WEGO Health Activist Prompt 30: Migraine Dictionary

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Gobbledygook Day. Make up a new word (it can be a combination of words or complete nonsense). What is the word?

Some of my twitter pals use the word "painsomnia", which I absolutely love. It means insomnia caused by unrelenting pain. Isn't it just perfect? I know most of us can totally relate to it.

A phrase I coined recently is "migrainous interruptus". This occurs when an activity becomes interrupted by the symptoms of a migraine attack. Something we all know well. And how fun to have a flashy little phrase for describing it.

What made up migraine words have you thought up?


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 29: What a Psycho

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Health cliche: What is a health cliche that really bugs you? What are you tired of people asking you or saying to you again and again? Write it down. Then reclaim it! Take it back and turn it around so you make it something that you could be comfortable hearing."

It's far too common to hear people casually calling someone crazy, paranoid, psycho or bipolar. From Charlie Sheen to the annoying coworker, it easily rolls off our tongues these days. I know people don't mean to be rude. They're unaware how hurtful this can be for people who live with mental health conditions. As someone who lives with depression and anxiety, I would say it's one of the less stigmatized mental health issues, but people still just don't get it sometimes.

That being said, sometimes I do refer to my mental health issues as my "crazy" because I think it's nice to take that word back and disarm it. I don't mind calling myself crazy sometimes when I'm kidding about one of the annoying aspects of my disease. I don't want anyone else calling me crazy, but if I can't occasionally laugh about it I'll just cry. And nobody wants that.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 28: I used to be...

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "I used to be ___, but I'm not anymore. Write a poem where every line starts with 'I used to be' and ends with 'but I'm not anymore'. (5-10 lines)

I hate to speak in absolutes, because even as much hard work I've put in on becoming the person I want to be, we all have bad days. I'm certainly no exception to that!

My Work in Progress

I used to be wracked with guilt and shame, but I'm not anymore.

I used to be arrogant and even a bit entitled. But I'm not anymore.

I used to be completely lost at how to function when living with so much physical and emotional pain, but I'm not anymore. I have lots more tools to work with now, and that makes a huge difference.

I used to be incredibly judgmental of people, but I'm not anymore. Being sick has made me much more empathetic toward others and their struggles, whether visible or invisible.

I used to be in control, but I'm not anymore. Now I know control is an illusion.

How would you fill in the blank in this phrase?


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Communication Gap Between Migraine Doctors & Patients

According to a study conducted by the National Headache Foundation and drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, there is a profound communication gap between migraine patients and their doctors. There is a lot we can learn from this.

The big findings included:

• Rather than scheduling appointments specifically to discuss their migraine attacks, patients are scheduling appointments regarding other health issues and slipping in questions and concerns about their migraines. Seventy percent of patients' visits to their primary care physicians were for purposes other than discussing their migraines.
• Doctors wish their patients would keep diaries of their attacks, including information about what medications they've taken and how well they worked. They said more information about their patients' pain levels and other symptoms would also improve their ability to help their patients.

• Based on physician and patient responses about what topics are being covered during office visits, patients aren't remembering all the details their doctors are giving them about how and when to take their medications and other important migraine management issues. For instance, 78% of doctors said they discussed when to take migraine medications with their patients, but only 18% of patients recalled having this conversation with their doctors. The same was true regarding discussion of personal migraine triggers.

• Patients and doctors both wish they had more time to discuss patient satisfaction with prescription migraine medications.

• Patients said the number one topic addressed during their appointments was prescription medication refills, while doctors said the most frequently discussed topic at appointments was migraine frequency.

What can you do as a patient to help improve communication with your doctors?

• Keep a migraine diary & bring it to your appointment. Track every migraine attack: list any possible triggers, your symptoms, the length of the attack, how you treated it and how well you responded to the medication you took. Be sure to bring a copy to your appointment. 
• Maintain a personal health summary document & bring an updated copy to your appointments. (see Make ER Visits Less Stressful & Doctor Patient Communication: Set Up Your Own Migraine Summary Document)

• Come with a list of questions and concerns.

• Take notes during your appointment. You should also consider bringing a hand-held audio recorder, but ask for permission before you start taping.

• Call your doctor's office if you have questions after your appointment or between appointments. Your doctors and their staff would rather you ask than assume.

Source:
New Survey Finds Gap in Doctor-Patient Migraine Communication


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 27: Inspiring Quote

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Find a quote that either inspires you positively or negatively and write about it."

One of my favorite quotes is this one from the Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön: "It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer."

In searching for ways to cope with chronic migraines once I realized getting rid of them wasn't going to be an easy process, one of the first things I found that seemed to provide any kind of comfort or sense was this quote. It quite simply never occurred to me that living with physical pain didn't require me to suffer constantly. That realization truly changed everything for me. It might sound like a minor shift in perspective, but it freed me from believing I was doomed to suffer into the future for months and years with no end in sight. This isn't to say that I never experience suffering, of course. But the work of teachers and writers like Pema Chödrön helps me set my thinking straight when I hit an especially rough patch and keeps me inspired to live the best life I can despite the pain and many other limitations.

What are your favorite quotes?


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 26: Spirit Animal

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Spirit Animal Day. Give you or your condition a spirit animal and write about yourself or it as though you/it are that animal. What qualities of the animals do you or your condition possess that are positive? How is this a metaphor?"

Feeling rather uninspired (yet again), I decided to Google "What is a spirit animal?" My search returned some quizzes to tell you which spirit animal fits your personality, so I started there: What's your animal spirit?

I think this is rather right on. Living with chronic migraines has made me much tougher than I used to be. You really don't have any choice when you live with a chronic pain condition. Either you bear it or it breaks you, and I refuse to let migraine disease break me. However, I do think I'm a bit more fiery tempered than this quiz would suggest. I'm not an especially patient person. Though I'm better than I used to be, sometimes I'm still quick to anger. But what can I say? Like everyone else I'm a work in progress.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 25: Red Pen Day

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Red Pen Day: Find an old post of yours from months or years ago - revise it as radically as you can."

I decided to go all the way back to the beginning of Somebody Heal Me and choose one of my first posts to revise. This is what I picked: Everyone an Expert.

When you have a chronic illness, it sometimes feels like everyone is an expert on your condition. I can't begin to count the number of times an acquaintance has heard I have migraines and attempted to share some crucial tidbit of information gleaned from contact with other migraineurs or watching the evening news.

I've easily been on 35-50 different medications. I'm on my fourth seventh neurologist. I've seen a handful of so-called pain doctors and spent years in psychotherapy. I've tried supplements, chiropractors, biofeedback, physical therapy, massage, acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, guided relaxation, elimination diets and meditation with varying degrees of success. I've had cervical epidural injections, occipital nerve blocks, botox injections and radiofrequency nerve ablation. I've read at least five books on how to "cure" your migraines and a couple of good ones about how to manage the disease. I read all the articles and blogs on the subject that I can find.

What is it about migraine disease that makes these relative strangers believe I might benefit from the same treatment as their cousin or friend from grad school? I've spent more time, money and energy pursuing both mainstream and obscure treatments to try to find a way to make myself feel better than anyone I know, save others with chronic illnesses.

It's a Catch-22. If I don't explain that I have chronic migraines, there is no hope the people in my life will understand that I have certain limitations and obstacles. If I do tell them, it's open season for them to critique my treatment plan. Is everyone such an expert on cancer? Sometimes I wonder.

(additions in bold)

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Announcing May Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival

The theme of the May 2011 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival will be "Unstuck: How do you get yourself out of a self-care rut? (If you're feeling fuzzy about what the heck self care is, check out this article from Psychology Today: Self-Care in a Toxic World.)" As always, feel free to interpret this topic however you like.

Entries are due by midnight (the end of the day) on Friday, May 6, 2011. The carnival will be published right here at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, May 9, 2011.

Feel free to post comments or contact me directly to ask any questions you might have. Please spread the word to any migraine or headache, pain or chronic illness bloggers you know and consider posting an announcement on your own blog if you have one.

For more information about the carnival please visit the main carnival page: Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival. 

Thank you for your continued support of the Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival. You guys rock!


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 24: Good Thing

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "The best moment of last week."

The best moment I've had in months is my brand new sassy haircut. My hair had gotten pretty long, and I got it cut to just above my shoulders. It's perfect for the warmer weather and lots of fun.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 23: Cheat Day

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Dr. Seuss Day: Write a post with as many rhymes as you can."

We're allowed one cheat day, and I'm taking mine today. I just can't do it, guys. I haven't used my creative writing muscles in years, and I don't rhyme. I just don't. Well, maybe in dirty jokes or something, but otherwise, no.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 22: Prescribed

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Prescribed: Your doctor writes you a wacky prescription. What is it?"

TAKE A VACATION, AND YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE WILL PAY FOR IT. GO SOMEWHERE TROPICAL AND STAY FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Can Alcohol and Migraine Disease Mix?

Alcohol routinely appears on lists of migraine triggers. But many people enjoy having an occasional drink or glass of wine. Should you give this up if you've been diagnosed with migraine disease?

It depends. About one third of migraineurs report alcohol is a trigger for their attacks. But the authors of a recent research study believe the connection between alcohol and migraine attacks is overstated. They think consumption of small amounts of alcoholic beverages is okay for people living with migraine disease, whether for enjoyment or cardiovascular benefit.

If you enjoy alcoholic beverages, but worry they might be a migraine trigger for you, your best bet is to keep a diary for a few months. Track everything you eat and drink and track your migraine attacks. By looking back through this data you can often spot patterns or trends in your attacks related to specific triggers. If you notice a particular type of beer, wine or cocktail causes you problems, find a substitute.

Unfortunately, the process of identifying food and drink migraine triggers is an art rather than a science. Triggers are complicated. First, no two migraineurs have the same list of triggers. Second, they are stackable. This means that while one trigger alone may not cause a migraine attack, a few triggers "stacked" on top of each other does (a glass of wine + exertion & not enough sleep, for instance). Finally, the amount of time it takes for a trigger to set in varies greatly. It could be anywhere from hours to days.

Frequently alcohol-induced migraine attacks will look one of two ways. One, the attack will come on rapidly (from 30 minutes to 3 hours) following consumption of the triggering food or drink. Two, the attack presents itself in hangover form (i.e. the next morning).

In addition to looking for patterns in your consumption, also recognize that some forms of alcohol are more likely to trigger migraine attacks than others. Red wine is a very common trigger.

For more information about keeping a diary and elimination diets, please visit these links:
Migraine Diary
Migraine & Diet

Are you able to consume alcohol? How often? What limits do you put on yourself?

Sources:
Alcohol and Migraine: What We Should Tell Patients
Alcohol and Migraine: ACHE


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 21: Inspiring Examples

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Free write about someone you admire."

One of the women I most admire in the world is United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. In fact, on my social networking sites my user name is "whatwouldruthdo." A subtle nod of respect and admiration.

She went to law school at a time when very, very few women were admitted. She was treated as less serious than her male counterparts. She has openly shared that Harvard Law was a hostile for women at that time. Despite the challenges, she made law review at both Harvard and then later at Columbia, which she transferred to in order to finish her JD.

Ginsburg and women like her paved the way for women of my generation. In contrast to the rampant sexism she has faced throughout her career, my law school class was evenly divided between men and women. Though I'm sure certain men still hold some of those archaic opinions, I never felt any of the women I was in school with were treated differently than the men. And if they had been I feel comfortable assuming harsh action would have resulted from that biased behavior.

To learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, please visit: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Oyez Project and Tribute: The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg & the WRP Staff.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 20: My Writing Room

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Describe your writing room. What is in the room where you write your posts? "

Most days our family room is my writing room. I sit in my chair with my Macbook on my lap and get to work. Our family room has a desk in it, but I rarely use it. Like most of our house, there is very little decor. I've been dying to decorate, but I just don't have the energy to actually follow through. The walls are white, the carpet is beige and the big HDTV is the most prominent feature. It's boring, but we use it every single day. It's where we live.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Migraine Chat Tonight with a Guest Host

My awesome pal and fellow migraine blogger Nancy Harris Bonk has graciously volunteered to host Migraine Chat tonight. I'm out of town seeking migraine treatment in Dallas and don't know for sure if I'll be able to participate tonight. I'll certainly drop in if I can!

Migraine chat is tonight from 6 pm - 7 pm CT.

The new & improved Migraine Chat is held a private room on Chatzy. This allows us to speak more freely because our messages aren't sent out to all of our Twitter followers and makes it possible for people who don't use Twitter to easily participate.

To participate go to: Chatzy Migraine Chat
(Remember to bookmark the link for the future. It will be the same every week.)

Enter password: somebodyhealme

When: Wednesdays, 6 -7 pm CT (find your time zone here: TimeandDate.com)

Please spread the word to your fellow migraineurs. Thanks a million, Nancy!


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 19: Road Trip

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: Health Activist's Choice.

We all know by now how I feel about open ended prompts, but here goes.

Today my mom and I are in Dallas so I can get treatment from my migraine specialist Dr. Krusz. I'd been struggling so much lately that we decided it made sense to go to his clinic so I can get some IV therapy and go over other medication options, such as Savella. It's a medication approved to treat fibromyalgia, and people with fibro and other types of chronic pain have been doing well on it. I'd also like to get his opinion about occipital nerve stimulators.

I'm really lucky to have parents who are willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to help me feel as well as possible. We drove down yesterday and stayed over night. I'll be getting treatment today and tomorrow, and we'll head home tomorrow night.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Migraine 101: Triptans

Most people who visit doctors about their migraine attacks will be prescribed a medication in the triptan family. Triptans are a category of medications developed to abort migraine attacks (rather than simply dulling the symptoms of the attack). For many people they are highly effective with few side effects.

Examples of triptans include Imitrex, Frova, Maxalt, Replax, etc. In addition to the more common pill form, a number of these medications can be prescribed in other forms that work faster by bypassing the stomach, such as injection, nasal spray and needle-free injection (Sumavel DosePro). A patch (Zelrix) and a new type of nasal spray product (OptiNose) are in development. (For more information about migraines & pills, see: Why Are Pills Hard for Migraineurs to Use?)

No one triptan is considered safer or more effective than the others. Your doctor will be able to decide which one is appropriate for your situation.

These medications can be extremely expensive, even in the few generic forms currently available. Often doctors can give you samples so you can try a new type of medication before paying for an entire prescription. The various manufacturers offer discount programs to help you out, too. A quick Google search for the name of the medication will help you find information.

Any questions about these or other migraine medications? Fire away in the comments.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 18: My Daily Schedule

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Your daily schedule. Write a list of your daily routine from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. Be honest."

This is probably going to look pathetic. For the past few years I've been incredibly incapacitated by my migraine disease and depression. Some days are better than others. Friday was a so-so day, but very active by my usual standards.

7:30 am - wake up, let dog out, feed pets
7:45 am - check email, look at articles on Google Reader feed, take meds
10 am - morning nap
1 pm - hair cut
2 pm - watch movie & lunch
4 pm - appointment with local neurologist
5 pm - pedicure
8 pm - dinner
8:30 pm - watch movie, use Internet, hang out with my husband
11 pm - take meds
midnight - bed

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 17: Mindful Moment

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Mindful Moment: Describe something peaceful with as much sensory imagery as you can."

I'm thinking of a warm, sunny day. In my imagination the sun feels great on my skin and doesn't give me a migraine. I'm warm and I can tolerate it. The sun is bright, but I don't need to squint and it doesn't feeling like stabbing pain in my brain. It feels great. There is a slight breeze and my dog is running and running and running, having so much fun. I lay in the sun for hours and don't even get a sunburn.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 16: News Reporter

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Report this! Write a blog where you're a news reporter presenting an invention or cure for your condition."

In all honesty, I do this kind of writing all the time on the blog, so I'm going to cheat and just recycle some recent content. After all, I went to J School and specialized in print media before law school. It all feels like many lifetimes ago considering it's actually only been 11 years.

The researcher whose work established this connection believes both hypermobility and migraine share roots of being related to collagen. Collagen is a protein that connects joints and tissues. His hypothesis is that if collagen is too elastic it leads to overly flexible joints and stretchy blood vessels. However, the notion that migraine originates in the blood vessels has gone out of fashion in recent years with the awareness that it's actually a neurological condition. Perhaps extremely elastic collagen makes the blood vessels more susceptible to the expansion and contraction observed in migraines.

This was an extremely small study and participants were taken from a connective tissue clinic, which may have skewed the results toward sicker people. It will certainly require larger studies to determine whether there is anything to this connection.

from Extremely Flexible People More Likely to Have Migraines

Pretty interesting research if you ask me.

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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 15: Two-Sentence Story

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Tell a story with a beginning, middle and end in only two sentences. Get creative with semi-colons if you need to!"

Another open-ended prompt. My complete lack of high-level thinking or creativity lately has me feeling kind of stumped, but here goes.

Once upon a time (two months ago) I started taking Elavil (aka amitriptyline) for migraine prevention, and I started having more frequent, more intense migraine attacks. I'm now tapering off the Elavil and struggling to deal with this increase in pain & other symptoms. THE END


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Important News: Topamax Recall

Johnson & Johnson is recalling 57,000 bottles of its epilepsy and migraine drug Topamax because four customers reported smelling a musty odor upon opening their bottles.

The company believes only about 6,000 bottles are still on the market. If you take this medication you'll want to check with your pharmacy to make sure you did not receive any of the tainted medication. (If you happen to have a bottle with a lot number on it you can match it against the lot numbers involved in the recall at this link: Ortho-McNeil Neurologics Voluntary Recalls Two Lots of Topamax.)

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Johnson & Johnson has recently recalled a medication following complaints of a moldy or musty odor. It's product Tylenol has been subject to a similar recall, as have other prescription medications in addition to Topamax. The company says the source of the odor is a chemical called TBA, which is used to treat wooden palates.

The Wall Street Journal Health Blog details a large list of similar problems the company has dealt with in the past year: J&J Recalls Some Topamax After Odor Reports.

Sources:
J&J Recalls Some Topamax After Odor Reports
Ortho-McNeil Neurologics Voluntary Recalls Two Lots of Topamax
Latest Smelly Johnson & Johnson Recall: Topamax


Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 14: Lies & Misconceptions

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Write a poem where every line is a lie or misconception about your condition."

This is certainly easy enough. Migraine is an incredibly misunderstood, stigmatized condition. I must say, though, I feel kind of weird writing them down because I'd hate for anyone to mistakenly assume I'm sharing facts. So please know this is me sharing lies & misconceptions, okay?

Migraine: Lies & Misconceptions: A Poem

Migraine is just a headache. Take an aspirin & suck it up.
Why are you wearing those sunglasses inside? Do you think you look cool or something?
My cousin's husband's best friend's brother tried, X, Y or Z and cured his migraines. Have you tried that?
I get migraines and I make it to work every day. You must be lazy.
If you tried harder you could heal yourself. You must want to be sick.

To all that I say suck it. What lies or misconceptions are most annoying to you?


Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

New Migraine Support Group in Western New York

Nancy Harris Bonk, fellow migraineur and blogger, and the National Headache Foundation are starting a support group for those of you in Western New York state. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 19, 2011, at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be at 6095 Transit Road, East Amherst, NY 14051. Nancy promises plenty of support and parking too!

For more information visit: Western New York Migraine and Headache Disorder Support Group.

Visit Nancy's personal blog at: Migraine and Other Headache Disorders and her My Migraine Connection blog at: Nancy Harris Bonk's SharePosts.

Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Emotionally-Charged Treatment Decisions

I worry I'm becoming way too emotional about an important treatment decision related to my chronic migraines. I scan through one resource and feel encouraged and optimistic; I look at another and feel my body deflate in disappointment and resignation. Back down to earth, reality, slim odds.

I know in my head there are no guarantees and no cures. Just because something works well for other people doesn't mean it will work that way for me. I certainly know that well by now. But I find myself looking for that kind of assurance before I make a decision. I don't want to burden my family, our finances and my regular routine to try something drastic that may or may not make any difference. I especially don't want to have false hope.

I felt really good about the plan my primary care doctor and I formed recently to explore my options. But many weeks of daily migraines have left me with so little energy and focus that I'm wondering how I'm going to get through all the leg work necessary to do that exploration. I'm sleep walking through my life. I'm feeling too overwhelmed and tempted to just bury my head in the sand and handle the situation by ignoring it.

I know the answer I'm searching for is it utilize the tools in my chronic pain / depression tool box, but I'm feeling so defeated. I recently tried a new-to-me medication for migraine prevention that has left me feeling much, much worse. It's sort of broken my spirit and definitely eroded my hopefulness.


Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

WEGO Health Activist Prompt 13: What should I do before I get pregnant?

For the month of April I'm participating in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge Prompts. If you'd like more information or want to participate, too, please visit: Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge.

Today's WEGO Health Activist Writing Month Prompt is: "Open a book to any page - take the first line you see. That's that title of your blog post. What does your post say? Write it in less than 20 minutes."

Conveniently enough I have a copy of The Woman's Migraine Toolkit on the table beside me. This is the first passage I saw upon opening it a moment ago: "What should I do before I get pregnant?"

The issue of trying to start a family is nearly always on my mind. I've talked about it a lot here, and I still have no concrete conclusions. I've done the research, I've discussed it with people I love and trust and my husband and I have talked and talked and talked. Ultimately I need to be able to feel like I can handle pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, so I have to be the one to make the final decision. But I wish someone else could just tell me what to do. It feels like an impossible decision to make.

Although I'm still confused and stressed out, The Woman's Migraine Toolkit has been a wonderful source of information about my questions. The subtitle of the book is "Managing Your Headaches From Puberty to Menopause." It truly covers everything from childhood through the change of life and then some.

If you're anything like me and agonizing about this decision or not as neurotic as I am and simply need accurate, easy to understand information about the issues we deal with as women with migraines, this is a great resource.

The other resource I would like to recommend is the book Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-Existing Diabetes: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby by Cheryl Alkon. Since I not only have to balance pregnancy with migraines, depression, etc., but also balance it with type 2 diabetes, I was elated to come across a resource for women who are trying to conceive despite their diabetes. It's an intelligent, reassuring resource.

Both of these books were published within the last year, so they're as up to date as anything you're going to find out there, if not moreso.

Are any of you trying to make the decision of when to start a family? How are you handling it?

Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.