ChronicBabe Blog Carnival #17: Gratitude

So I rarely participate in blog carnivals these days (these years?). Hope that'll change soon.

For the time being, though, I like to read blog carnival posts. Readers of my blog will probably find lots of support and warm words at Jenni Propky's ChronicBabe site. In addition to providing great content for women (and men!) dealing with chronic illness, Jenni coordinates a monthly blog carnival. Here's this month's feature about GRATITUDE: http://www.chronicbabe.com/articles/867/

Enjoy!

April Migraine Blog Carnival posted!

Check it out here.

I submitted an old post but it's not on the blog carnival page for some reason. Here's what I wrote about bibliotherapy/guided reading.

March 2010 Headache Carnival posted!

Diana Lee's at it again, and at last I've gotten it together in time to contribute a post. Check out the March 2010 Headache Blog Carnival, Opening Up to Family & Friends: March 2010 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival.

absent migraineur

Can't say why exactly I've not been writing on here. The obvious answers refer to my very busy bookstore life (I'm opening my own independent bookstore in Athens this year), my busy personal life, and my not wanting to be on the computer after a long day of work. I have been doing pretty well, migraine-wise, and I like that I don't think about attacks during pain-free days as much as I used to. That being said, I miss the community of health bloggers and must admit that nothing beats getting a warm email from a reader who says, "At last--someone who understands what I'm going through!"

I logged into my Blogger account this evening and found 43 unmoderated comments. Unbelievable. (And few of them were spam.) For those of you out there who noticed I've been gone, I'm sorry if I've disappointed you by disappearing!

Life is good. Had a 3-day migraine attack during my birthday weekend in Miami a few days ago, but I handled the pain well and was able to have a fulfilling, fun vacation all the same. I feel that, for the most part, I'm better at coping with migraine attacks than I used to be.

My primary care doctor put me on the birth control pill, which is really helping my migraine attack frequency but wreaking havoc on my menstrual cycle. Supposedly that will clear up soon, but man! 20 day periods are not my cup of tea. Maybe it's just menopause, a couple decades early. :)

Oh, and speaking of decades: I've wrapped up 3 of 'em now. Time to change my blog description at the top of this page, as I'm no longer a "20-something"!

Finally, I'll refer you to this month's How to Cope With Pain Blog Carnival. The moderator was kind enough to include me even though my posts have all but grinded to a halt.

Take care, be well, and let me know what's new with you.

April Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival posted!

A helpful potpourri of writers' favorite posts from the past month. Enjoy!

Pain Blog Carnival

Check it out here!

http://www.howtocopewithpain.org/blog/705/pain-carnival-march-2009/

In other news, I'm back from my month-long sojourn in South America. I have had many blog ideas drift through my head, but I've not been in the mood to write. We'll see what the next couple of weeks hold...

Hope everyone is well.

Creating a Migraine-Friendly Environment

Diana Lee has the March headache blog carnival posted. Once again, I slacked and missed the boat--this time I didn't even clue in enough to know what the topic was. Too bad, too, because I have a lot to say about migraine-friendly spots. (I have oft thought of writing reviews of restaurants, offices, etc. based mainly on the places' migraine-friendliness!)

Read the blog carnival entries here!

Grand Rounds posted!

Check this out--what amazing blog posts from all over the web. Ladybloggers are awesome. Please excuse me for using the nonexistent word "ladybloggers."

December headache blog carnival posted!

And no, I didn't get around to posting this month. Yet again I forgot! :(

Happier Holidays: December 2008 Headache Blog Carnival

NEW BEGINNINGS blog carnival up

The September edition of the How to Cope with Pain blog carnival is up. This month's theme? "New Beginnings." Check it out here!

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.)

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!

How to Cope with Pain's June Pain-Blog Carnival is up!

There are some repeat entries from the Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival from this month, but there are also new things to read! Check out the summer vacation-themed edition of How to Cope with Pain's blog carnival!

Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival for JUNE!

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy taking vacations, but in our Migraine & headache community, it's easy to come across many folks who see the health threats that accompany any trip out of town. Luckily for all of you reading this, we have a really helpful batch of blogs to sift through, all of which will increase your chance of having a happy, healthy vacation despite your headache disease. Some people have a very personal take on the situation, describing specific issues they've had preparing for and embarking upon vacations. Others give us generalized lists of things to pack and/or what to be aware of as you travel to maintain a pain-free brain. Whether or not you have a trip coming up, I believe these writers' tips and insights will benefit you.

• First let's look at some entries that explore the personal side of dealing with Migraine while you're out of town.

To kick things off, Andrea has an entry called "Horrid Day for a Migraine. Could Have Been Worse." that will probably hit VERY close to home for any of us who've had a Migraine attack before. Reading about the various commitments she's trying to balance in the midst of a rough episode will let you see how even the most summery, beautiful day can be hell for someone with Migraine.

Aaron D., who blogs at Pain in the Head, wrote a personal and practical entry about readying your mind (and suitcase) for a headache attack before vacation even if you've been feeling well lately. He also discusses the desire to "not ruin it for everyone" even if your friends are very understanding about Migraine disease. Check his entry here: "Vacation from Pain."

Migraine Chick talks about how she's planning on tackling Migraine-related fear (and Migraine attacks themselves) during her next vacation in "Conquering the Dreaded Migraine Monster on Vacation."

Debbie Fister is on the same page. In "Migraine and Vacation: Oxymoron?" she has created an entry featuring an easy-to-follow list for herself so she can stay as healthy as possible on vacation--and this list will be handy for many of you, too, I'm sure!

Ever feel that you'd like a migraine-oriented reminder list before you go on vacation? Reflecting on a recent trip that was chock full of potential triggers, MaxJerz (rhymes with migraine) offers several tips for traveling migraineurs that will help ease your frustrations before and during your trip in "Shred of Normalcy."

Diana Lee presents "14 Tips for Chronically Ill Travelers" posted at Somebody Heal Me: The Musings of a Chronic Migraineur.

"Vacationing With Migraine - The Down & Dirty Details" is a thoughtful post by Ellen Schnakenberg giving a nice batch of information and recommendations for traveling Migraine and headache sufferers. She has condensed her tips here so you can easily print the main ideas for yourself. How useful!

I had been planning on writing a nice, long list of helpful tips for myself and you all on my blog--but after one hellish night at a hotel a couple weeks ago, I ended up chronicling my adventure instead: "How to Survive a Vacation Tip 1: Don't Trust the Website." Dare I say it's worth a read? Then a quick search of my blog caused me to realize I compiled a list of travel tips in early April. Check 'em out if you wish.

• Just because you're on vacation doesn't mean you'll be able to let go of all the stress you feel! The following entries focus on controlling stress, triggers, and emphasizing relaxation.

Thought-out planning is a necessity for anyone for chronic illness, and it's also important to make sure that unplanned choices that come up while on your trip aren't going to trigger a Migraine. James Cotrill sheds some light on some surprising ingredients in energy drinks in "Energy Drinks - Know What You're Drinking." If you're like me, I know you might have a Vitamin Water now and then to give yourself a boost. Before you take that next sip, know what you're drinking!

Have you ever had trouble on the prescription front, worried you'll not have enough medication to last you before, during, and after vacation? The blog How to Cope with Pain has two excellent entries giving us tips. First there's a post about getting "90 Days of Narcotics: How to Best Use the New Drug Laws." We also are let in on "A Pharmacy Secret" that will de-stress your trip a great deal.


Roshan at Taoist Yoga gives us this piece called "Regulating the Body." Here we find a basic introduction to the benefits of breathing correctly in order to heal the hurt spots in our bodies--check out the entire blog and links for further instruction.


Focusing on the belief that our bodies instinctively know how to heal themselves and that we can best be healed when in a state of peaceful relaxation, here Anmol Mehta discusses some underlying tenets of natural healing on the blog http://anmolmehta.com/. Axel G. takes this discussion in a slightly different direction, giving us some information on stressors and how to control their effects on the body with "Stress Management."

In discussing the post "The Power of Pearl," author Lee writes, "consider this: bring a string of pearls (or pearl powder) along and use it during your vacation for a headache reduction. This article reveals the not-so-well known healing powers of pearl..." If you're interested, you can read more entries from Reiki Vancouver.

Be well, everyone! That's an order.

**Thanks to Diana Lee for allowing me to host this terrific blog carnival this month!**

You have six hours left to submit!

The June Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival is due by 11:59 PM EST TONIGHT, June 6! Get your entries to me ASAP!

More info here: http://themigrainegirl.blogspot.com/2008/05/june-migraine-headache-blog-carnival-im.html

how to survive a vacation tip 1: don't trust the website

A couple of weeks before Memorial Day weekend, I had an epiphany: I needed a vacation. Not an action-packed trip, mind you, but a vacation. No commitments. No one to answer to. No schedule. A vacation.

Considering my health situation and limitations caused by the seemingly incessant Migraine attacks I've been suffering through the last two months or so, my first instinct was to assume that I had to go alone. Having another person there would mean I'd feel guilty if I had to bail on plans to go to the beach for a couple hours or if I sat through dinner with my ice water glass against my forehead. So I concluded I'd go it alone.

Until I thought of a certain friend of mine, one of my best and dearest friends. In the interest of privacy (read: she doesn't know I'm talking about her on my blog as we speak), I shall call her by the nickname each of us has taken to calling the other: Handicapped Twin. HT for short. She is a woman near my age with rheumatoid arthritis--this year in particular she's had a really rough time of it and we've taken turns being laid up at each other's house to watch movies and zone out in our drugged hazes.

A week or so before Memorial Day, I emailed HT, who was finishing up a particularly hectic week at work. I said something to the effect of, "I need a vacation. I'm going to the beach. You're the only person I can think of who'd be the perfect company. Interested?" Within a couple hours I got an all-caps response: "HELL YES!!!" And thus The Plan was born.

I researched lots of hotels off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina and decided we should go to Jekyll Island, a gorgeous and (for now) well-preserved island I've been visiting since I was a wee little thing. Turns out HT and her family went to Jekyll since the 70s or early 80s as well, so she was up for some relaxing and reminiscing. I showed HT the top five hotels I'd found, and we selected one with a sharp website and a claim that the entire property had just been renovated. After confirming there was a hot tub and beach access, we booked it.

A five or six hour drive on Friday afternoon led us to Jekyll. We parked in front of the lobby at what looked like a long, stretched out motor lodge. "Maybe it's nice inside," thought I, thinking simultaneously of how the hotel room price and the facade did not at all match. We got our hotel room key and anxiously wheeled our luggage to the door. First thing I noticed? Cracks and cobwebs and rust by the dingy front window. I reassured myself again: "Maybe it's nice inside."

It wasn't.

The room smelled of stale smoke and mildew. (When we left for dinner, HCTFebreezed the whole joint--after asking me if the scent would bother me. What a great handicapped twin!) The hotel had graciously put in incandescent bulbs for me but, when I went to turn on the lights, the lamps weren't working. The "new" carpet was torn in a couple of spots, there were spider webs in the corner, and the stuccoed ceiling looked almost furry in texture. I dared not look too closely above my head for fear of figuring out what the dark matter in between the white fibers of the ceiling was, exactly. The bathroom light was a fluorescent, so I brought in one of the lamps to plug in and set on the counter. Turns out the only outlet functioned only when the overhead fluorescent was on. Attempting to remove the sticky, dusty, yellowed cover off the fluorescent bulb proved disgustingly impossible. The bathroom fan cover was suffocating with dust, dirt, and "debris," as HT so affectionately called the clumps of mysterious gray matter on the intake screen.

I called the front desk about the nonworking lamps and said, "Also: I was wondering if you had any renovated rooms available..." "What room are you in?" "617." "That one is renovated, ma'am." "Um, what exactly was renovated? Because..." (Then I proceeded to give a brief description of the horror I've already described above.) "Oh, each room got new paint, new carpet, and furniture."

Oh. Well then. Ignore the typical hotel tradition of cleaning the rooms and making sure the electricity works, I guess.

That night, I fell asleep in my double bed not feeling so hot. In the middle of the night, I had to take some medication and at last fell back into a hazy, fitful sleep. In the morning, I felt great--that is, until I lifted myself from the bed. Pressure rushed to my sinuses and the Migraine attack restarted in earnest. I left the room to read outside, but the blaring sun was too much for me to take when in so much head pain. Heading back into the room to lie on the bed to read meant another rush of stale mustiness, which made everything feel worse again.

When HT woke up, she too was feeling worse for the wear and completely congested, as I was. She said, "It's the mold." "What mold?" "The mold. On the ceiling. Look." "Wait--that dark stuff is MOLD? Are you serious!?" Eventually, after we'd decided we'd leave in order to save our poor bodies, I climbed on a chair to scrape at the ceiling with a ballpoint pen. Sure enough, the white ceiling material stayed put as the wettish mold scraped off with little work.

DISGUSTING.

We went to the front desk, ready with my camera full of evidence in case the receptionist said we had to pay for the next two nights, too. Instead, the impersonal but effecient woman quickly printed up a receipt for one night and said we weren't committed to Saturday and Sunday despite the internet agreement we were supposed to adhere to. Cool.

We drove out of there and scoped out more hotels, eventually deciding upon an expensive (but aptly priced) condo farther down the main road. The space was open, clean, personal, and--get this!--not moldy in the least. We felt pretty good for a couple of days and, unsurprisingly, those pesky sinus issues cleared up as soon as we were away from Room from Hell for a few hours.

That brings me to lesson 2 in tips for surviving a vacation: paying for what you need may cost more than the cheapy places, but it's NOT splurging if you're putting your health first.

June Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival (I'm moderating) - write write write!

Diana Lee at Somebody Heal Me has granted me the honor of being the June host for her remarkably helpful and informative Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival.

June's theme is "How to Have a Fun, Healthy Vacation in Spite of your Migraines." All entries must get to me by 11:59 PM on Friday, June 6. The carnival will be published Monday, June 9.*

To enter, send me an email with your name, your blog address, and a link to the relevant entry you're submitting. My email address is themigrainegirl@gmail.com

You can also submit to the monthly carnival using this newfangled form. Click on the icon in the upper right-hand corner to enter your information.

Thanks so much! I look forward to reading many inspiring entries!

*Off-topic entries will also be considered, but please do try to write on the subject--this will help many people during summer, when lots of folks travel.

May Migraine & Headache Blog Carnival posted!

Check out this month's Migraine & headache blog carnival. Here's the link. This month's theme is "Migraines & Exercise: How do You Stay Active?"

April Pain Blog Carnival Posted!

The April Pain Blog Carnival is now posted at How to Cope with Pain. The entry I provided is one several of you have probably read before, but I thought it was the most appropriate April blog post for the contest.

Take some time to peruse this well-organized, helpful website! Maybe you can participate next month! (Information is posted on the blog carnival page if you are interested in writing next month.)

Thanks!

April Headache Blog Carnival posted!

This is always an exciting, helpful day out there in the world of headache disorders. Take a look at the page, which is chock full of different folks' perspectives regarding Migraine disease and other headache. This month's carnival focuses on coping well with Migraine disease & headache.

http://somebodyhealme.dianalee.net/2008/04/coping-strategies-april-headache-blog.html