Abilify

I had an appointment with my neurologist yesterday. He put me on Abilify, a drug for bipolar disorder. He said it's also used at a smaller dose for headaches, and it helps with stress and muscle tension but doesn't make you drowsy.


See how tiny it is? I put it by a penny. I just remembered my computer has a camera on it, so I can take pictures for this blog! I don't have a digital camera...weird, I know. Sorry it's a little blurry.

I started taking it this morning and didn't have any noticeable side effects. It must be strong though because my neuro is having me take 1 mg (the pill is 2 mg, so I have to split it) every 3rd morning for 3 doses, 1 mg every 2nd morning for 3 doses, and then 1 mg every morning. VERY gradual!

Also, I asked my neuro about Migraten and feverfew. He explained that he doesn't think they would help with my headaches which are more tension than migraine. I had TWENTY headaches last month (part of it was from the Naproxen rebound headaches), and he said that with the frequency and type of headache I have, it wouldn't be enough to help. That makes sense. I can still try it though - he said it won't interfere with my other medications (I'm still on 5 mg of Bystolic also). I looked at the Vitamin Shoppe and Whole Foods, and both had migraine pills with feverfew, magnesium, riboflavin, etc. but no Migraten. They're all pretty expensive in my opinion (about $30 for 60 pills), but I may try them at some point.

Book Review - Natural Cures for Headaches

I finally finished reading Natural Cures for Headaches by Dr. Cass Ingram. I loved that it focused on the CAUSE of headaches - a few examples are food allergies/intolerances, infections, hormonal disturbances, chemical sensitivity, muscle tension, high blood pressure, hypohyroidism, adrenal gland disorders, abscesses and brain tumors. The book even has questionnaires for some of these conditions to see if you might have them.

Here are my personal takeaways from the book, which of course I'm going to talk to my neurologist about before taking any action:

- Food Inolerance Test. The UNC neurologist still hasn't called me back, but I'm hoping to keep calling nutritionists to see if anyone has heard of it. Not now though, because my insurance would no cover this test or nutritionist visits.

- Migraten. I did a google search, and apparently there's also something out there called MigraTen, but this is a drug concoction and is different from Migraten. Migraten is made from natural spices and the way Dr. Ingram describes it, it's pretty much a miracle drug for headaches and migraines.

- Diet. The book says to try cutting carbs, refined sugars, white sugar and white flour. I realize that this is virtually impossible, but others have tried this and are alive to tell about it (if you have, please tell me how you did it!). I probably won't be able to cut everything, but I am going to try to cut down on sugar and eat only whole wheat pastas/breads, brown rice, etc. Note that wheat is a common allergy/headache trigger, so be careful if you do try this. Also, I plan on buying more organic foods like milk. The book says to cut processed foods and those with MSG - I avoid MSG since it makes me sick, and although I try not to eat processed foods, I'm not 100% there yet, so I'm going to work on that as well.

Other updates: I've decided to stick with my neurologist (more about that in a future post). The Naproxen was giving me rebound headaches so I called the neuro and he said I could go off it. I did it somewhat gradually and decided that the last one I'd take was yesterday morning. I thought the withdrawal headaches would be a nightmare, but they actually weren't any worse than the rebound headaches I was having. Now I'm just about headache-free! The only drug I'm on now is Bystolic (and my Mirena IUD, and a women's daily multivitamin).