Migraine Warrior Classmates

During the spring semester, I became an instant friend with a girl who was in two of my classes. We just clicked, and it didn't take us long to discover that we both suffered from migraines. She's unfortunate enough to have "classic" migraines where she has vomiting and can't function when she has them...it's so bad that if her husband's working when she gets one he either has to leave work or her in-laws have to come and take care of her kids. Luckily, like me, she didn't have to miss a lot of class. She's putting up a good fight though; in fact, during the semester she tried Botox (at first her insurance refused to cover it, but then her neurologist reworded the request and they agreed to cover it, but I think she had to pay the deductible). It may have helped a little at first but she's still having migraines.

In one of our classes, we had a group project and of all people got teamed up with another migraine sufferer! This classmate is seeing a former neurologist of mine and I think I convinced her to fire him because he was changing her meds a LOT during the semester and she had really bad fatigue and was not happy with him. Sounds like he hasn't changed - he shoves drugs down your throat and doesn't communicate with you. She ended up missing class quite a bit, but I think she was able to stay in the class because it was for medical reasons and thank goodness the instructor and college seemed to be supportive.

I know I'm rambling, but isn't it neat how you come across fellow migraine warriors (not just online but also in person) and you just "click" and start comparing treatments and stories? Yes it's a little depressing because we're all pretty much in the same place as far as not finding treatment that works, but it was nice to go through the semester with these girls fighting alongside with me!

GelStat Migraine

My busy semester is OVER! I'm so thankful that while taking 16 credit hours, working 10 hours a week and having chronic headaches and occasional migraines, I managed to earn a 3.8 GPA and I only missed ONE class due to a migraine! I really feel that this is God's plan for me and He's giving me the strength to do it.

Thank you, readers and friends, for being patient with my lack of blog posts. This summer I'll be working more but I only have one class, so I hope to be more active here. And my husband finally fixed my browser issues so I can now leave comments on your blogs again. :)

During the semester, my headaches have remained the same, but I haven't given up the fight. Here's what I'm trying:

• Butterbur: I tried this about 3 months and gave up because I noticed no improvements, and it was upsetting my stomach.
• TMJ mouth guard: I'm still seeing a TMJ specialist every few months, and we gradually decreased the time I'm required to wear my mouth guard. Now I only need to have it in at night (8-10 hrs). I don't think it's impacted my headaches but I do have a lot less jaw pain.
• Therapy: I'm still seeing a therapist about once every three weeks for stress, anxiety and pain management.
• GelStat Migraine: A friend of mine suggested it and I noticed they have a free trial (I just had to pay $3.99 shipping), so I figured I'd give it a whirl. The first dose I tried helped, but the second didn't, probably because I didn't catch the headache soon enough. Have any of you had success with GelStat?

Empty dose with my hand for size comparison. It actually tasted decent.







• Ice pack: My trusty ice pack has seen better days, so I got a new one. This one is from The Container Store. When I saw it online I assumed it would fit on my entire head, but when I went to buy it I realized it was more like the size of my hand. Does anyone know where you can get a head-size ice bag? 

Cute Retro Ice Bag

• Progesterone: My gyno upped my dose of progesterone (bioidentical hormone) and switched from the pill to cream, which I requested because I thought it might work better. It looks intimidating, but I don't inject it anywhere; instead, I put the specified dose on a tissue and rub it on my inner thighs (one of the many safe spots). The higher dose makes me really tired, but I only use it day 15 to the end of each cycle. It's still early to tell if it's helping.

Progesterone cream

• Drugs: The only drugs I take are Aleve for really bad headaches and Butalbital (Fioricet) for migraines. I'm trying to take as few meds as possible and prevent headaches through a healthy diet and exercise. I've always had this ambition, but now that I've gone through most of the standard migraine meds, I feel a renewed desire to get more serious about exercising. I hope it lasts!

Happy Easter!

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (New Living Translation)

^"But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."

(my church, Millbrook United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC)

Buried

I've been such a lame blogger lately! Truth is, I'm buried in school work (and still working some at my old job too) so unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to blog much until I get caught up on everything. I really shouldn't have taken so many classes this semester, but too late now.

I just wanted to say if you've e-mailed me, I have five e-mail accounts and I've been completely neglecting my War on Headaches one. Please accept my apologies!

Oh and no headache update; they're the same. They just can't get enough of me. Joy.

Now I'm going to dive back into this Photoshop assignment. It's fun, but I miss you all! Until next time. :)

P.S. - check out this photo I took for my photography class. I love spring!

And the winner is...

Before we get to that, I wanted to thank everyone who read/listened to my last post and those who read this blog in general, and a special thanks to all of you who commented and shared the wacky things you've tried to help you headaches and the no-so-helpful advice you've received from other (well-intentioned) people!

And now, thanks to Random.org, we have a winner...

...RHONDA!

Rhonda, please e-mail your address to me (waronheadaches(at)gmail(dot)com) ASAP and I'll make sure Jennette's publisher sends you a copy of her book, Chocolate & Vicodin.

If I don't hear from the lucky winner in one week, I'll randomly generate a new winner!

P.S. Totally unrelated, but I've left countless comments on other Blogger blogs, and they disappear. I've tried commenting without linking it to my account, tried linking to my account (nothing happens), and even tried linking it to a non-existing livejournal account because at least with the other options there was a pop-up box where I could enter something. Is this happening for anyone else? I use Firefox and I tried Safari and it did the same thing. It's very frustrating so if anyone can help I'd really appreciate it!

Book Review & Giveaway: Chocolate & Vicodin

When author Jennette Fulda asked me to review her latest book, Chocolate & Vicodin, I was intrigued by the title and happy to give it a read. The book arrived in the mail, and I immediately fell in love with the cover. How creative is this?!

Reading the book was like reading my own thoughts. Jennette developed a headache February 17, 2008 and has had it ever since. Chocolate & Vicodin documents her journey which is probably similar to the journeys of everyone who has chronic headaches and migraines: lots of doctors, testing, research, treatments - make that "treatments" with emphasized air quotes, depression and acceptance (I'm still working on that last one). Jennette's honesty and use of humor makes this book hard to put down and, dare I say, enjoyable. I actually found myself smiling while reading a book about a constant headache!

Jennette puts into words what I often have trouble expressing or even acknowledging. For example:

"I sat on the couch, acutely aware of how odd my life had become. The headache had invaded every aspect of my life. ... It was amazing how one simple thing, a headache, could cause a chain reaction in my life. ... It was as if someone had set off a long chain of dominoes, one failed treatment toppling over to bump into the next failed treatment. Was this the last domino in my chain? Or were we just getting started?"

I'm lucky enough to live near Jennette, so we met at a coffee shop for an interview, which she graciously volunteered to record on her digital recorder. To listen to our full interview, please click the play button below.

Jennette Fulda

This contest is now closed, but you're more than welcome to keep sharing your stories. Thanks for participating! Now for the GIVEAWAY. I have one copy of Chocolate & Vicodin to give to a lucky reader. All you have to do is comment to this post, and to make it fun, also write the strangest headache/migraine treatment you've ever tried and/or the craziest advice you've received from someone else pertaining to your headaches/migraines. (Side note: Jennette starts almost every chapter with "advice" she's received and some of it is the wackiest stuff I've ever heard! It's pretty entertaining to read.) I'll pick a winner at random on March 9 and will announce it that day on this blog. To get things started, I'll share mine:

-Strangest treatment: cupping
-Craziest advice: have more sex (yes, this was from a guy, and sadly, he was serious)

Disclosure: Jennette's publishers provided me with a free copy of this book to review.

Dollars for Docs

I've been meaning to share this link for a while, but I just now got around to it (i.e. I should be studying for midterms but I'm procrastinating). If you follow this link and look in the light blue box on the right, you can enter a doctor's name and state to see if they've received money from certain pharma companies that have disclosed payments for things such as speaking engagements.

I was not surprised to find that one of my former neuros (who was not exactly my favorite), received $92,000 last year for speaking engagements at a local pharma company. This seems to be a conflict of interest, since the company makes migraine drugs which the neuro prescribes. But at the same time, if (that's a big "if") neurologists are helping to increase migraine research by giving speeches to researchers, then maybe (that's a big "maybe") it's a good thing.

All I know is that's a huge chunk of money!

Good news: This Wednesday (March 2) I'll be doing a giveaway! Check back for your chance to win a new migraine book! :)

Stressed

I knew as soon as I posted my last post that my head would rebel...and it has. My headaches are pretty much daily, and I'm having lots more migraines too. Ugh!

While I'm still enjoying all my classes, I'm getting behind and the stress is killing me. I've started working at my old job 8-10 hours per week at the office on top of 16 credit hours of classes. For the last week I've been in "freak-out mode" trying to get caught up on my assignments, and I've been eating takeout and haven't made it to the grocery store in a long time. So much for regular exercise and fresh, organic home-cooked meals (let's not talk about the fact that a certain darling someone lives here too and is perfectly capable of buying groceries and cooking for us both - heck, maybe even helping me clean a little...I try to remind myself that he's working full time and is letting me pursue my dream job).

I just want *calm*, and my homemade juices. And I'm counting down the days until my next therapy session.

Breathe in...breathe out...

Thanks for letting me rant.

Life Change

Photo from weheartit

As you all know, migraines change your life, both for good and bad. Mostly bad, but over the last few years I have learned to, for example, say "no", thanks to my migraines. Recently, I made a big life change which falls under the good category. 

I've worked in public relations the last four years. I have a bachelor's degree in PR and worked at a fun and energetic agency. During the last four years, however, my headaches and migraines have taken over my life to the point where I realized that my body (physical and emotional) was deteriorating, and I think a lot of it had to do with the high level of stress that goes with a PR job. I've been doing therapy for a year to help me manage this stress, but my body was not dealing with it. So, in December, I quit my job.

A change of scenery seems to be what I needed. I'm still active - in fact, I'm now a full-time graphic design student at the local community college (and I'm doing some occasional contract work for the agency). I should be able to get an associate's degree in about a year and a half. I've always been artsy, and I'm loving my classes! Two out of the five I'm taking are online, so I'm able to be at home a lot more where it's peaceful and relaxing.

Now don't get me wrong: I still have headaches and migraines. But the nearly every day of head pain has lately been every other day or so, and my anxiety and IBS have gotten better. This is a big improvement (so big, in fact, that I've been scared to blog about it because I don't want to jinx myself)! 

Also, I don't want to say definitively that quitting my job and becoming a student is the main reason for this relief because I don't know that for sure. I'm doing lots of other things that could be helping, including:

• I still have my TMJ mouth guard, and I'm slowly cutting back the hours I have to wear it. Maybe the mouth guard and/or cutting back on the hours (down to wearing it 14 hours per day now) is helping.
• I'm on my third cycle of taking Progesterone (bioidentical hormone) pills day 22 through the end of each cycle. I'm almost certain this is a big factor in my improvement.
• My diet has been really good lately. Because I'm home more, I've been eating out less and cooking mostly from scratch, and mostly organic foods (especially meat and dairy because of the whole hormone thing).
• I've been exercising more. 
• My preacher is aware of my struggle and even used me (without naming me) as an example in a sermon after I told her I'd been questioning God about the pain and at the same time wanting to turn it into a positive to help others going through it. I firmly believe that her prayers and those of church members are helping. 

Whatever is helping, I'll take it! I'm still going to seek additional treatment; in fact, now that I have different insurance (through my wonderful husband who is supportive yet a little freaked out about me not working full time haha), I may have a better chance of getting approved for things such as Botox.

I'm so happy to be writing a positive update on here! There really is hope, as I've said all along! :)

War Veterans Health Resource Initiative

Happy New Year everybody! I received the below e-mail from an NHF rep. Since it's a resource for war veterans, I wanted to take this opportunity to THANK everyone reading this who has fought for our country and those who have family/friends/loved ones who are in the military. :)

Did you know that studies have shown veterans suffer from extreme headaches, commonly known as migraines, at more than double and as much as four times the prevalence of the general population? It’s unfortunate to see that at a rapidly increasing rate, military personnel are experiencing migraines, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other illnesses linked to traumatic brain injury. I am contacting you today on behalf of the National Headache Foundation (NHF), a volunteer non-profit organization, in order to shed light on this serious condition and introduce you and your readers to the War Veterans Health Resource Initiative.

The War Veterans Health Resource Initiative provides military personnel with comprehensive information on dealing with migraines and their associated symptoms. Details can be found at www.headaches.org/warveterans/index.html, where other free resources are readily available as well.

Thousands of veterans return home suffering from invisible wounds that result from brain injury, emotional trauma, or both. In fact, 19 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq have migraine and migraine is suspected in another 17 percent! Few people realize that these wounds can disable even the most physically fit and mentally resilient men and women who serve in our armed forces. The NHF wants to do its part in helping them find the treatment and services they need.

The NHF is also encouraging our returning veterans and their healthcare providers to attend a 2011 regional conference to help fight the battle against migraine & headache and traumatic brain injury & posttraumatic stress disorder on Saturday, March 5, 2011 in Augusta, GA. To learn more visit the NHF website at www.headaches.org or call 1-888-NHF-5552 (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT).