Sunday, August 19, 2012

Headaches seem better, but aren't

I was going to write a blog post about how my headaches have finally been getting better, so I went to look at my headache calendar to see how many fewer headaches I'm having. Ummm, apparently none. I still only have 2-4ish days a month that are completely headache/migraine-free. So why was I thinking they were getting better? My guess is....wait for it...exercise.

I've noticed that my headaches are better during vacations and I thought it was from being more relaxed, which could be the case, but my husband and I took a recent vacation to Nashville, TN (pics below!) and I noticed all the exercise I was doing. When we're on vacation, we always do a ton of walking, and this time we also took our bikes so we could ride the local greenway.

Plus, now that I'm healed from my surgery, I've started running again. I downloaded the free Nike+ app which makes running even more fun (for me anyway) because I can track my distance, speed and time. Then I can brag to Jonathan that I'm a better runner than him...not that he claims to be a runner. :)

From what I can tell, exercise cuts off or at least delays a headache if I'm starting to get one. Occasionally though, probably when a migraine is inevitable, it brings on a headache/migraine, but that hasn't happened very often.

So while the frequency of my headaches hasn't improved, they still seem to be slightly better, at least when it comes to the pain level - or my impression of the pain level. That gives me the drive to keep exercising as much as possible!

In the works:
  • I'm switching neurologists because I was having to pay a separate "hospital fee" (around $250) for my clinic which was tied to a hospital. It's taking forever to get all my records transferred and get me "released" (like my calling for an appointment somewhere else isn't enough?) from the former place, but everything is almost ready and I'm looking forward to meeting neurologist #7!
  • A company mailed me a product to try out, so expect a review soon (don't get your hopes up). 
Jonathan & I are jamming at the visitor's center

Day trip to Mammoth Cave, KY

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Headache Poster

I made this poster using Adobe Illustrator for the final project of my summer class, and I thought I'd share it with you all. I purposely put the words over top of myself to symbolically show how the headaches/migraines and treatments have tried to take over my life. So artsy, I know. :) My teacher gave me an A!