Summer Blogcation

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Image by Storm Crypt on Flickr

I've decided to take a break from blogging this summer - let's call it a summer blogcation. My therapist told me to take a break long ago, but I didn't feel the need to. However, the other day my husband asked me to; not in a mean, demanding way, but in a "I care about you and think you should give yourself a break" kind of way. I finally caved and agreed. Here are my reasons:

• I need to reduce stress. Not that blogging is stressful - it's not; but it's one more thing I "have" to do. Plus my day job is more than 50% writing and I get tired of it.
• Headaches are ruling my life. I had two days in a row of no head pain last week, and it's the first time that's happened in months. All I think about is the pain, and I'm constantly trying to find ways to stop the pain. I spend a few hours a week doing research, reading other headache/migraine bloggers' posts and writing my own, and while it's not that much time, it is time I'm thinking about headaches and migraines. I need to take a break and focus on anything but that. Which brings me to my next reason...
• I'm going to replace the time I spend blogging and reading blogs with something stress-free and non-head-related. This could be painting, biking, cooking new recipes, shopping with friends, and spending more time with my husband. The options are endless!

Please know that I WILL be back, probably in August unless something drastic happens that I can't wait to blog about. I'll try to respond to comments to my blog, but I'm not anticipating many. Thank you for not only being a reader of my blog but for being a FRIEND. I hope you all have an amazing summer and improved health!

P.S. I hate to make this a long post, but I want to close some loops before I take my blogcation.

• Elimination Diet: It wasn't too helpful for me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't help others; in fact, I know it's helped others. I have a few questionable foods that I'm going to test again later, but in general I've added back most foods and am no longer restricting my diet, at least not as it relates to migraine triggers. I just finished "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and it has inspired me even more to stick to organic foods (as much as possible) and maybe even grow my own someday when I get out of this condo. I cannot recommend this book enough!!
• Occipital Nerve Block: Didn't work. At all. AND, apparently 5% of women have spotting and cramping from the steroids for about a month. Yes, I would fall into that category. I didn't see anything online about it and was getting concerned, but the doc filled me in during the follow up. So now it's online. Be warned.
• Drugs. I stopped the Zonisamide because of the daily stomach issues, and I decided to give up on preventatives (I've tried almost all of them, seriously). But my doc recommended Gabapentin (Neurontin) so I figured I'd try ONE more. So far the dizziness and drowsiness are killing me but I'm trying to stick with it. My stupid insurance denied coverage of Treximet so my doc said I could try Imitrex (generic; apparently my insurance doesn't even cover Imitrex; and it only covers four generic pills a month - jerks) along with 500 mg Naproxen. I just tried it today and it was so not the same. I still have Aleve, Butalbital and Toradol if I have migraines, but they're hit or miss. Other than that, I'm free of meds except for topical acne medicine.
• TMJ mouth guard: no luck for headaches yet although my jaw pain, which I only get when I grind my teeth at night, is better. I'm still wearing it 24/7 except for eating.

And no, I will not be on the sailboat in the picture during my time off from blogging. Sadness!

Treximet

*Whew* it's been rough lately. I'm still going off Zonisamide gradually and I have another week left before I can cut it completely. I've been crying at the drop of a hat, getting sick to my stomach every darn morning, and cursing like crazy which is so not like me. I won't directly blame the medication and/or withdrawal from it, but something is going on (and NO I'm not pregnant).

I had 24 days of headaches and four days of migraine-level pain in April. This past week I had to try Treximet for the first time - at work. In a perfect world I'd be able to try it at home to test it out first, but I had a migraine hit me suddenly and didn't have a choice. As with all triptans for me, it got way worse before it got better...but it did get better and after about two hours I was able to function again and I even finished the work day. But I have zero confidence in triptans because every one I've tried in the past has worked a few times and then stopped working or even made my migraines worse. I know Treximet has the NSAID component, but I'm trying to make my tummy happy by avoiding NSAIDs.

Also, some food for thought: check out Diana Lee's blog post on medication overuse headache. Here's an excerpt:

"...some researchers believe one type of migraine-specific medicine, triptans, is more likely to cause recurrent migraines rather than just recurrent generic headaches."

I only received two samples from my doctor so I have one remaining, but I don't know if I should try and get a prescription or not. Since it's my only "emergency" med that works (for now), I probably should. It really did save me the other day, but I don't like the thought of them causing recurrent migraines!

P.S. - you all have been giving really insightful tips/thoughts in the Comments section lately. Check them out if you haven't yet; you may benefit from some of the ideas, particularly in the last post. And THANK YOU for taking time to leave comments. You all rock! :)

When Medications Fail

My biggest fear came true last week when my "strong" medications, Butalbital (Fioricet) - for painful headaches/migraines and Ketorolac (Toradol) - for the super kill-me-now migraines, no longer worked for me. After managing to avoid these drugs for a month, sticking to Aleve instead, I couldn't stand the constant headaches anymore and finally gave in. No relief.

Last weekend, I had a horrible migraine that lasted three days. It may have been from the chocolate I added back to my diet (although I started adding it a week before I got the migraine) or just a bad sleep schedule or let-down migraine following a week of work stress. Either way, I had plans to attend the Azalea Festival in Wilmington, NC with friends Saturday, and I was not going to miss it. I took four Butalbitals (as two doses - I normally take only one or two pills), which made me dizzy and brought the migraine down a few notches. I was nauseous and in pain, and had to hold my husband's hand so I wouldn't lose my balance - particularly on the section of cobblestone streets - but I managed to survive it and have an amazing time!

My next neuro appt. wasn't until April 29, so her physician's assistant saw me today. I've been having stomach issues that have now become daily, as well as general dizziness and random rapid heart beats - flu symptoms I guess, but they've been going on for weeks if not months. The only thing I can think of that would be causing it is the Zonisamide (Zonegran generic), and since it obviously wasn't helping my headaches a bit, I'm weaning off it. My blood pressure was really high today, which could be from the Zonisamide and maybe would explain why I'm feeling so crappy. Also, the fact that it suppresses your appetite combined with my migraine diet contributed to me losing 11 pounds since Feb. 9, which is cool for most people but not good for me when there's not much to me as it is!

I asked for an "emergency" medication and the PA gave me Treximet samples. I've taken Imitrex and several other triptans with no luck and in fact bad side effects (go figure), and I shared this with the PA, but she said Treximet, which is combined with naproxen, might be different.

The next thing I'm going to try is an occipital nerve block, which I don't have any links for because I haven't had time to research it yet. I have a consultation Monday and will find out more details then. Also, I have a TMJ checkup Friday. Doctors, doctors, doctors...

Adding foods!!! :) :) :)

Lately, I've been down in the dumps, big time. I think it's the Zonegran, but I can't go off it until I see my neurologist again, which isn't for a while.

So, I've decided that three months of the food elimination diet (instead of four) is enough (and yes, I have cheated a few times). Just this decision is already lifting my spirits!

I'm supposed to add one migraine trigger back at a time, per week, and eat that food every day that week. But since my headaches never stopped (although my migraines are less intense), I don't really know if the food has anything to do with the headaches. Instead, I'm adding back two foods at a time per week. This week it's tomatoes and onions, not because I like them the most - I don't really like them at all - but because they're the easiest. They're in so many darn things that you don't even realize!

Flickr photo by John-Morgan

The idea is, of course, that if I get a migraine, one of those foods is a trigger for me.

I'm thinking the following week will be chocolate (that will get my mood up!) but I still need to limit that one because of the caffeine content. I'm not really supposed to add caffeine back at all. Cheese might be the second trigger that week because I've really missed the "good" cheeses. And now I'm hungry...

My Weapon for Nausea

Nausea hasn't been a big problem for me lately, probably because my headaches are more daily headaches and not so much migraines (and by that I mean the intensity is not a 7 to 10 on a 10 scale and I don't have nausea and throbbing). This could be due to the Zonegran, the TMJ mouth guard which I got last week and now wear 24/7 except for eating, or my migraine trigger food elimination diet. I hope it's not the Zonegran that's helping because it's similar to Topamax, and I'm having similar side effects - loss of appetite, word loss, trouble concentrating, hair loss...but this could be because I'm on the generic.

But back to the nausea. I know that many migraine sufferers do have nausea, so I wanted to share something that worked wonders for me when I had nausea.

Drumroll, please....

Newman's Own Ginger Mints. Yes, they're organic! Meaning no artificial sweeteners, which can trigger migraines. I buy them at the health food section of my local Kroger, but I found them online here.

I'm not promising this will work for you. My nausea may not be as bad as yours. I've only thrown up once from a migraine, but I don't throw up much in general. Even with flu, I get symptoms on the other end, if you know what I mean. TMI, sorry. However, with migraines, I would get nausea in waves so bad that I'd have to stop what I was doing to concentrate on not throwing up, and when I took this it would help a lot. Hope it works for you too! :)

No, Newman's Own is not sending me free stuff, and I've never actually ordered through vitacost.com.

New medication: Zonisamide (Zonegran)

I saw my neurologist today and told her I was willing to try another preventative medication. Although I've tried several - I'd guess at least 20 - and tend to have the horrible side effects, I had 27 headaches last month, which is completely ridiculous. Also, a book I read (I WILL do a review soon, I promise) said that preventatives sometimes won't work unless you're doing an elimination diet at the same time. So, I'm trying Zonisamide (brand name Zonegran), a seizure medication. Has anyone ever tried this for headaches - if so, please comment and share your experience! Also I'm weaning off the Ropinirole.

I have to admit that I've cheated on my elimination diet. I went on a ski trip the other weekend and ate some common migraine trigger foods. Of course I've had daily headaches so I didn't notice a difference. Plus I was on Aleve all weekend because skiing (and falling) makes you sore!!! But I will take it more seriously moving forward.

Me & my hot husband in our dorky ski gear

Finally I'd like to thank Emily (WinnyNinny PooPoo) for mentioning my blog in the post below. I encourage you to check it out and share your thoughts!

Does Anyone Really Know What Causes Migraines?