Who Knows Anymore?

After desperately wanting to get away from New York these past few months, I made my escape back to Iowa this past weekend to help throw a surprise retirement party for my parents (a HUGE success, by the way). Since the heatwave was dying off, and I would be going home to relax and simply enjoy life, I assumed my headaches would be less intense and frequent and I would be able to work on tackling MOH a little.

NOPE.

My first morning back home started with a pretty intense migraine - I haven't had a problem with a morning migraine like this one since last summer. Excedrin took the edge off, but I still battled a headache for the rest of the day. It could have been a multitude of things - very little sleep the day before, too much caffeine the day before, pollen and dust in the air from the fields, or a variety of other possible triggers.

The next morning was nearly the same, though less intense. My third and last morning in Iowa produced almost no headache at all. I just don't get it!

It's so hard to determine triggers to avoid when there seems to be no pattern to my headaches and migraines, or consistency in intensity. What's a girl to do?

Happy Memories

We all know this: There are good days and there are bad days. Sometimes, the bad days aren't even related to physical pain. Sometimes it's just a down day.

For reasons left unexplained, yesterday afternoon was a day like that for me. I was in a sour mood that I just couldn't shake, and it left me unmotivated and mopey all day.

In an attempt to cheer up, I got out and walked a bit last night to clear my head and get some fresh air. I bumped into an Hispanic couple with a young child at a local deli, and was immediately reminded of a fun little incident that happened to me several years ago.

***

I was back home in Iowa, visiting a friend who worked at a local convenience store, when a Mexican man and his little boy came into the store. The man had just put gas in his car and was getting ready to pay, but the little boy kept telling his father that he wanted a treat, so Dad finally caved and let the boy wander while he paid for the gas.

The little boy wandered around the aisles for several minutes, eyeballing all the candy and crappy convenience store toys. Each time he reached the end of an aisle, he would stop, stare, then grin goofily at me (a grin I returned), and then would continue down the next aisle after being coaxed by his dad.

Finally, Dad gave up and told the boy it was time to go, and took him outside. My friend and I smiled at the cute experience, and began to go about our conversation.

Moments later, the door opened. Who else but the boy and his father, back to look for treats (what a patient dad!). The boy continued his journey around the same aisles, still not satisfied with what he saw. He stopped as he reached the end of the last aisle.

Slowly, the boy stepped closer to me, continuing to smile. Again, Dad was losing patience. 

"Vamos! Tú quiéres?" Let's go! What do you want?

The boy looked bashfully at me, then turned to his father and said, "Quiero ella." I want her.

The father looked at me, laughed, and said, "Ella? She's not for sale!"

With that information, the boy turned and headed out the door. His dad smiled and winked at me (in a non-creepy way) before following.

I walked in the clouds for the rest of the day.

***

I try to remember moments like this when I'm feeling down or ill, and my day is usually instantly brightened, even if only for a little while. I think it's something anyone could try from time to time.

What are some happy memories that lift your spirit?

Those Damn Triggers

One of the most frustrating things for headache and migraine sufferers everywhere has got to be triggers.

It can take years for one to figure out just what seems to be causing the problem, and just like that, triggers can change.

Or, a trigger that hasn't been present for a while may have subtly re-introduced itself to the equation again, without even being realized.

Or, there can be too many triggers all at once, and it's hard to pinpoint which is the most problematic and needs to be addressed first. This is the problem for me right now.

Having just moved to NYC from calm and laid-back Iowa / Minnesota, lots of things in my routine have changed. Now I seem to be back to the grind with headaches I can't quite get the hang of again.

For instance, yesterday I fought the early signs of a headache all afternoon, and finally had to take something in the evening when it got problematic enough. There are sooo many things that could have been a factor - heat, poor diet, caffeine, MOH, bad posture, not seeing a chiro regularly, not using my glasses regularly, not wearing my jaw splint at night - and I'm struggling with which one to tackle first.

Some of them are relatively easy: Wearing my jaw splint and glasses when I should, fixing my diet some, and watching caffeine intake are all pretty easy to remedy. But it's hard to battle the heat when you're trying to conserve energy and difficult to find a chiropractor in a city where you have so many options to choose from.

But we just keep swimming anyway, am I right?

What are some triggers you've been battling this hot and sticky summer?

Heat is Hard

Summertime is supposed to be fun. Long days at the beach or lake, booze-filled Saturdays with nothing else to do, and campfires with fun, terrible-for-you foods. Or sometimes, a combination of all three of those things in the same day.

But it's hard to have fun doing those things when the heat affects you so severely and quickly. I can never seem to enjoy myself in the hottest parts of the day for more than an hour or two, and alcohol isn't even really an option in the summertime. Campfires, though, I can get into :)

I just feel like I have a constant dull headache all the time, which usually gets worse before I go to bed and stays that way through the morning. Some days are better than others, but it's especially hard when I'm not living someplace with central A/C (one of NYC's summertime downsides, along with all the putrid smells).

I spend a lot of time pressing a damp cloth or ice pack to my face to relieve some of the discomfort. I also move our portable A/C around the house with me, which can be a big hassle.

How does the heat affect you? What do you do to battle it?

Getting Out of the Kitchen

So much for the blog challenge, eh?

I dumped nail polish remover all over my keyboard early last week and destroyed it, so finishing up the challenge I was already not doing so well at became difficult. Oh well, maybe next year... Though, I'm happy to hear that our efforts are finally starting to make an impact.

It's that time of year again where it becomes difficult to escape the heat, especially without central air conditioning. Fortunately, for whatever strange reason this year, despite the heat my traditional heat-induced headaches and migraines haven't been nearly as frequent or severe. I wonder what that's all about.

But they're not gone completely. On really bad days where it's not only hot but I also have to run around outside all day, it can get bad. It's like I wake up with it, take some OTCs along with a cool shower, and it tapers off for a while. Then I get back out in the heat and it gradually comes back. By the end of the day, I go to bed feeling about the same as I did when I woke up.

Whatever the case, it's a work in progress that's slowly getting better. What do you do to escape the heat and the headaches that can come with them?