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!

I *heart* my neuro

As I write this post, I'm drinking homemade apple carrot juice. Thanks for the suggestion, Jessica! I added a little celery, splash of OJ, and honey too. And the apples are Pink Lady apples, fresh from the mountains. YUM. While I haven't noticed a change in headaches (yet), the juice is without a doubt clearing my face.

Last week I finally got to see my neurologist, who is back from maternity leave. She spent a lot of time with me and I feel really good about things! I had been keeping a list of things to ask her, and we went through them all together. My Twitter friend Gina suggested that I write down every health issue I've ever had, even minor ones, and share it with her to see if the list would trigger ideas or show that I might have an auto immune disease. My neuro looked it over, commented that a lot of the ailments are common for people who end up having migraines (such as colic which I had as a baby), and decided to have me do an infectious disease blood test. I'm still waiting on the results. My neuro also is going to contact my insurance to see if they'll cover Botox for me, but I'd be in complete shock if they do (at least any time soon).

Speaking of tests, I finished my hormone spit test and mailed in the tubes, so now I'm in waiting mode for that one too.

In the meantime, I've started a new non-pharma treatment, Butterbur, which may prevent/reduce migraines. I got the pills from Whole Foods and they contain feverfew too.

I'm still seeing a therapist, and I still am wearing my TMJ mouth guard, but I'm slowly tapering down the hours - right now I wear it 17 hours a day. It hasn't helped my headaches, but I do have less jaw pain in the mornings, so I'm probably going to wear it every night for the rest of my life.

For emergencies, I had my neuro write me a prescription for Butalbital (Fioricet), and as long as I take it as little as possible, it helps my migraines (if I take it too much my body gets used to it and it stops working, and plus it can cause rebound headaches). I can generally handle the almost-constant headaches, but if they get really bad I'll take two Aleve pills. I'm starting to feel ulcer-type pains again, so I'm trying to take as little Aleve as possible.

I'll keep all of you up to date on the results of all the above. Thanks for all your thoughts, suggestions, comments and prayers. :)