go lie down, I just excuse myself and go. The rest of the family knows that I am in pain and they seem to turn down the volume without anyone having to ask (or decree).

Sticking to routines is very hard when my ability to participate is so sporadic. For me, establishing routines for myself helps to survive the daily headaches that have plagued me for so long. I try to go to bed at the same time each night, and wake at the same time each morning. I take my medications at the same time each day. I need to implement a work out regimen that I can keep on a continual basis. Making sure that my inability to participate does not affect the routines of the rest of the family is just as difficult. We incorporate extra time into preparation for our day, in case dad wakes with a headache or has had a headache all night (or all day, or all night and day). The rest of the family works hard at keeping to their own routines despite me.

I love my family. I tell them how much every day. We have little rituals that we use to tell each other how much we love them. Saying, "So Much", in my family will result in a kiss on the forehead. It's a tradition that we have had for a long time, and those two words mean a lot more than "I Love You". I never leave or let my wife and children leave home without telling them that I love them.

Having an emergency kit means two different things to me, the tangible and the intangible. I have a toolbox of items, some of which are intangible. Some of the physical items that I keep prepared are ice packs, medications, and a quite room. The intangible items include a positive attitude, relaxation techniques, and hope.

Making plans is important. I have plans for how to deal with each migraine. As the pain level increases, so also, does my steps and tools for dealing with it. My family makes plans for themselves that do not require them to be at the mercy of my headaches. If dad can participate, fine. If not, I know they are thinking about me and miss me.

Especially when they return with a chocolate milkshake.

Migraine: Just Relax

As a migraineur I have a tool box from which to pull from, in managing my life. Even if I may not be able to manage my headaches, I can still take control of how I deal with the situation. My headaches seem to strike me down at will. Knowing how to relax and practicing is one of the tools I use to get past the pain.

I have quite a few tools in my box. One of these is the use of relaxation techniques. Relaxing was not something I thought I had to teach myself. Sometimes I think I am relaxed, when I'm really not. I can sit in a chair "relaxing", and suddenly realize that my teeth are clinched, or my toes are curling. I've found that relaxation is something I have to do on a continual basis or my body forgets how to do it easily. I try to relax at least once every day for about 10 to 15 minutes.

I usually use, what I refer to as the "Warm Hands" technique. I don't know if that is what it is really called or not. Maybe someone reading this knows? I either sit up straight in my chair or lie down on the bed. I close my eyes and concentrate on making each part of my body heavy and relaxed. I start with my feet. I work my way up to legs, hands and arms, neck and shoulders, and even my face. I've got to work in order to wipe the scowl from my brow.

Each part of my body gets attention as I breath in and out of my mouth very slowly. I repeat to myself, "My feet are heavy, my feet are heavy" until they are relaxed and feel heavy. Then I go on, to the next body part.

After I feel truly relaxed, I concentrate on my hands and repeat, "My hands are warm, my hands are warm" to myself until I can feel the warmth rising in my hands. Theoretically, this makes the blood rush to my hands and decreases the amount of blood in my head. Less blood in my head means that the inflammation of blood vessels and nerve endings is decreased.

I take my time doing this. Each body part can take fifteen seconds to a full minute. After I've concentrated on each body part, I go down the checklist and make sure that, in fact, each body part is relaxed.

I have learned several relaxation techniques that help me to deal with the pain. I use one or more of them every day. By doing this daily, it is easier for me to relax when I am hit with a migraine. When the pain starts, I tell myself, "Just Relax".

Migraine: Don't Pull the Trigger

I am constantly at war with my migraine triggers. I guess they are called "triggers" because I may as well be pointing a gun at my head. My triggers are like Russian roulette, only worse... I never know how many bullets are in the gun.

There are times when I can have onions on my burger and not be affected at all. Onions are one of my triggers, but I love them, and feel that they are what makes the burger a burger. Other times they hit me right behind the left eye. There is no way to know. Sometimes it can take up to three days, before I feel the impact. Other times, it is immediate.

A few years ago, I read the book, Heal Your Headache The 1,2,3 Program, by David Buckholz, M.D., in which he talked about how we each have a trigger tank. That tank is sometimes running on low, and other times, it is filled to the top. If the tank is low, a trigger may or may not push it over the line. Some triggers may immediately make the tank overflow, causing a migraine. Everyone has a different size tank. People may have the same triggers, but the fill-line level of the tank may be different.

Onions are a migraine trigger of mine that sometimes cause me problems, while wintergreen is a trigger that ALWAYS hits me where it hurts (the head, of course). Just the smell of wintergreen will push me into what I call "a Gran Mal" migraine.

I found it beneficial to try an elimination diet, in order to determine my food triggers. I found that my triggers include onions, hot peppers and other nightshades, citrus, fresh bread, aged cheese, and processed or aged meats. It is important for me to stay clear of any of these triggers.

It is difficult because I like each of those foods, but they obviously do not like me.
By eating any of these trigger foods, I am putting bullets in the gun.

Migraine: Hibernate on Groundhog's Day?

I missed Groundhogs day! I was holed up in my bed, suffering through another migraine.

Groundhogs are one of the few mammals that enter into hibernation. This is true, also, of Andy "the migraineur", who has been known to burrow deeply into the dark caverns of the bedroom or even a closet, to escape from the sensory overload and pain. To migraine sufferers like me, the dark burrow that we create is sometimes our only refuge from the outside forces that seek to harm us.

There is actually research into human hibernation. The true science is called H2S induced hibernation. In 2005 there was research done with mice in which they were put into a state of suspended animation. The mice were subjected to this procedure for 6 hours and showed no ill effects. Later attempts to replicate the procedure with larger mammals were not as successful. Maybe they should have used someone suffering migraine or cluster headaches.

It was suggested that "life Tivo" might be a great way to live life when you want, in an article posted in the newsgroup, newsgroups.derkeiler.com, in 2005.

"Tivo for life - This is an extension of the time travel idea - sort of
fast forward when you want, live life when YOU want. Let's say you're a
basketball fan but hate the rest of the year - beep, beep, beep. Treat
the boring parts of life like one big commercial. Live life on YOUR
terms!"

If only I could. I would fast forward through each and every migraine. The downside would be that I would be Tivo'ing through half of my life. But the upside would be that I would not have missed ... Wait, in order for this plan to work, I would have to hibernate my family and the rest of the people in my life as well. Otherwise we would also miss half of their lives. Oh, wait again, I already am missing half of the life of my loved ones. I guess time travel isn't all it's cracked up to be, unless it could truly be like Tivo. Speed me up to the end of the migraine and leave everyone else in real-time!

I want Migraine Tivo !

I guess I'll have to create this new invention. With my new invention I would not ever have to hibernate and miss the living that the rest of my family experiences. Migraine Hibernation would be a thing of the past.

Migraine: Get Up!

I have been a Nik Kershaw fan for a long, long time. His early music was criticized for being too "bubble gum" but I thought the his use of proverbs to be stimulating to my imagination. My favorite song, of his, is "Wouldn't it Be Good", but I re-heard one of his tunes the other day that hit me between the ears. If you haven't heard "Get Up" before, take the time to listen. 

This song exemplifies exactly how it feels, to me, to be suffering from the migraine malady and missing out on life. What hit me hardest was the fact that when the song played off the ipod in the car, my 15 year old daughter pointed out the obvious. "Dad, that song is about you!?".

  I couldn't keep the tears from my eyes. You can hear "Get Up" on YouTube, but this is not the artist's video.  I also found a good book on Amazon.com that I have ordered, but yet to read, with the same title. I'll give a review as soon as I finish it.

Here's the song from Youtube;

Here are the lyrics.

Get Up

It’s dark in there and you’re quite unaware
That the cracks on the ceiling are mocking you
Your airless bag, your dust in a shaft of light
And you think you might
Yeah you might stay there all day

Get up, get on your feet
Get up, don’t go back to sleep
Get up, life is bitter sweet
And it’s all going on without you

You’re safe in there, no sharks anywhere
Not a soul to get you doing what you don’t want
Go on pretend it’s Sunday again, it’s Sunday again

It’s so warm in there, feels like camembert
All the things you’d do if only you had the energy
You bargain for just ten minutes more of this
When a prince’s kiss
Turns you into a swan
Dream on

Get up, get on your feet
Get up, don’t go back to sleep
Get up, life is bitter sweet
And it’s all going on without you