the big chop

I've mentioned before how sensitive I am when it comes to my scalp. My hair has been growing longer and longer, perhaps longer than it's ever been before. On its best days, it looks tousled and pretty. On its worst (read: average) days, it's slightly frizzy and unkempt. Invariably, wearing it down means I soon try to pull it back away from my face in a casual, loopy bun. The weight of the bun has increased over time, making it so I have to obsessively redo the bun every few minutes to see if I can minimize the pulling on my scalp.

When I wear my hair up--even with lots of support from pins and so-called "scrunchies," it starts to yank on my head and I soon must take it down. In May, I was a bridesmaid who had to wear her hair up. There was enough the drama/trauma brought into my life that day just from the bun-making process alone--suffice to to say I can't create an up-do to save my life. But as the hours ticked on, the bun felt tighter and pulled more and more on my scalp, especially at the crown. The moment I was done with all the photographic obligations, you can bet I yanked all those bobbypins and ponytail holders out and popped a Maxalt. Ow.

It's August in Georgia. Do any of you know what that means? August. In Georgia. 100 degree heat, very high humidity. I'm not wearing my hair down to save my life, but wearing it up means a Migraine attack.

So what did I go and do today? I chopped it.

Even if I end up not liking how the cut looks, at least I know I love the weightlessness of it!

The end.

shaky but alive

It's 4 PM and the headache is finally gone. I feel half-woozy, shaky, and a little out of it--but that's so much better than being in pain!

That's my update for you. Now I'm off to run necessary errands in the 98 degree heat. Wish me luck!

longest, most resistent attack in quite awhile

Early Thursday evening, my brain started to fluctuate between pre-migraine mode and healthy mode. As I sat on the phone with my sister around eleven p.m., mild, steady pain and congestion set in and I decided to go to bed in the hopes that sleep would restore me to normalcy. I woke up around 6:30 the next morning and took a Maxalt. Two hours later, I was on the way to the my babysitting charges' house and took another, as the first did nothing to help. The pain dissipated soon after, and I had a VERY sleepy morning with E., the three-year-old I was watching all day while her brothers and parents went to Six Flags. I felt bad for being so out of it, but that's what Maxalt does--especially when I have to take two. E. and I watched Sesame Street and I lay down, trying to relax a bit.

In the afternoon, we went to my house to meet up with Jim. Later we headed to a local park where there's a swimming beach and small lake. The sand was so bright, the reflection of the sun off the water was blinding my eyes even though I had a hat pulled low over my head. I knew the Migraine was on its way back. It set in in earnest that evening and I fell asleep after E. went to bed, waiting for her family to get home so I could get to my own bed.

My Maxalt allowance is three per 24 hours, though I very rarely take more than one (let alone two) in a day. I took one before bed because the pain was distracting me from sleep.

Around 4 AM, I woke up with a groggy head but no pain!
At 9, I woke up for real and felt like crap.

The pain had come back. Three Maxalts, one Naproxen, one Lortab, and lots of sleep didn't cure this menstrual migraine. It hasn't been this bad in such a long time! I made a pot of coffee and took a nasal decongestent this morning and feel much better, but not up to par. I had to cancel an important bookstore meeting at noon and said no to hanging out with a friend. Tonight is my friends' wedding reception (they got married last week) and I really hope I'm well enough to go.

The end.

what I write about

MigraineChick had an interesting post that included her very own Wordle, a visual representation of what words she uses. The most frequently used words are in bigger font.

I plugged in my url for this blog and Wordle instantly generated a page showing what words I use the most. The end result is visually pretty but, in many senses, really sad.

Both "Migraine" and "migraine" make an appearance, as do the words "stressing" and "argument." No need for lots of explanation here--just wanted to say it made me sad to look at it.

How to Cope with Pain blog carnival posted

The July blog carnival at How to Cope with Pain is now up. I'm off to peruse it now. (As usual, I slacked and didn't provide an entry. Next time, Gadget. Next time.)

dishwashing dreams

Let's talk for a moment about how much my miniature (18"-wide) dishwasher has changed my life and, potentially, helped my migraine frequency.

I've been wanting a dishwasher for months--nay, years! I hate, detest, dislike, and loathe doing the dishes by hand. My kitchen is very small and there was no room for an in-cabinet dishwasher--or so I thought until I found the GE Space Saver dishwasher.

The contraption was installed a month ago and has CHANGED MY LIFE. First of all, I don't have to come home with a sense of dread, knowing that yesterday's cereal bowl (complete with rotting milk) is at the bottom of the sink under last night's pizza pan. If I don't feel well, I can still have a snack without feeling stressed out about having to wash up the dishes afterward.

Let's face it: having to deal with chores drives me crazy and makes me feel inordinately stressed out. I've been known to have minor (or major, depending on how you look at it) freak outs centered around the messiness of my house on a monthly basis. (The word "monthly" is a key word here, folks.)

Not bending over the sink to scrub means fewer bothersome neck and back pains--pains which can trigger migraine headaches!b

The dishwasher had an unintended effect as well. Obviously I don't have to worry about doing the dishes or having stinky bowls pile up in the sink. I thought the glory would end there, that not stressing would be the main focus. Little did I suspect that having clean dishes most of the time would encourage me to eat more regularly. I no longer think, "Ooh, I'm kind of peckish...but I'll just have a few cashews so I don't have to wash a plate in order to make a snack." Now I can just bust that plate out, make some delicious snack, and therefore take that extra step that prevents a hunger-induced Migraine episode.

Yay for me!

If you have a few hundred dollars to spare (or landlords that just so happen to be extremely generous parents of yours), get a dishwasher. It shall change your life!

procrastination station

Being away for two weeks certainly broke up the momentum I'd had going on my blog. I hope none of you have given up on me, as I aim to write more frequently now that I'm home again. Two weeks doesn't seem long at all, but it certainly changes things when you're out of town with very limited computer access. It was pretty nice to ignore email for days at a time, that much I can tell you. I realized how much time I spent online and was, to be honest, a bit disgusted by it.

So I'm trying to spend my time online in a more productive way. As much as I'm passively interested in what my friends' status updates on facebook are, I realize this is not a good use of time! I think back to my elementary school report cards. There was a category called "uses time wisely," and I always got an E for excellent there. Little did the teachers know that my habits at home were soon to be horrendous. I'm sure my mother could tell many an unpleasant tale of my telling her the week before the science fair that I needed a backboard and a project. This procrastination problem was an issue for me during high school, college, and even into graduate school. (It still is an issue now, but the deadlines are looser and therefore I pretend it's not a problem.) How is this related to the internet? Oh yeah. I'll go online with the express purpose of checking my work email and end up spending thirty minutes listening to my friends' music on myspace or playing Scrabble online with friends. Does Janet use time wisely? I'd give her an N for "needs improvement."

I really pushed some buttons when I complained about Dr. Diamond's belief that there is a "migraine personality." Admittedly, I was glad that I got a handful of comments from critical thinkers, most of whom didn't think my anger was merited.

Here's the deal. I don't argue that the majority of patients going to Dr. Diamond's clinic fit within the bounds of what he claims to be a "migraine personality." Here's what I take issue with: Migraine affects millions of people of all ages, all backgrounds, all socioeconomic categories, all heights, and all races. Publishing a comment claiming there's a "migraine personality" in such a gigantic publication as USA Today is irresponsible.

Let's review Diamond's description of the migraine personality: "usually young, petite, compulsive, neat individuals who keep long lists."

As all of us out here in the blogosphere know, there's been an exponential increase in migraine awareness articles, blogs, and advertisements in the last few years. I believe that, with a good chunk of exception, many people who scour the internet for medical information tend to be young (a subjective description to start with) and rather assertive in terms of self-care. Anyone remember how the old notion of "migraine personality" described a compulsive white woman who was middle- or upper-middle-class? That belief was dismissed long ago after the grand realization that, generally speaking, that description matches the type of person who would choose to go to the doctor. I can name at least ten people right off the bat who choose not to go to the doctor for their Migraines because of lack of money--of course it's people who choose to spend their money on medical visits that are the ones who go to the doctor!

I have such a great argument in my head but am having a lot of trouble verbalizing it all. Suffice it to say the following:

1. I greatly respect Dr. Diamond and the work he has done.
2. I find it was irresponsible of him to publicize a personal belief (without statistical evidence provided) in such a huge forum.
3. I'm disappointed that we Migraineurs had the opportunity to make the general public more aware about this condition and ended up instead with a cursory article that did very little to explore the implications and effects of Migraine disease.

To see other takes on the issue, please read the comments on my original post. Everyone brought up good points, but I'm stickin' to my guns on this one.

July Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival Posted

Diana Lee has done it again! Visit this page to see the July edition of the Migraine & Headache Disease blog carnival. This month's focus? "Migraines & Spirituality."

Have fun reading!

"Migraine Personality" myth once again rears its ugly head

My mom just gave me a special news insert from Florida Today's newspaper from mid-June. The small publication is called USA Weekend: HealthSmart, and I have every reason to believe it accompanied not only the Florida Today newspaper but also USA Today and any other papers the overseeing company owns.

Dr. Seymour Diamond (of the NHF and the famous Diamond Clinic) debunks a handful of myths about Migraine disease. Like the other short articles in the publication, a half-page or so is dedicated to each health condition and set up as a series of true-false questions. For example, in an article about sleep, the myth is something like, "Teenagers need the same amount of sleep as adults." Truth: No, they need more.

Okay, fair enough.

But the Migraine article's supposedly debunked myths are of a different ilk, especially the last one that have left me flying into a near-rage. I did a search online for reactions to this article and, as far as I've found, it's not being covered by Migraine advocates and/or bloggers--and it should be.

Myth: There is no such thing as a "migraine personality."
Diamond's expert opinion? That there IS a migraine personality!

What year is this? What is happening? I'm reminded of a March 2007 post from Kerrie at the Daily Headache about the ridiculous idea that there is a specific Migraine personality. (In a rush so will have to link to it later--sorry. Fingers are flying to write this even though I'm supposed to be out the door!)

Check out the article here, and let me know what you think. I hate to know that thousands upon thousands of national newspaper readers have stumbled across such a gross error and, without being armed with well-founded knowledge about headache disorders, will agree with Dr. Diamond.

Grrrrrrrr.