MHAM Blog Challenge, Day 13: Sophie's Choice

What are the toughest treatment choices you face when balancing Migraine / Headache Disorders with other health conditions?

It always comes down to what will be better for my body. Unfortunately, what will be better for my body usually isn't as effective as medication.

I started taking  Topamax when I was in my third year of college. I had just transferred to a new school away from home and had just turned 21. You know what that means! I went out at least once (usually twice or thrice) each weekend, and my hangovers continued to get worse and worse morning. But I wanted to spend "quality" time with my friends, so I ignored the issue and kept going back.

Until someone finally told me how lethal the combo of Topamax and alcohol really is.

When first prescribed, no one had bothered to tell me how dangerous Topamax can be, especially when consuming alcohol. I had read the label, but it simply said, "Do not consume alcohol while taking this drug." I read that as, "If you are drinking, don't take a dose in the same night." Welp, problem solved!

When a kind pharmacist questioned my migraines and what I was taking for them, and then found out I was partying all the time, he recommended stopping Topamax immediately (and drinking for a while, too). He informed me that I was actually lucky to be alive with a functioning liver.

So I take that into consideration every time I take something for a headache or migraine, but I know that doing an alternative just won't always be what I need to get through a day of pain. There lies my biggest battle.

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June, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is issued by FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

MHAM Blog Challenge, Day 12: The Box

What situation in your Migraine / Headache Disorders treatment has made you feel like a lab rat?


"Here, let's try this. Nothing? How about this? Maybe this?"

I went through a slew of different "preventative" medications when I was first diagnosed with migraine, like antidepressants, muscle relaxers, and various beta blockers. I also went through the same type of ordeal when my migraine flared up again in college, but with different medications like anti-inflammatories, birth control, and of course, more beta blockers. Nothing worked, and they usually just had nasty side effects to deal with.

When Treximet first came out, my doctor at the time wanted me to "try this new medication." She even told me I was her first patient to use it, and frequently asked me how it was working.

Going through all these different "trials" took a toll on my body, and that probably caused more headaches and migraine at the time than anything. I'm happy to be doing my own "experiments" now like chiropractic, aromatherapy, and diet changes, and I feel like these are having a much better effect on my headaches and my body.

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June, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is issued by FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

MHAM Blog Challenge, Day 10: Ocean's Eleven (my favorite movie!)

Who's part of your Migraine / Headache Disorders care team? What essential roles still need to be filled?

Of course, the best part of my team are these wonderful folks, first and foremost. Next I would add...

My chiropractor.
Well, technically I'm in between chiropractors right now and don't have one to call "my own," but I believe my last chiropractor really changed my life. She uses an "arthostim," which essentially taps repeatedly at your spine in order to adjust it, rather than manipulate and crack it. While it takes a little longer term to start making a noticeable difference, it's more comfortable and effective in the longrun. As she puts it, "If you're going to approach someone and want a positive response, do you tap them on the shoulder or do you shove them?"

My TMJ dentist.
I'd still be having some serious issues if I hadn't found him. Simply wearing a personalized splint (bitegaurd) at night and polishing my teeth so that they are even has done wonders for me. While I still occasionally experience jaw pain, I no longer get the random, unexplainable, mid-day headaches that I used to before seeing him.

My last doctor.
While she didn't know a lot about headaches or migraines and couldn't suggest much beyond what anyone else ever had, she was the first medical doctor who was willing to listen and be a little creative about the situation. She was able to motivate me to try new alternatives.

How about you? Who's on your care team?

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June, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is issued by FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

MHAM Blog Challenge, Day 6: Premonition

Where would you like to see treatment options for Migraine and Headache Disorders go in the future?

I would like to see more alternative and holistic options become available to people at better prices. Granted, the prices can't go down until more people start using these services, so it's a bit of a Catch 22. Nonetheless, I think medicine-free pain relief alternatives are a great way to go. They may not always seem as effective or long-lasting as pain killers and relievers, but they are easier on the rest of your body.

I would also like to see more headache specialists (those with both knowledge and empathy) become more readily available in places that don't have many yet. It's difficult (and costly) to see a specialist you've been referred to when said specialist is many hours away.

And, like everyone else, I really just want someone to create the Magic Pill that just makes all these problems go away :)

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June, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is issued by FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

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?

Holistic Chamber of Commerce

The Holistic Chamber of Commerce (HCC) is a cool little ditty not much different from a "regular" Chamber of Commerce. It's a national commerce with chapters in various cities with the intent of educating holistic care providers about better business practices.

The idea (though not always true) is that many holistic care providers do what they do because their purpose in life is to help others, and many of them would do that for free if they could afford it. They have to start a profitable business - not necessarily because they want to, but have to. Therefore, some of these providers aren't so savvy at the business side of things, and could maybe use a little help.

That's where the HCC comes in, providing resources, conventions and meeting, and networking opportunities for its members. It can also be a great way for people to find alternative / holistic health care in their area. My chiropractor has been working on starting a local chapter in Southern Minnesota, and hopes to be up-and-running with a board, meetings, and members within the next month or so.

I know many people in similar situations as mine get fed up with clinics, hospitals, and drugs, and look to alternative forms of relief, so I wanted to make others aware of the HCC. Check to see if there's a chapter in your area, and what suggestions they might have for you!

SootheAway

This SootheAway thing is mildly intriguing... But not for $300. Especially not when I could do hot / cold therapy myself with a hot rice bag and ice.

Maybe when I have a real job I'll give it a shot :)

In other news, today was another day free of the use of pain relievers. I know a lot of the minor headaches I have in the mornings are all in my head (no pun intended), but I'll take one or half of one Excedrin out of total paranoia anyway. So, I'm pretty proud of myself, and I hope I can keep it up!

Post-Vacay Blues

Ugggh. I think my brain is telling me I should've stayed in Key West.

Our last morning in Key West, I woke up completely headache free for the first time in months. Our first morning back home (despite how depressing it was to wake up in dreary Minnesota), I was again headache free. Two whole days without the aid of any kind of pain reliever. I haven't pulled that off in years.

And I felt good. Proud that I had beaten a major obstacle. A sense of better health and healing, whether it was true or not.

Then Saturday morning happened.

It wasn't that bad. I let it slide. Blamed it on bad hydration practices or too many bad foods the day before.

Sunday came. Slightly worse. But Saturday had been a long day. And PMS was on the rise.

Today. Migraine all day - until I finally caved and took Imitrex, anyway. Hard telling what the cause may be.

I may never beat morning headaches, but I have to beat the daily Excedrin. It's killing me - mentally and physically.

If it's a caffeine withdrawal, I can do that. I don't mind having a cup of coffee or tea first thing every morning. I'm also looking into more topical relief, like the use of essential oils. Hopefully, they are affordable and worth it.

Maybe it is a climate thing. Hopefully, I can move somewhere warm soon and put this all behind me. Let my liver heal up a little bit.

Maybe I'll just go be a hermit, selling seashells in Key West. Who's with me? :)

Until then, I'll just keep plugging away...

Any suggestions and support would be greatly appreciated :)

Binaural Beats

I think I tried binaural beats to battle a headache / oncoming migraine once through an app I had on my Kindle. Maybe I didn't give it enough time, and lost my patience and took medicine too soon.

From what I think I understand from Wikipedia, one beat of a certain frequency is played in one ear, and one beat of a slightly different frequency is played in the other ear. In summary, these frequencies can entrain certain brainwaves, which can help with meditation, pain control, creativity, etc.

This website explains binaural beats in a much more understandable way:

"When two tones of specific frequencies are played through headphones, the brain can become confused and produce its own, imagined tone—a three-dimensional audio hallucination heard only within the head of the listener. The frequencies that produce this phenomenon are known as Binaural Beats. 

What is happening is that the brain is not used to hearing frequencies in each ear so close together and with such intensity—these sounds do not occur in nature and so a mechanism in our brains has not evolved to understand them. Instead, the superior olivary nucleus, the area of the brain which controls aspects of three-dimensional sound perception, bridges the difference between the varying frequencies in Binaural Beats with a common “third tone” in an attempt to normalize this audio into something we can understand. What’s weirder is that each person hears the “third tone” differently: People with Parkinson’s disease can’t hear it at all; women will hear different tones as they move through their menstrual cycle."

WEIRD.

So it makes a lot of sense that I didn't notice anything funky without listening through headphones, I'll have to try that next time.

Have you ever tried binaural beats to combat brain pain, or something else? Did they work for you?

Beats intended to provide pain relief:

Beats for meditation / astral projection / lucid dreaming:

Aromatherapy

I've never tried aromatherapy as a pain reliever; I've always assumed it would take too long, or is too inconvenient to be effective. But after doing a little research, I've realized I'm dead wrong. You should always try something once!

Shamefully, I'd always assumed essential oils could only be used in aromatherapy by using the tools necessary to heat the oil and scent the air. I was way wrong:

Today, essential oils are extracted from the plants used for aromatherapy, making them very concentrated. The two basic ways aromatherapy is accomplished is by applying the oils to the skin and by inhalation. The term "aromatherapy" can be a bit misleading because it's not only the aroma that is therapeutic. The oils also interact with body chemistry directly, thus affecting certain systems and organs. You can demonstrate this yourself by rubbing garlic on the soles of your feet. After awhile, the garlic aroma will be evident on your breath.  (http://headaches.about.com/cs/alternative/l/aa_aromatherapy.htm)

What? That's pretty cool.

Now I'm most interested in finding "recipes" that can be used topically to soothe and relieve pain. Here are a few blends I've found:

• Blend #1: 8 Drops Lavender Oil, 4 Drops Roman Chamomile, 1 oz. Carrier Oil
• Blend #2: 4 Drops Spearmint Essential Oil, 4 Drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil, 1 oz. Carrier Oil
• Blend #3: 4 Drops Helichrysum Essential Oil, 8 Drops Roman Chamomile, 1 oz. Carrier Oil
• Blend #4: 4 Drops Spearmint Essential Oil, 8 Drops Lavender Essential Oil, 1 oz. Carrier Oil       (http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/aromatherapy-essential-oils-for-headaches.asp)

The article also recommends that despite how strong your headache may be or feel, essential oils are incredibly powerful, and less is more.

Another great benefit of aromatherapy is that the side effects of essential oils are less intense and frequent than those of otc and prescription pain relievers, when used as recommended.

What about you? Have you tried aromatherapy in any way? Has it worked? What blends or recipes have you tried? We're anxious to know! :)

OTC Pain Relief

I ran across this little slideshow on WebMD last night. It has a few scary reminders - encouragement to find drug-free pain relief alternatives.

http://www.webmd.com/drug-medication/otc-pain-relief-10/slideshow-pain-relievers

Have you experienced any unpleasant side effects when taking OTC pain relievers? What alternatives have you tried?