Web www.thesassylime.blogspot.com

Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact. -- William James


i read a super entry over at In Sickness and In Health the other day -- this just helps remind me how much my blogroll needs a revamping. she should be on my blogroll, along with 5 or 6 new favorite pain blogs.

Barbara talks about not only the many social difficulties associated with chronic pain, but the difficulties it brings to a marriage relationship, as well. thus, the hard conversations. pain is hard, but for me, it's not nearly as hard as the feeling that i'm missing out on my own life. i hate cancelling at the last minute and sitting out while others are working or playing hard. these are the tough choices pain forces you to make for yourself.

Read it. :)

Labels: great entries, other bloggers, pain, pain issues

Well, I'm so excited to tell you guys about this! i was interviewed for WEGO health -- a site for health activitists. they did a spotlight interview on me, isn't that cool? i don't think i've ever been interviewed for my blog before.

and i know that i have a couple of newer readers who may not have hunted through the archives for my full medical history (believe me, i don't blame you) -- this is your chance to get an encapsulated view of my life and health!

enjoy!

Labels: headaches, health, pain issues, spotlight, WEGO

Pain -- expands the Time --
Ages coil within
The minute Circumference
Of a single Brain --

Pain contracts -- the Time --
Occupied with Shot
Gamuts with Eternities
Are as they were not --


I didn't sleep last night. not just didn't sleep much....i didn't sleep at all. d'oh. we went to bed at midnight, and then by 2 i hadn't gotten to sleep. i felt like it was too late then to take a sleeping pill, i didn't want to 'throw off my sleeping schedule'. ha! if i could tell me then when what me now is facing! i'm hoping to take a 4 hour nap and still get to sleep tonight....my sleeping schedule is down the tubes. ah well. you do what you can. i'm sure all of you who have been new mothers are just chuckling right now thinking, ah it's just been one night...get over yourself...

i feel like i'm moving in slow motion -- and i'm nauseous and good heavens it does not do good things for my migraine, that's for sure. they say the relationship between sleep and migraines is not well understood, but let me tell you; i understand it well enough. if i don't get 8 hours - things are getting ugly. ;-) that's just the (unfortunate) way of things.

my dear husband made me some pancakes for breakfast to settle my stomach, and went off to work. so i'm going to try and get a little bit of sleep! we'll see how it goes. :)

Labels: migraines, nonsense, pain issues, sleep

Labels: funny, meds, pain issues, pharmacy

Labels: blog carnival, pain issues

that's right, i'm back home. i was in chicago again, this time (thankfully) just overnight. no hospitalization for me this time. i went back for a follow-up appointment with my doctor at the diamond headache clinic. it went well, he adjusted my medications and added another med to (hopefully) help control the pain better. we shall see.

overall i felt like it went well. it was the first time i've traveled by myself with a migraine. i was nervous. i was nervous something would go wrong -- that i'd be flustered, that i'd look like an easy mark to mug, that i'd have trouble making the connections i needed to in the city. many of you know exactly what it's like to live in pain: it's hard to do what needs to be done when you're in pain. it's hard to think and it's hard to keep your wits about you.

obviously everything worked out just fine.

and, BONUS! i missed the earthquake this morning! sweet!

if you are in need of an extra dose of humility, i recommend flying as a passenger on a small airplane during high winds. i haven't prayed with such urgency for a long time. the wings were swaying back and forth - i was worried that one big gust was going to come along, and we'd just flip right over and bite the dust. thankfully, we landed without incident. also gratefully, the plane on the way back was bigger. :)

Labels: diamond headache clinic, headaches, pain issues, traveling

so i thought i would write a little bit about coping with migraines -- what i see as the major facets of coping with chronic migraines. my current situation is a bit different (for me) than it was when i was having episodic migraines, once every month or two. now i am in pain every day, all day. i wake up with a headache, and it's there all day till i go to sleep at night. hopefully some of this will apply to those of you reading here, i know my situation is somewhat (thank goodness!) unique.

to me, there are 4 different parts of coping with migraines. they are the pain, nausea, discouragement, and sleep difficulties that come with migraines. here are my ideas on each topic.

1.Pain

resting in a quiet, dark room -- kind of a given. but for those who haven't experienced migraines, i thought i'd give you the full scope, even things that seem obvious.

i like a cold pack on my forehead -- some people like heat. some people like the cold or heat on the back of their neck. some find a hot shower or bath helpful.

of course there are medications for treating the pain - i'm no expert by any means, so i will link to a few articles that are helpful. here is a list of preventative medications that can be used for migraines. usually preventatives are considered if you are having several migraines a month. i'm not sure what the actual # is -- i'm sure it varies from doctor to doctor anyway. and here is an article about the medications used for treating migraines. and while we're on the topic of using medication, we'd better mention medication overuse (rebound) headaches. don't use your abortive medication too often!

2. Nausea/vomiting

this can be a huge problem or a small part of your situation, depending. i have some nausea, but rarely does it progress to vomiting. i'm lucky. but nevertheless, who likes to be nauseated? so here's my tips and tricks for nausea, in the order i usually try them:
a) mint gum (could also be mint tea or mint candies)
b) 7up or club soda -- i'm leaning towards the club soda lately because i don't like the idea of drinking so much sugar
c) ginger tea
d) emetrol
e) reglan -- my prescription anti-nausea pill
f) from here it's just rinse and repeat -- i try to continue eating bland food, skipping meals will only make the nausea worse and the migraine pain much worse

3. Discouragement

like nausea, this can range from a small problem to full-on depression. i'm sure that having a good support system helps prevent a lot of discouragement, but i also think that even with the best, kindest, and most supportive family (which i believe i have), a person is bound to get discouraged and upset at times if she's in pain all the time.

one of the best things i've found to combat my emotional pain is this idea: This pain is bad, but i've been through pain like this before, and I can get through this too.
it helps keep me from catastrophizing the situation and making it seem harder than it is or like i'm somehow not going to make it through. there are also numerous scriptures that have helped me through difficult times -- i'll share one here "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philipians 4:13. i realize that not everyone is religious, but for me, religion is something i can lean on when things get hard, and has helped me make it through.

4. Sleep difficulties

sleep is hugely important for migraineurs. too little (or too much, they say) and you are bound to suffer the next day. but it can be difficult to get good sleep when you are having regular migraines. it helped me to make it a priority with my doctors to 'fix' my sleep -- if i wasn't regularly able to get to sleep and stay asleep, i let them know and made sure we found solutions. thankfully this problem was easily remedied for me. until i was getting reasonable amounts of sleep (when the migraines first began to be chronic), the entire situation was worse and more difficult to deal with because of the poor quality and lack of sleep i was getting. i guess i just want to point out the importance of a good night's sleep. it's worth the trouble of keeping regular hours and doing all you can to rest well.

hopefully this is helpful for someone -- or even just a reminder that you're not along in your migraine pain. :-)

Labels: headaches, migraines, nausea, pain, pain issues, sleep

well -- it's time! i fly out tomorrow morning for my appointment. today will be packing and laundry.


my main point for this entry is that i (probably) have to take a blogging break because of this --they are probably going to put me inpatient for a little while. there's no telling until my appointment on thursday how long i'll be in chicago. the receptionist, who set me up with all my paperwork, said it'd probably between 5 and 14 days inpatient...

the kicker is (for my blog friends), no laptops at the hospital. :-(

let's have a moment of silence, shall we?

no internet - no surfing the world wide web. ah, i will miss you, friends.

when i get back, i will tell you all about the appointment and how it all goes. wish me luck!

ETA: a great article about chronic illness and how it doesn't make sense.

Labels: diamond headache clinic, pain issues

EDITED TO ADD the link to the letter....duh!

have you ever done that thing where you THINK it's friday, but actually it's thursday? that was me yesterday.

D'OH!


saturday is probably my favorite day of the week, because i get to spend all day with my sweetie; he doesn't have to go to work, we can hang out around the house and/or run errands together. so then last night spencir tells me it's only thursday!? wow.

here i am, friday again.

read a great entry over at The Daily Headache -- a letter to friends and family, regarding the nature of chronic pain. it's one of those things that i just nod the whole way through -- yes, yes!

in reality, i'm very lucky to have such supportive family. nevertheless, having chronic pain is just....it's just weird. it's just the kind of thing that doesn't make sense, and many people can't imagine what it'd be like to be in pain all the time. i know i never considered it until it happened to me!

have a great weekend, party people. :)

Labels: headaches, pain issues, randomness, the information super-highway

today was my physical therapy appointment. really it was more like "physical therapy". because my pain doc said i was going to go see the physical therapist again. i mentioned that the *last* time i saw her (the PT), the physical therapist said she didn't think there was anything she could do to help my headaches. my doctor said that the PT had some new ideas, they had just talked that morning.

sooo of course i was hopeful going into this appointment. we sat down, and she said my pain doc asked her to work with me NOT to improve my headaches (because she didn't feel there was anything she could do) but to help me set up an exercise program. nice. soooo this of course makes me feel a little tricked and disappointed. mostly disappointed that he made me believe there was hope for changing the situation.

the ultimate hope for setting up an exercise program is that after building up my endurance will help me be able to do more despite the pain.

so i'm feeling a bit frustrated, i feel like this is my pain doctor's last hope -- therapy and exercise. i should mention i have been exercising regularly for the past.... 5/6 months without any results. of course he knows that, but this is going to be even worse (i meant better). because already the exercise pushes my pain level up for 2-3 hours after i'm done.

the thing is, i'm all about exercising, i just hate that it causes me EXTRA pain. that's pretty much the last thing i need at this point....but my doctors are increasingly running out of ideas, and so i think THEY think they need to get me going again, and somehow the symptoms will fade away. argh. i'm sorry, i'm just venting/rambling now.

hopefully i'll be back later on w/a better attitude.

Labels: headaches, pain issues

i thought i'd give you a little peek into my life as of late. that's what this blog is all about, right? but usually i try to leave out the crazy and weird parts -- no one wants to read about that, do they?

i was reading an entry over at Magically Mama, and it was just what i needed to hear.

i'm the kind of girl who likes to have things picked up, put away, and clean. i literally feel lighter and more calm in my home when it's clean. so conversely, when things are cluttered and/or dirty, i feel like it's weighing on me. i'm sure you can see where i'm going with this....

it's a matter of keeping up with the dishes, the cleaning, the laundry.... and with such limited energy and (low-pain) time, i feel as though i'm always trying to catch up.

which is NOT to say that my dear husband doesn't help, because he does. a lot. whenever i feel overwhelmed w/things, he steps in and does whatever it takes. but i WANT to be able to do it.

i feel like these chores are the small things that are *my* responsibility -- and it's frustrating when i can't keep up with them.

at the same time, i feel like it would really help if i cut myself some more slack -- if i didn't always expect my home to be clean and (this is key) ACCEPTING a lower standard. it's been more than 3 years (w/these migraines) and i still haven't gotten it yet. i understand it mentally, but can't truly BELIEVE it.

*le sigh*

you can see why her entry appealed so much to me. it's what i need to hear -- it's what i'm working on. how do you combat these kinds of problems? do you feel overwhelmed when you fall behind?

Labels: housework, pain issues, randomness

i have exciting news, and i have sad news.

the president and prophet of the LDS church, Gordon B Hinckley, died yesterday. i don't have the eloquent words many others do -- i will just say that i loved him, and he will be missed.

on the complete other side of things --

i got an appointment at the diamond headache clinic in chicago! i'm very excited, and pleased that i'm able to be seen at the end of february!! feb. 28th is my appointment. there is much planning to be done, but i'm looking forward to it.

i have a 3 1/2 hour evaluation with the associate director. after that they will probably put me inpatient at the hospital. they have classes for me to take while i'm there, to learn more about headaches and migraines.

i just HOPE that this is the beginning of the end for me. i hope and pray we'll be able to find a way to make these headaches either less or frequent, or less painful. hey, both would be great! i would definitely love both!

Labels: happiness, headaches, life, pain issues, sadness

a great list of gift ideas for the chronically ill can be found here: lots of good thoughts! check it out!

Labels: pain, pain issues

i'm ripping off a question from my friend Kimberlie: what one beauty product can you not live without? could be makeup, could be hair product......lotion, even.

i'm dying to know.

for me, it's a tie. i wear makeup nearly everyday, but almost always just eye makeup. so i can't live without my lash curler and mascara.

now on to other business.

let me tell you about my latest homeopathic .....diagnosis.

first, let me praise sugar and flour and milk, because i am OFF THE DIET!!! hooray for eating (almost) anything i want!! no reading labels, no passing up on delicious looking desserts. hooray for being able to eat candy for christmas!!

so that obviously didn't help, which is why it's over. i went to see a homeopathic chiropractor, recommended by my homeopathic doctor for his diagnostic capabilities. and i have to say...it was interesting. i'm still not sure i really *believe* that his methods work, or are ...real. HOWEVER, i am withholding judgment until the treatments have a chance to work. if they're going to help, it will be within the next 2 weeks.

if you're interested in the diagnostic methods he used, read this - obviously a skeptic, and then this, from the International College of Applied Kinesiology. i'm not going to go into it anymore than that.

but anywho, after spending an hour with me, we did a few chiropractic adjustments, and he developed 3 diagnoses that he says are contributing to my migraines.

1 - mercury poisoning. from my fillings. and i later thought of the fact that i did get 8 or 10 (i know) fillings the summer my migraines started getting more and more frequent.... i didn't tell him that though.
2 - virus in my brain stem. would not have been detected in the spinal tap.
3 - my body doesn't make enough neurotransmitters.

and so there are homeopathic pills and capsules and such for these things, which we went ahead with buying -- i don't plan to invest any more $$ in this area if this doesn't help.

i *am* still looking for a recommendation for an acupuncturist. i think that area has some possibilities.

that's my update, folks! don't forget, tell me about your favorite beauty product in comments!

Labels: headaches, homeopathy, meds, pain, pain issues, randomness

my sister was saying the other day that i'd better post something new before friday.

why can't my blog just switch from a migraine blog to a shoe blog? i don't see any problem with that.

i thought i'd link to Shannon's Works for Me wednesday -- i've never taken part in the fun, but am ALWAYS reading what's going on. lots of good tips, for mothers or just people managing a home (like me). this week people are asking questions instead of sharing tips. and the last time i looked there were 215 (!) links. check it out!

ok, back to me. i spent most of yesterday with the Edge family -- very good times were had by all. aunt emily was thoroughly worn out.

and today -- today i'm feeling poorly-- it's another weather change, woohoo! i checked out weather.com (basically my most visited website ever), and they had this to say:

A VERY COLD STORM SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN LATE THURSDAY. THIS STORM WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST THROUGH NEVADA...AND STRENGTHEN AS IT APPROACHES WESTERN UTAH. THIS SLOW- MOVING STORM WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION OVER WESTERN UTAH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY.

sweet. it goes on to say that the temperatures will drop significantly as this system moves out. frankly, i'm just crossing my fingers for it to move quickly. i'm glad to have the spironolactone (med for low barometric pressure migraines), but it's either not enough, or just doesn't work that well. :) i'll be back with more fun things soon! definitely Footwear Friday, if not before.

Labels: meds, migraines, pain issues, weather

This week is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.

what a mouthful.

but seeing as how migraines (esp. daily ones) fit well into this category, i'd like to acknowledge it. more information can be found here, here, and here. Plenty of good reading about this week, and invisible chronic illnesses in general.

on a totally related note, i thought i'd give a little summary of my most recent doctor's appointment, to see a headache and migraine specialist. thankfully, this was not just a consultation (like last time), but she's going to continue to see me. hallelujah!

so the things we changed were these:
1- back to only treating w/meds a maximum of 3 migraines per week. sad but true.
2 - changed the tegretol to tegretol extended release. hopefully this will keep a more consistent level of the drug in my blood, and therefore help me feel better more consistently. we'll see.
3 - added nortriptyline. i can take it at night and it makes me sleepy, also she is hoping it helps my mood. could possibly help prevent migraines. we'll see.
4 - i need to spend five minutes 4 times a day exercising - on top of my pilates. usually i walk for 5 minutes. it's such a short time, it's hard to even get into it. she wants me to be more active, and believes it will help me to do more, and possibly help prevent migraines (are you seeing a theme here?)
5 - keeping a headache journal. i hate these, but am willing to do it.

soooo that's a lot of changes. but you know me, i'll try anything if i think it'll help! so far the nortriptyline is definitely improving my sleep - getting to sleep is easier. i feel like i've been able to do more, also. truly, the thing i'm most excited about is that she said she's going to continue to see me - and that she also believes (like me) that migraines which are difficult to treat are not necessarily a result of psychological difficulties. thank goodness.

she also mentioned (as i have been told several times before) that the longer i go on in daily pain, the less likely we are to be able to 'fix' it. that's somewhat discouraging, but honestly i would be ok still being in -some- pain everyday. i just would prefer much less. :)

Labels: headaches, meds, neurologists, pain issues, pain relief

I'm part of a blog carnival (for the first time ever) today! The topic is : Work Issues and Pain.

This may or may not contain a lot of redundant information; it depends a lot on whether or not you read my blog regularly. I didn't want people wandering in from the carnival to be totally confused (mostly as to my pain history and type) so I wanted to include at least a quick summary. It'll probably clear up some things that you might not have known before; most readers haven't been here from the beginning, after all!

For a brief summary of my chronic pain - I have chronic daily migraines. I was diagnosed with migraines when I was 20, and had them once or twice per month. The summer of 2004, they began to be more and more frequent, and lasting longer and longer, until in November 2004 they were everyday. Many things have been ruled out, including Medication Overuse (or Rebound) Headaches. I have tried treatments, many pills, etc., etc. You get the idea, especially if you have chronic pain yourself. I wake up every day in pain, and it continues until I go to sleep at night. Most days I rate the pain a 6 or 7 (out of 10). The latest development is that I am trying Kadian, a painkiller, for daily pain relief. The dose I'm at now is not nearly enough. It helps, but not much. I am continuing to see a migraine/headache specialist, as well as the Pain Clinic, and will see a Sleep Clinic (for the first time) this week.

The pain rating scale is one of my least favorite things, mostly because it's entirely subjective. And I find myself double-guessing myself, thinking how much worse pain *could* be. I know that the worst pain possible is not the pain I've felt so far, but the worst pain I've felt so far was a migraine. But then, the pain scale needs to be subjective, so that doctors can understand how we are experiencing our pain. In any case, some things that exacerbate the pain are; lack of sleep, fasting or eating late, low barometric pressure (storm coming), my food triggers (chocolate and feta cheese), and anything that gets my blood moving faster (running, etc.), loud noises and bright/flashing lights.

With all that in mind, it's probably obvious that barring financial disaster, I would avoid working. I am lucky enough to be married to a wonderful man who can support both of us on his salary. I dropped out of school after attending one semester with The Headache (we'll just call it that - not the regular, once in a while migraines, the all the time migraine). I did poorly, and felt awful. I hoped that things would be resolved quickly (ha!) and I'd be back in school and at work quickly. At the time, I worked as a receptionist and secretary in the school's library. This was your basic secretary responsibilities, including typing, transcribing, answering phones, welcoming patrons, etc. I liked it a lot. I enjoyed the things we worked with and the people I worked with, as well. Most of my jobs (post high school) were of the secretary/receptionist variety, excluding two summers I worked as a life guard.

When i was working and attending school, my main difficulties were:
1 - being able to concentrate on something other than the pain
2 - nausea and being worried about throwing up at my desk
3 - trying to be cheerful and pleasant when in so much pain
4 - waking up early after a difficult (late) night
5- one of my most unpredictable triggers is low barometric pressure (the time just before a storm comes), my headache is at its worst during these times.

Most of these speak for themselves. I think most people know what migraines are and what they're like. Hopefully no one here has the idea that it's 'just a headache'. This is a good article to read if that's the case. Unfortunately there is not only a great deal of pain, there is also nausea, and sensitivity to noise and lights. It is difficult to go grocery shopping for a short while because of these factors, much less spend a normal 8 hours at a job. The Headache has change my life in so many ways, working is only one facet of my life - exercising, sleep, eating, time in the sun; these things all must be limited or regulated to keep The Headache under some kind of control.

So then what it would take for me to go back to work? Long story short? Reliable daily pain relief. If this comes from preventative medicines, great. If it has to come from painkillers until I can find an effective preventative medication, then okay. I have relatively good control over the nausea -- many tricks and as a last resort, a prescription medication. The problem is that we've been searching for a preventative these past 3 years without any real luck. There are only a handful of drugs FDA approved for migraine prevention, but there are about 100 medicines used to prevent migraines. For a list, see here. If my pain were well under control, I should be able to handle the other things that come my way; the added visual and aural stimuli seem to increase my pain levels, but hopefully we (my doctors and I) could figure that out as well.

Concerned friends and family ask me all the time when I'll be able to get back to work - unfortunately, I don't know any more than my doctors do. It's a lot of trial and error right now. Many preventative drugs require a 3 month trial, so it's slow going at times.


On this Labor Day, I am grateful for those who work - and continue to hope that this time next year, I'll have rejoined the workforce, and be feeling up to working a 40 hour week again.


Please visit the blog carnival at How to Cope with Pain. I'm excited to read the other entries!

The information posted here should not be viewed as medical advice, but as my experiences.

Labels: blog carnival, pain issues, working

previous

• onward and upward
• something big is coming.....to a sassy lime near y...
• Hard Conversations and Tough Choices
• starting off with some random movie quotes
• Father's Day
• I Won!?!
• schtuff
• About four years ago this week, Spencer proposed t...
• the spotlight is on me!
• The greatest discovery of my generation is that ma...

archives

• October 2005
• November 2005
• December 2005
• January 2006
• February 2006
• March 2006
• April 2006
• May 2006
• June 2006
• July 2006
• August 2006
• September 2006
• October 2006
• November 2006
• December 2006
• January 2007
• February 2007
• March 2007
• April 2007
• May 2007
• June 2007
• July 2007
• August 2007
• September 2007
• October 2007
• November 2007
• December 2007
• January 2008
• February 2008
• March 2008
• April 2008
• May 2008
• June 2008

Links to Blogs I love!

• Consider This...
• Crib Ceiling
• Daring Young Mom
• Diary of the Nello
• Don't Try This at Home
• HolyMama!
• It's not the volts that kill you...
• Juggling Sanity
• Lupe's Spot
• Magically Mama -- Now, where did I put my wand again?
• Mental Excrements
• Mothering on the Edge
• Muum's Musings
• The Osh Kosh Chronicles
• Owlhaven
• ParisDailyPhoto
• ...peanut tales in a nutshell
• Pink Chihuahua Princess
• Princess Mom
• Richard & Gretchen
• Rocks in my Dryer
• Save Leigh Ann
• Say la Vee
• Snickerdoodles
• The Big Trade-Off
• The Big Yellow House
• The Book Lady
• This Fish - Needs a Bicycle
• Tripping over Cobblestone
• Walking Kateastrophe
• Wind Lost
• Weathering Migraine Storms

credits

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