Walking Pharmacies

If you're like me, your purse / laptop bag / bookbag / etc. works as both its intended use as a carrier and also as a walking pharmacy. When you live in chronic pain, in fear of unexpected pain, with allergies, or whatever, you know that you've got to keep every necessary fix with you at all times. Generally, it's a HUGE pain. People hear the pill bottles shake around if your bag is jostled, and the amount of pills you need to carry sometimes determines the size of the bag you carry, which can be a big issue at crowded events.

I've been brainstorming / researching clever ways to carry around a personal pharmacy without making it known to the entire world, and here are a few I've come up with:

• Plain old Ziploc baggies. These can be a pain since you have to make sure you always have enough meds stocked in your bag, but it's more compact and doesn't allow for any maraca-like noises.
• Pack-m-Ups. These are essentially weekly pill containers in Ziploc baggie form, and are great if you have several prescription things to take a different times of the day. Each baggie has a date and time label, and some come as little mini bags all sewn together, similar to a plastic weekly pill container.
• Pillfold / Pillpouch by Sara Gorman. These are super cute and compact, and offer different ways to carry meds, based on your preference. To top if off, 5% of each bag sold goes to a Lupus charity. The Pillpouch is a great way to keep pills with their appropriate labels.
• Altoids tins / film canisters / etc. Reduce, reuse, recycle! If you only have a few pills to keep track of, and know them well, you can combine them into little reusable containers you may have laying around the house. Granted, if, for some odd reason, you were to be search by an authority, you may be questioned by the amount of random pills you have shoved together.

I guess it all depends on what you want to accomplish when packing pills. Do you want privacy (i.e. no noise), convenience, or small size? What other ideas have you tried? Which ones have worked for you?

On the Rebound

Not like that!

I know a lot of my headaches nowadays are caused by OTC medication overuse, and that this could be a theoretically "easy" fix. All I have to do is stop taking them for a few days... and feel the wrath of my brain in response.

In the same breath, I know this is becoming very taxing on my body, and I need to get it under control before it gets any worse. So, I've been looking at a few articles that may be able to help me:

In a nutshell, here are a few things I'm going to try over the next couple weeks:

• Hydrate! I used to be really good about this, but not so much lately.
• Take something else if absolutely dire. I'll be switching to ibuprofen (and in severe cases, Imitrex) when need-be. Anything to get me away from taking so much Excedrin (acetomenaphin-based)!
• Don't give in! I know my body likes the caffeine in Excedrin, which is why it responds to it better than other drugs. If that means drinking my coffee first thing instead of second thing in morning, that's fine! I can handle that :)

Teri Robert also has a great answer to rebound headaches here.

Let me know what you've tried, or what suggestions you might have!

Shoes, shoes, shoes

My feet are super flat, which I rediscovered today when walking through the snow (the mid-April snow, mind you). My ankles cave inward each time I take a step, and this is especially noticeable in my winter boots. It makes me walk slower, makes walking painful, and just plain doesn't look good. I'm not naturally flat-footed - my feet regain their arch when I'm sitting - so I have faith that I can get my arches back completely before all hope is lost.

So, I'm in the process of getting ready to shell out the money for new shoes with better support. Here are a few I'm torn between:

Dansko 'Elise'

Saucony 'Bullet'

Scarpa 'Caipirinha'

These are all walking shoes, which is fine since I'm no athlete. I already walk around a lot as it is, and with plans to move to the Big Apple, I'll be needing all the support I can get (double entendre not necessarily intended). I really like the Dansko, but I'm leaning toward the Saucony because it's nicer on my pocketbook. 

I'm also looking at dressier shoes that maintain good support...

...but those will have to wait for another paycheck.

Thoughts?

Mind Over Matter

This article discusses not only a few alternative ways to battle pain, but also cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT). CBT is all about thinking of pain "neutrally," rather than thinking "this is going to keep me down for the day" or "why me?". If you can train your brain to react to pain as neutrally as possible, it will be less likely to overreact to pain in the future, leaving you with more manageable pain.

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/when-pain-medications-not-working

Thinking neutrally about oncoming headaches and migraines (particularly headaches) is really something I should work on. I always get a very pessimistic attitude about headaches, take medication, and then get upset that the medication isn't working. Overpowering the pain with my own mind would be a great way to get the meds out of my system, which is an ultimate goal of mine.

Have you ever tried something like CBT? Has it worked for you?

Headache Diaries

Since I'm going back to the drawing board, I'm realizing I need to keep a consistent headache diary to help me figure out what the heck is going on.

Knowing I have a tendency to forget to take my diary with me when it's in notebook form, I first looked at apps for my phone.

I lost interest pretty quickly, but the one I did actually look into (Headache Diary Lite) kind of sucks. When inputting the info for a new headache, it asks for specifics like time, type, duration and severity, which is great. But then it asks what the root cause was, and gives options like alcohol, allergies, menstruation, etc., to choose from. Isn't the point of a headache diary to track pretty much everything you do in a day to figure out what might be causing them? If I already knew what the root cause was, I wouldn't be needing a diary in the first place!

So, I'm sticking with old school pen and paper diaries, and so far being much more diligent about it than I have in the past. So far, each entry goes a little something like this:

• What all did I eat today (preferably in order)?
• Did I wear my splint (mouthguard) last night?
• How many hours of sleep did I get?
• How many ounces of water did I drink today?
• Did I work today? For how long?
• Did I get a headache / migraine? When, how severe was it, and what did I take?
• What other things did I do out of the ordinary today?

The headaches I generally wake up with haven't been the same these past few days, so I haven't noticed any patterns yet, but I'm sure I will soon.

The other great thing about keeping a list of everything I've eaten is that I'm now very aware of all the crap I put in my body everyday, and can start motivating myself a little easier to eat better. It's making shedding that pesky winter weight much easier!

Do you keep a headache diary? What kinds of things do you include in your entries?

April Headache / Migraine Blog Carnival

I wish I would have learned about this sooner - it's a great little themed digest of featured blogs on Somebody Heal Me. This month's theme is all about unexpected blessings that can come when living with chronic migraines and headache disorders. Check out April's carnival here. I definitely recommend these readings!

Back to the Drawing Board

It was a looong weekend, and I'd like to think that's the reason for this weird headachy - migrainy thing I woke up with too early this morning.

But I have no idea.

I remember that it was summertime last year when I was waking up with these really terrible throbbing headaches that were different from my typical headaches / migraines, which is similar to what I'm dealing with now. Rather than pain on one side of my head and neck, the pain is spread across my forehead and the base of my neck, and in full swing. But oddly, it's more easily controlled by something like Excedrin, and usually doesn't require an Imitrex (thankfully).

Maybe it's something to do with the weather? I had headaches my first few days in Key West, but once I adjusted I felt great.

I've been "diagnosed" with tension headaches nearly my entire life (who's to say what they really were / are?), and this type of pain matches the description of one. But it also coincides with a few symptoms of cluster headaches, which I've never really looked into, so I'm not really sure.

I think it's time to go back to the drawing board with this daily / nightly experiment (the one that never really happened in the first place, ha!), and figure out what I can avoid during the day and especially before bed.

What are some things you do in the evening and at bedtime to avoid waking up with a headache?

Welcome Back

Well, hello there. Hope your Easter went well, pain-free, and that you could enjoy your time with family. I felt pretty lazy all weekend, and wasn't really motivated to write about anything. But no news is good news, right? :)


Spring has been teasing us lately, but I think the hints of it in the air are helping me feel better in general. The larger and more regular amounts of sunshine are definitely giving me a mental and emotional boost.

The melatonin experiment didn't exactly go as hoped; I'd been taking melatonin for a few nights in a row, and was noticing less headaches in the mornings. It must have been a coincidence, because I haven't noticed any significant changes lately, and seem to be regressing back to where I was before. It seems that if I get less sleep at night (6 - 7 hours), I'm less apt to wake up with a headache. I can do this with no problem for a few days, especially if I'm getting a steady 7 hours every night, but eventually the lack of sleep starts to take a toll. But I'd still take being tired over having a headache.

How was your Easter weekend? We're you able to do everything you wanted to do, or make any new discoveries?