Bye-bye, beloved beer..

Or, "triggers creeping out of the woodwork"

I love beer. I don't tend to over-indulge, but boy oh boy do I enjoy sitting on my screened-in porch on a warm day and slowly slugging back a cold one. I relish the thought of being at my family reunions, a fancy keg of microbrewed beer only paces away from where we sit in the gazebo--I walk over and have just half a pint more before bed. (Now as I write I feel I must acknowledge that this past summer I didn't let myself have much of this beer, even on nights when we drank more than one. I'd have a little bit of the hoppy microbrew and then switch to something less fancy and lighter, like Yeungling or, god forbid, Bud Light. I felt not-so-well if I had more than one heavy beer, and my sister, who'd once been a Migraineur herself, felt the same way. Hmm...)

But something's been happening in the last couple of months, something new and utterly unwelcome: beer has become a harsh Migraine trigger. At first I only noticed this if I imbibed a couple too many on a weekend night and woke up the next morning with a Migraine. I told myself that I deserved this, knowing all the while that know one ever deserves Migraine headache pain. But then it started to happen when I only had a couple and was far from getting that hazy beer buzz.

Earlier this week I ventured out of my self-imposed Beer Hiatus and tried to see if maybe this beer trigger was a fabrication, that maybe there were other triggers in the environment I had been unaware of at the time of those Migraine episodes. I had a couple light beers at my friends' house while staying there overnight on Tuesday. Everything was fine. Whew.

Had one--just one--on Wednesday while at another couple's house for dinner. A Corona with a lime this time. Not my favorite, but I figured it was safe. Still all clear. Thank goodness.

Last night I had three free beers at an opening downtown and was sick with Migraine by midnight. (I had paced myself ever-so-slowly, having one at 6:30-ish, one at 7, and one at 8:30.) Was it the fact that this beer was stronger in flavor and ingredients? (It was a locally-made pale ale, not a light beer as I had had earlier that week.)

Is it possible that certain types of beers are okay?

I read online once that a well-respected neurologist believes that most Migraine triggers can be traced back to food and drink intake. When people name alcohol as a trigger, he doesn't think all alcohol needs to be cut. Apparently some clear alcohols such as vodka are safe for some.

I don't know if I want to experiment much more, at least for the time being, but if anyone has any feedback he or she'd be interested in posting, I'm all ears.

Thankful to be feeling up to par again, hours later,
me...

Doctor Anxiety

Tomorrow I'm going to see my neurologist. I am pretty damned nervous about this.

Don't get me wrong here: I really like my neurologist. I respect him. He's friendly, he's kind, he's patient, he's smart, and he listens. He's been willing to give me as many samples as I've needed since I've not had prescription coverage. The nurse practitioners who work with him can sometimes be a little short with me, but let's face it--I don't answer their questions, questions that are supposed to have one-word or numerical answers, the way I'm supposed to. I'm probably not the most simple patient for them to deal with. Who knows?

In any case, this is not my point. My point? I'm nervous. I'm anxious. And I'm trying to pinpoint the reasons why.

What if I don't ask him all the questions I mean to ask?
What if I forget to bring the phone number for the new pharmacy I'm using?
What if in rating my headache pain and frequency on that Likert scale they use I inadvertently make it seem as if my Migraine attacks have been far better or worse than they've actually been?
What if I ask him about the elimination diet, am displeased with the brevity of his answer, and am too timid to ask him for more information?
What if, what if, what if?

Mainly I worry about forgetting something during my expensive, all-too-rare neurologist appointment and know that I won't get to talk to the doctor himself again without booking an appointment a month in advance, using 3/4 a tank of gas to get to his office, and paying $135.

Frustrating.
Stressful.

And it'll all be okay.

three things that changed my point of view this week

1. I've discovered a really great site, one I can't believe I didn't stumble across before.

MyMigraineConnection.com

Definitely worth your time; check it out. Peruse people's stories, migraineurs' tips and support, and see what others have to say about their own experience. As much as our doctors can help us, it's in other patients' stories we might be able to find true camaraderie and comfort.

2. I've read book after book after book about Migraine disease. If you've read my blog before, you know I love Paula Kamen's All in My Head. I've a new favorite, for a different reason. The following volume is thorough, relatively up-to-date, pretty easy to follow even for those of us who aren't doctors, and quite interesting.

Migraine and Other Headaches by Stewart J. Tepper, M.D.

3. Migraine Podcasts

For those of you who listen to Podcasts, look up the keyword "Migraine." You'll find a few good podcasts at your fingertips, including one aimed for doctors that's still pretty useful for all ("Headway on Migraine Headaches") and Teri Robert's "MigraineCast."

owwwww....

I've been quite under the weather lately, trying REALLY (I mean really!) hard to resist taking my Relpax + Naproxen combo when headachey since the pain has been so consistent. I can't tell if I'm suffering from the much-researched, much-talked-about medication overuse headache (MOH), spring weather trigger overload, or just a particularly bad Migraine bout. I haven't had daily headache battles in quite awhile, and I feel pretty upset about their sudden return in the last few weeks. It's gotten me pretty down.

If I don't take Relpax right away, then I sit around feeling awful and am horrible company for others and, most notably, myself.

If I do take it, I worry that the next day my pain will be worse and I won't be *allowed* to take any more since I have to limit myself to two triptans a week.

Ay. Woe is me.
Sad hours seem long.

The end.

pee in a cup

Had to pee in a cup for a routine drug test yesterday--have to pass the test in order to formally be granted the new job I've already been given, for all practical purposes. Imagine the raised eyebrows on the medical assistant's face when she asked me to write down any prescription medications I was taking in the little box provided on the intake sheet: "Oh," I said, "I brought my list," whipping out my word-processed document that listed all the medications and vitamins I ingest each day.

As if one little box would fit them all! Ha!

Then, two minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom stall and handed her my unpleasantly warm plastic cup of neon yellow urine--it has acquired this hue ever since I began taking vitamin B-2 each morning as per my neurologist's suggestion. Perhaps she thought I had given her a small vat of warm lemon-lime Gatorade? No one will know, but let's hope I entertained the young woman who had appeared completely bored and expressionless up until our encounter.

Ah, neon pee. How I love thee.

O! Canada

What with Patriot Act-driven paranoia seeping into my mind just a little bit now and again, it strikes me that this might not be the best idea, but I'll say it anyway: I bought some prescription drugs from the internet. A legit site in Canada that sent me my drugs WAY below cost what they would have been at my local pharmacy. For a girl who has zero insurance (with no insurance or full-time job with benefits on the way), this was a necessity I had to cash in on eventually, and eventually came in February 2007.

The service prompt, the pharmacists thorough and understanding. I'll do it again in a heartbeat and for a fraction of the cost. If you're interested in what company I went with, I'll let you know--I'm not about to advertise for any particular place out here in the open, but I will recommend what worked for me if you're daunted by all the options and are scared of getting a place that seems apt to take your money and run.

springing into action?

The weather has been gorgeous lately--ridiculously high temperatures for early and mid-March, puffy clouds, temperatures in the 70s, and sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. This, of course, also means flowers and pollen and runny noses and sneezing.


For me it also means a stuffy head, tight neck, and increase in Migraine frequency. I've grown used to the fact that my Migraines are triggered by shifts in barometric pressure: when it's going to rain, my temples and neck seem to know it before I even step outside or check the weather online. Perhaps it's because I've only really started studying my Migraine patterns in the last couple of years; perhaps it's because seasons don't change all that frequently--in any case, from spring to spring I forget how frustratingly stuffy and painful my head and body get while the weather patterns shift and winter disappears.

It's not at all uncommon for Migraineurs to be affected by changes in weather. It's true that sinus medication might ease symptoms, but there's always the risk that taking over-the-counter medication will (a) lessen the effectiveness of prescription medication, (b) lead to an increase in the number of rebound headaches, and/or (c) lead to more intense Migraines.

Yet another conundrum.

I don't mean to simply use this as a forum for my own venting. What I found today was that spending the day outside was slightly painful but really enjoyable. I "paid for it" by having to lie low in the evening time, having a quiet dinner and then canceling my tentative plans to spend time with friends because my headache's just bad enough not to socialize, but not bad enough for me to want to take prescription meds for the second day in a row.

So for me, it's bedtime.

For you, I wish you a pleasant day or evening, depending on when you're reading. Take care.

You ARE out there!

After a stressful little while there, I finally was able to log into my blog again. Not sure what the problem was, but I was getting rejected again and again and tonight the mysterious "incorrect" password let me into my account after all.

And look what I found! Some wonderful feedback from some of you thoughtful people, people I didn't know were even reading this. To my chagrin, my local library's copy of Jeffrey Bland's 20 Day Rejuvenation Diet is checked out, so I have a hold placed on it. The more I read about it and other not-so-stellar-sounding diets online, though, the less sold I was on the idea.

But I feel, to be redundant, rejuvenated by some of your feedback, and I think that the books you mentioned may be more up my alley than the one I had recommended to me. Perhaps the next trip to the library--which is actually tomorrow afternoon for me--will entail my checking out some or all of those books to see which ones work for me. If the library doesn't have it, I'll have to see what the bank account can afford me right now.

Again, thank you, thank you.

My massage therapist/cranial-sacral therapist is quite well-versed in the innerworkings of the body and says that this is the perfect time of year to try doing an elimination diet, so if any of you are in my same boat and are thinking of doing it, maybe this is your time!

Now I must get to bed...there's a long work day ahead.

Thanks again for invigorating me and give me such great feedback. I hope to do the same for you in an upcoming post.