Migraines and Me

I received and e-mail message a few days ago from someone who followed my blog back when I had daily chronic migraine headaches. She hadn’t read in a few years, and when she stumbled across my blog again recently she noticed I no longer talked about my Migraines (can we get an Amen???). She asked what I had done to stop my migraines, or at least control them. When I was responding to her e-mail I realized there are probably a few others who might be wondering the same thing, and since most of my archives have been deleted (although I am considering bring them back) I should post here what worked for me and my migraines. So the following is the e-mail response I sent to the afore mentioned commenter:


I wouldn't say I'm cured of my migraine, but defiantly don't get them regularly or frequently anymore!! The first thing I did was switch my medication to a different daily preventative (which I can't even remember the name of anymore). Then I stopped taking birth control, and also started watching my diet. I cut out all caffeine (coke was a big one for me) and chocolate, processed cheese and other things that are clearly bad for you. Then I started going to a massage therapist weekly. This was a therapist that was trained in acupressure, and was very knowledgeable about headaches and how to treat them, so if you are going to try massage, make sure you shop around and get someone who knows what they are doing!
After about 6months my headaches were very rare, so I stopped taking the daily medication to see if I still needed it. Which, thank goodness, I didn't! Then I slowly started to spread out my massages, going once every two weeks, and then monthly, and now I only go when I need it (if my neck is particularly tense, or if I'm getting a few migraines or headaches in a row). It was at this time that I got pregnant, so the birth control was no longer an issue. After I was pregnant I went on a birth control where I only got my period once every 3 months, that way my body could get back into a normal routine and get used to the hormonal changes slowly. After my body was used to that, I switched to an IUD, so I have no artificial hormones and no meds right now!

I am so happy this worked for me, I am now at a point where I get a couple migraines every now and again, and they are usually well handled with my Maxalt or if it's a regular headache, I alternate between Advil and Tylenol so my body doesn't get used to one or the other.

This worked great for me, I really think my body needed to be detoxed, which is why the med change and then diet change helped me, my body had got into a rhythm of pain, and it needed something to break that cycle.

I'm at a point now where I still don't eat processed cheeses, but I can have coke and chocolate in moderation without getting a headache right away. I do still watch what I eat, try to eat organic and healthy and stay away from the crap.

I think for me it was very important to just start listening to my body, and learn my cues so I know what triggers a headache for me, and what I need to do to stop that cycle from happening.

Headaches and migraines are so very unique to each individual, so what worked for me might not work for you, but you can take bits and pieces of what worked for other people and create system that works for you.



*** I’d also like to take a quick second to thank everyone who has commented here lately. I since I’ve started posting here again, I sometimes wonder why I even bother, since I lost all my readers when I shut things down last summer. Getting comments really does motivate me to take better care of this space, and to keep writing, which is so therapeutic for me. So thank you! And to the troll comment left here recently, thank you as well! My first troll!! How proud I was to read that, because everyone knows you haven’t made it in blog land until you are trolled! ;)

I Rock

Somedays I just kinda feel like I rock. And today, was one of those days!
You know the feeling that you get when you make, fresh from scratch Corn Salad and then when you are done you CLEAN THE KITCHEN, all while your child is napping?

No? You don't know that feeling? Well I do know that feeling, and today, right this min, I feel like I rock.

of Friends and Family

Well THAT was a longer break then I had anticipated! Sorry about that! Things just got crazy around here, and I was out of the habit of blogging, and well, it obviously just didn't get done.

Rather then drone on and on about what I've been up to (vacation in PEI, trying to sell the house, busy with both jobs), I'd like to just talk for a bit about something that's been on my mind lately.

I was raised to cherish my family, that family, all family, near and far are important, are THE MOST important things in our lives. Our families are what grounds us, family is what teaches us who we are.

I always thought that once you were family, you made an effort to get to know each other, to support each other, and to be there for each other. But I'm beginning to see that that's not always the case. I've found that there are a lot of members of my family, who are only "family" when convenient. Who are only there for you if they feel like it, or if it benifits them in some way.

I've been told a few times that I'm not invited to welcome to certain "family" event because it was an event only for "close friends and family". And I stopped and wondered, am I not family? I mean when does family stop? Is it only siblings, and our parents? Or do cousins count? If cousins’ count, do the people your cousins marry count?? For me personally, they ALL count, family is family, and I don't draw lines one way or the other.

I often feel like I have made an effort to get to know new members of my family, only to be treated as an outsider. Is it because I don't go to the same church as they do? Or, because I'm not Christian enough for them? I know it takes more effort to get to know me, if you don't see me once a week in church, but I always thought that family was worth it.

When they were hurting, I was hurting, I cried tears of sadness when they experienced tragedy even though I didn't "know" all of them. I’ve celebrated with them when they got married, or had babies. Why? Because they are FAMILY, because families are supposed to look out for each other, and be there for each other.

But the more I think about this, the more I believe that our friends are the family that we choose. I have been blessed in my life with some really good friends, friends who take the time to make an effort to get to know me, and friends who are there for me whether it's convenient for them or not.

I don't want to get jaded, and I don't want to put walls up and block people out of my life, but I sometimes wonder, at what point is it ok to stop trying? or IS it ok to stop trying? If family isn't as important to someone else as it is to you, then what?

I don't really know if this post is going to make a lot of sense, I'm still really trying to get everything straight in my own mind... but please feel free to add your input, or personal experience in the comments, I'd love to hear what you have to say about family, friends, and everything in between.

Eight

The UV index was 8 today, which is crazy high. The actually temperature, well I'm not sure, but with an index like that, well it was HOT out.

After going to the park with Donovan an my sister, and him running around like a mad man, it was time to go home. On the way we stopped at the local deli to pick up some freshly stuffed chicken breasts, and well what do you know? They have a slush machine there, and we were ALL dying of thirst.

So I bought myself and my sister and slush, and got an extra straw for Donovan, with the intention of "scooping" him some slush on the walk home to tide him over.

And in what can only be classified as a "remember a couple years ago, when you said, I will NEVER let MY kid do THAT" moment, Donovan ended up walking home with his own slush, and Mommy? Well Mommy was happy to be granted the privilege of a sip every now and again.


************in other completely unrelated news:

It was a pretty good day over all, went to the gym this morning, and after the coke I just finished this evening, I have re-committed to my healthy eating plan. Summer is so hard for me not to snack, the hot weather makes me crave coke, and the long evenings just scream "eat eat eat". So tonight, I've declared to once again cut back on the snacking.

What I've Been Up To?

Friday I finally got my Mothers Day Gift. I've been talking about wanting a tattoo for over a year now, and this year for Mothers Day, Jamie got me an appointment (with in my opinion the best artist in town) and Friday was the day!

I was so pumped to get this tattoo, it means a lot more to me then just a flower tattoo. One of the meanings is that there are three flowers on the tattoo, each represents the three members of our family (me, Jamie and Donovan). The background bud represents the background of our lives, Ruby, and also the baby that we lost. For those of you that don't know, I had a very early miscarriage before we got pregnant with Donovan.

It also represents Strength. The past year I have come to realize how much inner strength I actually have, so this tattoo represents that to me as well. The strength is also a reminder to me because of where I got it. The ribs are one of the most painful places to get a tattoo, and sitting (laying) for this one for 3.5 hours definitely took every ounce of strength that I had.

So thank you Jamie for this amazing gift, I absolutely LOVE it! Can't wait for it to heal and I can start wearing a bra again! ;)

Mothers Day

How I spent my Mothers Day.

Hugs from the greatest Son a mom could ask for!!

Watching the men of my life go for a walk (one of my favorite pictures of them together. Only wish I had used the D80 rather then the coolpix to shoot this, would like to blow it up).

If only he didn't just shove whatever food he was eating in his mouth, lol. When you spend the day at Grandma's and Grandpa's, you are always eating!

How do you not LOVE this face???

My two guys! Thanks for making the day so special! (The gift they got me, I will actually be receiving on June 12th, I'll upload pictures when it's done, until then, you will have to stay in suspense).

It was a great day!

And even better news, the next day at the gym when I was weighed and measured, I found out, in the last month, I'm down 4.5inches overall!! Can we say WOOOOWHOOO! 1 inch of each thigh, an inch off the hips and some more loss from the waist and arms! I was absolutely floored to get those results, and laughed when I told the trainer, "no wonder my jeans have been fitting better!" Project Me, so far, huge success. I've also upped my training at the gym this month (still 3 times a week, but add about 5-10mins to the work out and upped the intensity) so I'm really excited to see my body start to change into a more toned one!! Summer here I come!!

I hope you all had a great mothers day!!!

Surprise Trip

So last night we were talking to Jamie's parents, and on top of Cheryl's (Jamie's mom) need to back surgery and a hip replacement, she just came down with Shingles.

I couldn't take it anymore, I HATE being so far away from them, I miss them so much, and I haven't seen any of them since July.

So this morning, Jamie and I talked about it, and I booked a ticket to go to PEI for a couple weeks. Jamie won't be able to get time off work on such short notice, but Donovan and I will leave on the 5th and return on the 19th. My stomach is flip flopping with excitement and nerves!

Busy as a Bee

Jamie was gone for the last 10 days to the Canadian Armature Boxing Championships. He didn't win the title, but he fought really well and has a chance to go to "box-offs" and make the National B Team, so I am really proud of him (as I usually am!). To welcome him home, I designed this poster of him, and had it blown up and hung on the wall.

I'm very please with how it turned out. One of my first photoshop successes!

It was also a busy week for me. Part of my New Years resolution was to take better care of ME, and in doing that, I needed to take better care of the house, get organized and feel "home" in our house. So I was busy busy busy, cleaning, de-cluttering, organizing, assembling new furniture, and oh ya, tiling the last of the back splash in the kitchen!

I will be posting pictures of my progress soon! Jamie was really happy with what I got done while he was away (it was all a surprise) and I'm sure he is wanting to go away again soon so I will continue with my work! lol