Xinc's Domain - My Migraine Blog

366 Days

2008-07-09T14:05:00.003-04:00

Wow. A year since my last post. Life has a way of sneaking up on you and making the time disappear.

So, here we go with a quick update. I'm currently on Neurontin as a preventative -- just a baby dose-- and it seems to be doing well. It's not that I've been migraine free for the last year, but most of the migraines seem to be milder (and a lot less frequent). I find that I'm getting clusters of migraines when the weather changes (big storms coming in are a trigger for me), and the migraines might last three days or a week.

Most of the migraines I'm getting are easily treated with ibuprofen. I only have resort to Midrin infrequently, when the migraines feel like they've got real potential, or when I'm going to sleep with one coming on. I'm not doing the Maxalt anymore, and need to talk to the Neuro about that.

Regarding the Maxalt: the last time I took Maxalt, I had a very strange reaction. I had significant tightness in my head, shoulders, and neck. Kind of like I just "tensed up" in my upper body. It was, to say the least, uncomfortable (and a little scary).

I'll sign off for now, and get back to real life. I hope you have control of your migraines, and not the other way around.

Did I find something that works?

2007-07-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Wow... it's been a while since I posted-- hopefully for the right reasons.

First and foremost, life has been crazy busy. Chasing an almost-two-year-old around, working, and taking care of life in general has been a real full-time job. Second, I may have found the right med for me.

I've dabbled with a lot of different meds over the course of the past couple years, trying to find the one that would work the best, with the least side-effects. I've tried Effexor, Inderal, and Topamax all to less-than-satisfying results. Recently, I tapered off the Topamax and started taking Neurontin. Swallowing a neurotransmitter every day seems a little weird, but it seems to be having a positive effect without any bad side-effects.

The best part for me is that I'm on basically the lowest dose (or, as my neuro put it: "the baby dose"). If I'm having success with this low of a dose, and I need to titrate up, I've got lots of room to go.

I promise to check back in more often.

-Rob

"Six Banger"

2006-09-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

I've been nursing a migraine for the past couple days and it turned into a six banger late last night just before it was time to go to bed. God bless Midrin! The sedative let me get to sleep and the rest of the drugs worked their magic to kill the headache. Too bad I'm feeling the logy after-effects of migraine plus sedative hangover.

I'm not sure if it's the change of the weather going from hot to cold, or if it is the effect of the lower pressure from what used to be Hurricane Ernesto working its way up the East Coast, but I've been in a rut lately. I'm ready for the bellman to ring and call this round over.

Mid August Update

2006-08-19T22:55:00.000-04:00

Things have been moving at a breakneck pace around here lately, so I'm really sorry about the lack of updates.

On the personal front, Ellie has turned one year old, has started walking and running, and takes up a heck of a lot of time. She still continues to amaze me on a daily basis as her personality continues to develop, as does her sense of humor. I know that she is a "little person," but every day she finds a new way to prove it to me.

On the pro-blogging front . . . I never knew signing up for a twice-weekly update would be so taxing! I encourage you to stop over to Migraine Connection and check out the information, along with my blog there.

On the headache front . . . Things have been pretty good with the Topamax. It's been managing the migraines pretty well. I've had a couple episodes of breakthrough migraines, but they've been manageable with my typical abortives. My primary care doc also took me off Inderal, as my BP seems to be fine, and that has given me a boost in energy overall. Side effects of the Topamax seem to be calming down, and the only really persistent ones seem to be some tingling, tremor and the occasional aphasia (like not being able to properly say the word "intricate" the other day at work-- boy was that embarrassing).

Speaking of breakthrough migraines, I've been nursing one today, though I didn't realize it until I had been in the midst of it for about six hours. It's kind of funny (funny "weird" not funny "ha ha"). . .

It was a low grade migraine, so the headache isn't what eventually clued me in. It was the other migranous symptoms. I had been experiencing an upset stomach, the "scrunchy" feeling in my scalp and a runny nose (one side only). Eventually, the head got bad enough for me to take a couple Midrin, and wouldn't you know it, all of the other symptoms went away, too.

Well, it's late, and the sedative effect of the Midrin is really starting to kick in (yawn). Until next time, keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down.

-Rob

Depression? Headache? Danger!

2006-07-31T22:56:00.000-04:00

Well our friends at the Food and Drug Administration have posted an advisory warning about the mixing of certain antidepressants in the SSRI/SNRI category along with triptans. It turns out that since both have the effect of elevating serotonin, there's a risk of something called "serotonin syndrome."

A few points regarding this advisory:

Apparently, this syndrome is pretty serious, but the number of cases is, so far, relatively small.
Not all doctors are aware of this, and the drug manufacturers websites don't seem to have been updated yet with details of the advisory (as of earlier this week).
Effexor (Venlafaxine) is one of the SNRI drugs that is specifically called out in the advisory, and it so happens that it is also one of the tricyclic antidepressants that is sometimes prescribed as a migraine preventative (hmmm).

If I were taking an SSRI/SNRI and a triptan at the same time, I might really consider scheduling a consult with my headache doc ASAP to see if they wanted me to switch drugs.

Here's a link to the FDA advisory: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/SSRI_SS200607.htm

24

2006-07-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

What a migraine. 24 hours of hovering between Richter 2 and 5. The Maxalt might as well have been crappy-flavored candy, and the Midrin barely helped (though it gave me a good night's sleep).

The headache hit me yesterday as I left the doctor's office and stayed with me off and on throughout the night. I woke up with it at a Richter 1.5, but had to go to work, even knowing that it was going to come back (there were things that had to be done-- songs that had to be sung). By the time lunch rolled around, the headache was edging up to a Richter 3.

As I exited my pre-lunch meeting, I popped a couple of Midrin. They started to take effect over lunch, but the headache peaked at a Richter 4. By the time my post-lunch meeting started, I was back down to the Richter 3, but the Midrin sedative effect was starting to hit. I spent the rest of the afternoon nice and logy-- one might even say "mellow."

The rest of the day was most of a Midrin- and postdrome-induced haze, and the headache itself didn't actually abate until about an hour ago. It really does feel like it is actually gone, now-- at least I'll keep my fingers crossed that it is.

Karmic Komodo

2006-07-24T21:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I must've tempted fate. I mentioned yesterday that I've been relatively headache free, plus, today I had a doctor's visit for a checkup, where I told him that my headaches are under control. So, what happens tonight? A damn dirty Richter 5 migraine.

Maxalt plus two Midrin an hour later, and the son of a gun is still with me (albeit a bit lower than a 5 right now).

I'm reminded of "Young Frankenstein," and the quote: "Could be worse. Could be raining."

The Sound of Silence

2006-07-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's been a while.

Ok. Too damn long.

The good news is that I've been relatively migraine free. The Topamax seems to have been doing its job overall. The bad news is that the mood leveling effect seems to be dropping off a bit. Nothing major, but I feel like a bit of the old "angry Rob" is coming back a bit more.

The professional blogging effort over at http://www.migraine-connection.com is coming along well, but producing blog entries on demand twice a week takes more effort than I imagined it would. Even though I'm writing about something I know a lot about, coming up with interesting topics one hundred and ten times a year is going to be a struggle at times. Thank God for the news-- hopefully there will always be something out there to comment on.

On the personal front, my little girl turns one year old in about three weeks. She started walking last week, and can say a few words already. She even called me a monkey once. I love her.

Migraine Connection: Excerpt

2006-06-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

Excerpt:

"I was on the couch in the living room. Alone in the house as Mom worked in the office up the street, and Dad drove a truck for the local newspaper. I writhed in pain wrapped in my black robe with red piping, cocooned in a green afghan crocheted by my grandmother, shivering despite the heat, sweating despite how cold I felt. The belt from my robe was wrapped tightly around my forehead, twisted at one end, trying to calm the pounding of the demon that was trying to get out."

Read more at my blog on Migraine Connection

(Excerpt copyright 2006 Choice Media)

Migraine Connection

2006-06-15T21:29:00.000-04:00

I'd like to put a plug in for the site where I've begun a supplemental blog. That site is http://www.migraine-connection.com, part of the healthcentral.com family. Come on over and read what I have to say there, as well. Feel free to join the community, comment, and talk on the message boards too!

See you there!

(Oh, and fear not-- you'll still get your oddly-frequent dose of me here, too).

-Rob

How do you know it's a migraine?

2006-06-08T22:56:00.000-04:00

I said to my wife today that I've been battling a low grade migraine for the past couple days. She asked me "How do you know it's a migraine? Maybe it's just a regular headache."

You just know. You know? You know in the way that your hair hurts. Or in the way that the pain seems to be more existential than real, sometimes. You know in the way that the pain affects your head and your digestive system at the same time. You know because you've had them before, and whether it's a Richter 1 or a Richter 9, you know your migraine because it is a part of you.

Oh yeah, I think this is something like day 4 or 5 of this particular migraine. Today's drug of choice was Midrin. It did the trick from about 2:00 PM today until about 10 minutes ago, when the headache started to pop through again.

On the plus side, I think I know what is triggering this particular batch-- it's the blasted weather. This batch has been with me ever since a low pressure system has been around. We've been having relatively crappy weather, and my head has been responding in kind.

Last bit of news, then it is definitely time for bed: it sounds like the other site should have my material up and published by early next week. I'm excited about this opportunity!

Blasted Breakthroughs

2006-06-07T20:37:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am again, with another blasted breakthrough. Luckily, this one was, once again, nice and low on the "Official Xinc Migraine Richter Scale." A Maxalt in the car on the way home took care of it by the time dinner was done. Once again, this one made my hair hurt. How is that even possible-- hair doesn't even have nerve cells, does it?

I noticed recently that Ben Affleck had a migraine and it made the news. That puts my personal count of celebrities with known migraine disease up to two: Ben Affleck and Larry King's wife Shawn. Send me a comment (and a link to a news story or a website, if you have it) if you know of any other celebs that are known to have migraines.

I'm looking forward to the launch of my upcoming foray into professional blogging. I'm thinking it should be this week. Look for an announcement and a link right here in this very blog!

Until then, Bat-Friends. . . Peace Out.

Breakthrough Migraine and an Interesting Development

2006-05-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I had my first real migraine in quite a while last night. It started coming on around 7:00 in the evening as I was putting Ellie to bed. It had been so long since I had a real one that I made a rookie mistake and ignored it completely. My wonderful Maxalt stayed locked in their special plastic hip flask, and my Midrin stayed snug in my secret keychain "Magnum" pill holder.

The headache stayed at a Richter one throughout the evening and I went to sleep with it. Rookie mistake number two. There's no way I can sleep off a migraine without meds. Never have been able to, never will be able to. At 1:30 AM, I awakened from one of those wonderful dreams-- one of the ones where the pain actually invades the dream itself. It makes me wonder if the weird relationship between serotonin, vasodilation/vasoconstriction, et al makes it possible for migraine pain to transcend the dream state-- hmmm. Anyway, the pain invaded the dream, and woke me up. A quick trip to the bathroom to find my Maxalt, a burst of crappy peppermint taste on the tongue, and a trip back to bed. Maxalt saved the day-- for me at least. For my wife, I guess it was a different story. . .

Maxalt makes me a bit "loopy," particularly when I take it and sleep. It also makes me prone to snore. LOUDLY. So my wife got the brunt of the Maxalt effect last night. I got the elbows in the ribs and the "Honey, roll over" several times as well.

An Interesting Development

I have been approached by a migraine portal to do a biweekly blog as an "expert patient." I am currently reviewing the terms and conditions, but they look favorable, and I see it as an opportunity to contribute to the migraine community in a forum that can reach more people than Xinc's Domain alone. I'll still contribute here, as I do today-- the stuff over at the other portal will be more targeted and themed items. Once the deal is sealed I will be at liberty to provide more details. I'm really excited about this opportunity!

Last, but not Least

I think I know the cause of the breakthrough migraine last night. My beautiful wife came down with a case of pneumonia this week, which means that I've been taking on Mr. Mom duty with my daughter. I have a much greater appreciation for the amount of work that my wife does, now, that's for sure!

Anyway, I took much of the week off of work to help take care of the baby-- up until Friday, that is. We had a baby sitter come in on Friday, and I finally made it in to work. Let me tell you: never has work felt more like a vacation. Those eight hours went by so quickly I found myself begging the clock not to strike five.

What I figure happened was that during the week, taking care of Ellie and my wife, I was working in "stress mode," which means that I was probably in a vasoconstrictive mode. Once Friday hit, and I was able to actually relax for a few hours at work, my blood vessels dilated and started irritating the trigeminal nerve. Voila: migraine.

Hopefully I'm getting back to a stasis mode again.

Until next time: L'chaim.

I'm Alive and OK

2006-05-15T07:16:00.000-04:00

A quick post (since it is T-minus 15 minutes to work) to let everyone know that things are doing well. I do have some updates, but no time right now for them. I apologize for the lack of updates over the past several days, but work afforded me the opportunity to visit Munich for a business trip, and I not only had the trip to deal with, but preparations for it!

Aside from that, there may be some good things brewing in the background that I hope to share soon!

M-m-m-m-my Corona

2006-04-27T20:44:00.000-04:00

Apologies to The Knack.

Last night was a not-so-quite-after work meeting at a local watering hole, and I decided to try my first beer since starting on the Topamax. Nothing major, just a Corona with lime. Well, what I found out was that Topamax has just about the same effect on beer that it does on diet soda. It makes it taste like crap.

One of the things that I liked about beer was the crisp, acidic burst on the tongue, the bubbly flavor that fills your mouth. Well, the Topamax kills all that. Just like the soda, the beer tasted flat, kind of salty and sweet at the same time. Sort of like soy sauce. Definitely not as bad as the Pepsi One, since I was able to drink two of them, but still not good.

Thankfully, I wasn't paying for them.

The really bad news is that I'm headed to Munich in the next couple of weeks, and normally I'd be looking forward to trying some nice local brews. Not now.

The really, really bad (good) news is that I had a migraine today. The first since the trip to Florida. The lack of chronic daily headaches with the migraines spaced a couple weeks apart is a definite improvement. I've been holding steady at my current dose of Topamax, but it might be time to up it to the next level to see if that has more of a positive effect.

Until next time, keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down.

-Rob

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Broadcast

2006-04-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

If you read the last couple posts, you'll remember me mentioning something about stomach flu. Well, it came back with a vengeance last night. This is a really strange "stomach flu," and it has me concerned that it might not be viral-- since it has lasted more than 24 hours. This means that it could be bacterial in nature, something more systemic, or maybe even related to my current dosage of Topamax. I'm considering dropping down to my previous dosage of Topamax to see if that makes the stomach cramps go away.

Anyway, for those of you that really want to know, the symptoms are: within 5 to 30 minutes after eating, moderate to severe lower gastric stomach cramps. Trying to go to the bathroom is generally unproductive. These are generally accompanied by a mild fever (99.8, though I spiked at 103 in Florida) and chills. Maybe this is why those of us on Topamax sometimes lose weight?

Good Comment to Read

I know that not everyone reads the comments to posts, so I wanted to direct your attention here. I promised to address a couple of points directly in the blog so they didn't get lost, so here they are:

Q: I see you have tried many a migraine drug – have you tried Naramig? Its a Glaxo drug.

However, sometimes it doesn’t work. I am yet to find out whether the failure is because I have left it too late into the headache before I take a tablet, or if the headache is just too strong.

Q: Actually, I’d appreciate your opinion on this – why do you think some medications fail when other times the same medication works wonders?

Naramig isn't one of the drugs that I've tried (or even heard of). However, doing some quick research, it looks like Naramig is another variant of the triptans (Naratriptan). Looks like it might be more popular on the other sides of the pond from me, as I see most of the websites are .co.uk and .au websites that talk about it. Here's my personal epxerience with triptan use . . .

I personally love my Maxalt, becaus, like you say in your comments, triptans do a great job making migraines go away. The trick with triptans, for me, though is not to wait too long. If I get to a point where its a "pounder," I'm generally lost. It is almost like the neurochemical effect of the migraine is gone, and the phsiological effect is upon me-- in essence, that which the triptan can fix has gone away, and that which only time and painkillers can help has arrived.

Q: Its my understanding that Naramig (being a beta blocker) works by restricting the nerve ‘tunnels’, so that the pain nerves can’t get through is this correct? Or is it more correct that it restricts the blood vessels? I should look that up myself actually. I should know how the thing actually works.

Remembering that "Rob is not a doctor," nor am I a scientist, here's my understanding of Naramig based on the description from netdoctor.co.uk and other reading about migraines.

Naratriptan is a serotonin agonist. "Agonist" means that it basically makes serotonin work better in the brain. Serotonin acts as both a neurotransmitter (sending signals from one part of the brain to another) as well as a vasoconstrictor. Since the triptans act on serotonin (which is primarily in the brain), and they act as a vasoconstrictor, what you get is a localized constriction of blood vessels in the brain. What this seems to do is help remove pressure on some key nerves in the brain, such as the trigeminal nerve, which is believed to cause migraines.

So, if you've got vasodilation happening at the onset of a migraine, perhaps even before the pain starts, and you can get a vasoconstrictor in you early, you might be able to ward off the migraine. Wait too long, and the trigeminal nerve has been stimulated too much by those nasty blood vessels, and the damage is already done, and you're in pain mode for a while, it seems. The triptans are nice because the vasoconstriction can get localized to the brain instead of being systemic. At least that's my limited understanding of it.

Broadband Access and New Smyrna Beach

2006-04-18T13:53:00.000-04:00

Well, it took making it to the Orlando Airport to get back to a semblance of broadband access, and even that is an unsecure 54g connection that is coming in at "very low." Even T-Mobile is letting me down here, with no signal at the airport whatsoever. At least it is enough to blog for a moment or two while the wife changes a diaper in the rest room and gets some food (if you can call it that from McDonalds).

New Smyrna Beach was interesting. (By the way, I hope you'll indulge me in a little bit of a divergence from the migraine related disucssion for today). First of all, it is a city that seems stuck in the late 80's or early 90's. The rental car we had happened to have Sirius satellite radio, so we stuck it on channel 15 (Classic Rewind), and the music fit the mood. The place is condo heaven. Not so many hotels (and, as such, not so many free wi-fi points). Lots of older people (sexa- and septagenarians). Most of the restaurants closed down at an early 10PM, and, because of the stomach flu, our ability to sample them was pretty limited.

We did get to eat at a place called PJ's Snack Shack, which I would classify as something much better than a snack shack, maybe even a decent restaurant. On our second visit there, we had a wounderful waitress that was a transplant from NYC that made our visit very pleasant.

Our other night out was at a place called "The Garlic." This was, by far, the highglight of the culinary experience down there. Atmosphere was great, as was the four-cheese ravioli in bolognaise sauce. Yum.

As far as activities go, our condo was a hike across the street from the beach, which put a dampner on visiting the dunes, and the pool was eternally crowded. The deep see fishing was fun, though all I caught was a "grunt" and my bait over and over again. Ellie slept like crap, and, since we three were all sharing a room, that meant we *all* slept like crap.

Next family vacation will definitely be something different. Maybe a cruise?

Peace out,
R

Trip Rating : 2

2006-04-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

Well, vacation is nearly over and overall, I think I would rate it a generous "2." Travelling with the baby went (so far) very smoothly, but I had some early migraines, which cleared up by Wednesday, followed by a couple days of relative good health, followed by two days of stomach flu. Thankfully, the stomach flu seems to have gone away.

Good things about the trip: spending time with my Elle Belle and dear wife, the weather, the trip to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure, and finally getting time to read "The Da Vinci Code" (even if much of that time was thanks to the stomach flu).

Well, we're off to the airport tomorrow, so wish us luck with the trip home!

Here's hoping you are headache free.

-R

Nous Sommes a l'Aeroporte

2006-04-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

Here we are at the airport, and, podunk though it is, we have free wi-fi access. Hence, the quick 'blog from the airport.

I've been battling a mild migraine now for the last couple days. Nothing more than a number two-- probably more stress related than anything else. The bad thing is the gastro effect prior to flying. Yay.

Overall, we've had a smooth flight (ha ha) so far through security, though I've already racked my back andshoulder tryin to carry assorted bags and baby stuff.

More posts from the ass-end of paradise coming soon.

Peace out,

Rob

Off to the Ass End of Paradise

2006-04-10T21:44:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm off to New Smyrna Beach Florida for a bit of a vacation. Well, let's call it a "trip" for now, and I'll reserve the term "vacation" for my return. I'll be stuck in a two-bedroom, 1400 square foot condominium with my sexagenarian (it's not a bad word, look it up) parents for several glorious days and nights. This is also our first trip with the baby, and, to tell the truth, it has my stress level way, way up.

I'll also be dealing with no broadband. Let me let that sink in . . . no (as in none) broadband. If I'm lucky, the wifi in the laptop will be able to pick up a wayward 802.11 signal from someone's apartment or house. Worse comes to worst, I may have to drive to a coffee shop or a bookstore or something. Absolute worstest? Dialup.

I checked out some pictures of New Smyrna Beach, and I think it may make small towns look like metropolises in comparisons.

Wish me luck, and may God have mercy on my soul.

Oh: On the Topamax side of things. Upped the dosage again today. Felt a bit Topa-dopey today, and the hand numbness kind of sucks, but it's not extremely bad. I've had a headache over the past couple days, but it's hard to tell if it is migrainous or allergies. The dogwoods are in bloom around here, and that's usually a bad sign for me.

I've got a research project ahead of me when I return. I want to see if migraines can be triggered by eye or sinus pain. One of the joys of fatherhood is having a daughter that kicks inappropriately. She caught me square in the left eye the other day, and that seemed to push me into a migraine episode. I've also noticed on days that my left ethmoid sinus seems to be irritated I am more likely to have a migraine episode.

I need to do some reading.

Peace.
R

What makes you happy?

2006-04-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

Is the Topamax working? I think so, overall. I've had a couple of migraines, but they've responded to my abortives. The chronic daily is all but gone. This makes me happy. But most of all, I think I'm responding to the mood altering effects of the Topamax.

This scares me and makes me happy at the same time.

It makes me happy because I'm in a better mood than I have been in a long time. I feel much more rational, and, to be honest, I feel like I'm treating people better. I look back at some of my interactions with people in the past, and they seem-- well-- downright mean. Could it be that I could have benefitted from an antidepressant or mood stabilizer for all these years? I'm sure there are people out there that have known me for a long time that might read this and shout "YEAH!" but they were either too nice (or too afraid of me) to say anything in the past.

What's scary is the thought that perception of the world, and one's interaction with the world can be so easily guided by a tiny bit of brain chemistry. It doesn't take much to make you feel good or feel bad, and if that chemistry is chronically off, it can send your whole life out of whack. Overall, though, I feel like I'm luck, and that my keel has been relatively even, and the Topa is just helping out over some of the rougher brain chemistry seas.

Until next time, dear friends and readers-- here's wishing you a headache-free day, or a break (be it ever so short) in the cycle of chronic pain.

-Rob

tingle-ingle-ing

2006-04-04T17:15:00.000-04:00

Well, the topa-tingles have begun in my right hand. Imagine feeling like your hand is constantly waking up from being asleep-- that's what it feels like. Annoying, but not too much so.

This corresponds nicely with my most recent upping of my Topamax dose last night, now taking two at night, one in the AM. I need to follow up with the neuro tomorrow and verify my titrate schedule.

Well, posting from my blackberry really sucks, so I'll bid adieu.

-Rob

edit @ 11:22 pm Blogging via the blackberry at a corporate dinner is difficult, a bit rude, and introduces spelling errors that would not typically make their way into one of my posts. I did a quick edit tonigh to fix a minor spelling mistake (introduced by the blackberry text entry tool, not the user ), and to add a couple of additional thoughts).

Who Put the Soy Sauce in my Pepsi One?

2006-03-28T14:49:00.000-05:00

Since I started on the Topamax, I gotta say that my beloved Pepsi One has tasted a bit "off"-- kind of flat, a little too sweet. Not like it used to taste.

However . . . It was still drinkable, and it was still bearable.

This week, I added my second dose of Topamax, and I'm now on a morning and evening dose. Still no tingling, so I'm tolerating it well. Anyway, as of today, I've been on the double dose for a total of two days.

Today, halfway through a can of Pepsi One, it tasted like someone poured a shot of soy sauce into it. It went from bearable to "oh my God, get this crap away from me."

Amazing what a drug's affect on the brain can do, huh?

On the plus side, the appetite suppressant effect continues, along with the mood stabilization and headache preventative.

-R

What do you do with a Drunken Sailor?

2006-03-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

I am on day (counts on fingers) 5 of my 25mg dosage of Topamax. So far, I am pleased with the relatively minor side effects that I'm experiencing. The first couple days were a roller-coaster ride whenever I'd walk, turn my head suddenly, or sit still. Basically, every fifteen seconds or so, it felt like someone would shake up the fluid in my inner ear. No nausea, but definitely a room-spinning vertigo. Since my body has started getting used to this dosage, the spinning effect has really moderated to something that is tolerable. I was walking around like a drunken sailor for a while, though.

Some other things I've been experiencing lately (may or may not be Topamax related):

Bronchitis. At first, I thought this was Topamax related, but I'm starting to think that I just have a nasty case of bronchitis. There's been a lot of people coughing at work lately, and I think it was just my turn. Hopefully, Ellie-belle won't get it.
Post-partum Crying. When my wife had the baby, just mentioning the word "cry" would make her burst into tears. I feel the same way-- very emotional. I don't get sad, but I have the urge to cry when something even remotely sad or happy happens on TV.
Mood Elevation. Since I started on the Topamax, I've noticed that I don't seem to be as depressed. I didn't realize that Topamax was sometimes used as a mood stabilizer and treatment for bipolar disorder. Once I noticed the mood changes is when I found out this was a side-effect.
Appetite Suppressant. Now, I'm not sure if this is the drugs talking, or if it is psychosomatic or what-- but I seem to have less of a desire to eat. Given my current weight situation, this is absolutely not a bad thing. The one thing I have definitely noticed is that Pepsi One really tastes different with Topamax.

I haven't really had the tingling in the fingers and lips, but am expecting to see that when I jump up to 50mg/day. I'm not a small person, and sometimes it takes a bit of a higher dosage to get a serum level that affects me the same way it would affect a normal person.

As things change, I'll keep the 'blog up to date.

Peace out,

Tons to Report

2006-03-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

Phew... where to begin. Maybe a timeline of the past couple days?

Friday

I picked up my scrip for Topamax on Friday. The neuro has me titrating up slowly, starting with 25mg daily for a week, then 25mg at night and 25mg in the morning for a week, then 50mg at night and 25mg in the morning. He hopes we can stop there, but we may have to go 50/50.

Friday night around 10PM, I took my first 25mg of Topamax (along with my standard 60mg Inderal LA). By 10:30, I had a significant case of the yawns, and by 11:00 I was asleep.

Saturday

Woke up around 7AM and had two bowls of cereal for breakfast. Where's this appetite suppressant effect? Just kidding-- I know it will take time. By 8:30, I'm spiking a migraine (hooray). A couple of Midrin do nothing. 600mg Ibuprofen does nothing. Finally hit it with a Maxalt and that does the trick. By this point, it's around noon and I am exhausted. I wind up sleeping off and on for most of the daylight hours on Saturday.

After dinner, I start feeling a bit of tightness in my chest. Normally, I wouldn't worry about it, but I had also been having some left arm pain. At about 7:30 PM, I tell the wife that I'd like to go to the Emergency Room to get checked out.

By 10PM, they decide to keep me overnight for observation.

Sunday

Good news, no heart trouble. I'm guessing the tightness in the chest was caused by the myriad of medication that was flowing through my system. By the time they release me, it's around 3:00PM. At 5:30, I spike a 4+ richter migraine without any warning. This is the first time this has ever happened to me. One second I'm fine, the next-- BAM-- headache. Since I'm still exhausted from the previous night's ordeal, I skip trying the Midrin and go straight for the Maxalt. Within 45 minutes, the pain is manageable, and within another 15, it is gone completely.

Now (Sunday Night)

It is now just past 10PM. I'm just about falling asleep as I type. The good news is that I am headache free for the moment. I think it is time to hit my Topamax and Inderal and call it a night. I can only hope that tomorrow is less eventful. I've already called off work for the day to recuperate.

Neuro Visit

2006-03-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

Double post in one day. Amazing!

I went to see the Neurologist yesterday for a routine 6 month checkup. I told him that I was interested in switching to Topamax, and he didn't have a problem with that. I've got a scrip for the 25mg pill and instructions on how to titrate up. I'll also be cutting out the Effexor XR once the Topamax arrives.

Still generally headache free. I've had a sinus thing over the past few days, but it seems to be gone, now. I'll take sinus pain over a migraine any day of the week, though.

Wishing you to be headache free.

Rob

New Template and RSS Feed

2006-03-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, I spent a few minutes (ok, about an hour) putting together a new blog template. Please let me know if something isn't working correctly. The blog should be optimized for 800 pixels wide or better. This is just the beginning of the customization-- I wanted to get away from the standard Blogger template as quickly as possible, and give myself a platform to build upon.

I've also started using FeedBurner to publish an RSS version of this blog. If you are familiar with RSS, and would like to subscribe, you can do so at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/XincsDomain. There may be some ads that come along with the feed. Hopefully they'll be relevant, but no matter what, they come without my endorsement.

Speaking of ads, I've also added a link to CafePress over on the sidebar to the right. I've used the word "migraine" to try to get products that are migraine related, but you may see some stuff that is not, and you may see some stuff that is a bit tasteless. If things get too bad, please let me know and I'll try to switch the ad around a bit.

Headache Free 4+ days

2006-02-23T23:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm on a nice streak for a change. I've somehow managed to be without a headache for the past few days. I just thought I'd drop in and say "hello" to anyone that is playing along at home, and to let folks know that I'm still alive.

Peace,
R

Timeline of a Migraine

2006-02-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Analogs anyone?

Yesterday: Intermittent sharp pains behind my left eye. Not throbbing. I've been battling a bit of an upper respiratory thing recently, so I write it off as sinus related. I still think it might have been, but it may have triggered the rest.

Last night: Laying in bed watching TV. . . all of a sudden, tinnitus in my left ear that lasts for about a minute. Hearing slightly muffled afterwards until I go to sleep.

This morning: I wake up with a mild, non throbbing headache in the left hemisphere of my head. Mostly centered behind my left eye, but also at the base of my skull where the back-left side of my neck meets it. Nothing worse than a Richter 1.

11:30 AM: Lunch time! Still at a Richter 1. I head downstairs for lunch: Cuban Angus burger and some Corn Nuggets (sometimes I swear I'm back in high school with the food they give us). Chaser was a Diet Coke with Splenda (#2 for the day).

12:30: Back from lunch. My migraine gremlin has cranked up the rheostat. The headache has rapidly climbed through Richters 2 and 3 and is steadily heading for a 4. Stupid me, I left my Maxalt at home today, and only have a couple of Midrin if I need them.

12:45: Nabbed 600mg of Ibuprofen from a coworker and dry swallowed them. Sat down for 10 minutes and have already broken into my pill container and set the Midrin out. I have no faith that this thing is going to go away.

12:50: Writing the blog entry and staring intermittently at the two capsules of Midrin before me. I've given the Ibuprofen about 10 minutes so far, and am wondering if I should give them some time to work, or if I should just go for the Midrin. The headache has started to throb and has moved up to a 4+. I'm finding it harder to concentrate on non-headache things. I also feel the gastric effect starting as well. Options? I could swallow the midrin, but then I'll be a bit loopy for the rest of the day. I could try to drive home, but I know that the simple act of standing up will cause this thing to go into overdrive.

12:55: It feels like something is in my head trying to break its way out. I actually mean this literally. I can feel this headache in my head, and even my scalp is tingly and sore. I mean WTF? Are migraines nature's idea of a practical joke? Looking more longingly at the Midrin now. I think it's time to pop them. This ain't no ordinary headache that's gonna be stopped by Ibuprofen. I'm really finding it hard to think now, and the simple task of getting words from my head into the 'blog is starting to fall apart. I've had to stop and retype words a couple of times now. Worse yet is when the simple words that should be easy to type come very slowly. I usually type around 75wpm. I would guess that I'm down to about 50 right now.

1:02: Signing off to take the Midrin. I'll follow up later with resolution.

Who do you work for?

2006-01-31T22:52:00.000-05:00

This is who I go to work for every day. This is who makes my head feel better, even when it is pounding. This is who makes my day bright when I see her. This is who wakes me up in the middle of the night, frustrates me to no end, and makes me rant and rave-- only to erase my foul mood with a single smile.

This is my Ellie belle. I love you sweetie, more than you will ever be able to know. I am in awe of you.

Cafeteria Food Does it Again

2006-01-31T22:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been relatively headache free for the past couple days. Today, however, I think I got bit by my food allergy to something they use at my work's cafeteria. Today was "Ball Tip Steak" day (I don't know what that is, and really don't want to), and I think the seasonings they used in the steak might have done it.

No aura with this one, just a mild hemicranial headache that got worse as the night wore on. Maxalt came to the rescue, and did a fine, fine job.

On a non-headache related note:

I was bringing Tugger the Dog back in from his evening walk. As I got to the door between the garage and the house, I looked towards the outside. What do I see, but two doggies walking unescorted. They trotted right up to and into the garage to visit.

This is when I notice that one of the doggies is at least part pitbull, and the other doggie is a very large rotweiller. The rottie really had his hackles up, too. Tugger, our golden retriever, stayed relatively calm, but you could hear him growling deep in his chest-- something he rarely does.

I kept backing up towards the door, looking for a safe spot, a weapon, or something-- all while envisioning the dogs tearing me and Tugger to shreds. I shouted for my wife a couple of times and, by the time she got to the door, the dogs decided to move on to easier (less fatty) prey. We called the cops and animal control, and they showed up, but we're not sure if the got 'em or not.

Whoa, that was Odd

2006-01-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

I've been migrainous lately. So much so, that I feel like the line from "Tub Thumpers" by Chumba Wumba: "I get knocked down. I get back up again. You're never gonna keep me down." Except in my world, this line just keeps repeating, it never goes to the next stanza. Luckily, the migraines are mild. Unluckily, they're rapidly approaching "migraine status" status.

Anyway, today at lunch, I had an odd migraine. I think. . .

I had just sat down for lunch at Windchimes (great Chinese food in the Columbus, OH area). I had a couple sips of water when I got a flashy mini-aura in my eye (I don't remember which eye). The aura was about five seconds long, and was followed by inability to concentrate, moderate tunnel vision, and a feeling of faintness that bordered on vertigo. I kept talking to myself silently to keep my body vertical. Somehow, I managed to make it until my hot and sour soup arrived-- I even maintained semi-coherent conversations with my coworkers.

I was really thinking that this was simply a hypoglycemic episode (and it might have been), but I usually only get those when I put off lunch until late, or skip breakfast. Neither of those happened today. I downed a packet of sugar and hungrily wolfed down my soup in hopes that it would take care of the issue. That's when part two of this episode commenced.

After my first bite of soup, I started sweating. Not just glistening, mind you, but a full-on, water beading on my forehead, running down my temples and coursing down my chest kind of sweat. I blamed it on the spiciness of the soup. Eventually, I got up and excused myself to the men's room, where I composed myself and dried off with a few hand towels. By the time I returned to the table, the sweats and the icky-feeling were both gone. Lunch came and was very good.

By the time I got back to work, I was dealing with one of my "favorite" types of migraines-- one of the ones that attaches itself to the back of my head (the ones I think are Basilar Type Migraines). Right now, it is sitting at a Richter 2. Enough to let me know it is there, but not enough to keep me from working. This one feels like it has potential to increase. I think I'll take a Midrin to calm it down.

So . . . what's interesting about this one for me? Well, the difference in aura from my other migraines. The tunnel vision and vertigo are common for me when I get my Basilar Type Migraine, though these were more intense than usual. Also, the sweating. I've had sweating be an aura before, but never to this degree. The commonality between these symptoms and a hypoglycemic episode, along with the comments by a reader that migraine might be triggered by low blood sugar also gives me pause to think.

Until next time, dear readers. . . Here's hoping you have a headache-free day.

-Rob

Effexor Effectiveness (for me)

2006-01-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems like this particular tricyclic antidepressant ain't quite cutting it in the migraine department. I'm up to 150mg a day, and I'm back in the cycle of chronic daily headache-- mostly low level, but annoying.

I've got my 6 month neuro follow-up scheduled for March, and I've asked to be put on a cancellation list (where they'll call me if they have a cancellation). I think I'm going to ask to try out Topamax. This seems to be one of the more effective migraine preventatives, and the side-effect of weight-loss wouldn't be too bad, either.

I'm also going to ask if a sleep study makes sense. I sometimes wonder if some of the headaches aren't being caused by obstructive sleep apnea.

Also-- stay tuned. Over the next couple days, I'm going to post about the effects of chronic pain on life in general. I've started thinking through this, and have been fascinated by some of the revelations and realizations that I've come to.

Peace out!

-R

Interesting Website

2006-01-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

I ran across this today while surfing. http://www.loftusmd.com

I don't specifically endorse anything on the website, but there were a few things that I found interesting, particularly around his discussion on preventatives and abortives.

One of the things that he mentions about abortives / analgesics is to limit their use to no more than 3 times per week. Any other headache during the week? Suffer through it! His logic is that this will help prevent medication rebound headaches. I find the logic to be sound, but when faced with a richter 5+ more than four times in one week-- I don't know that I'd be listening to logic.

The Cost of Migraines

2006-01-07T14:15:00.000-05:00

In 2000, I decided that I was going to pursue a lifelong dream to obtain a private pilot's certificate. Remember, this is before my diagnosis, so I was just fine flying, thinking that I had sinus headaches. Throughout 2000 and 2001 (even through September 11, which put a bit of a kibosh on my training) I flew and learned and learned and flew. Finally, in December 2001, I passed my "practical" and got my "PPASEL" or "Private Pilot Airplane SIngle Engine - Land."

I flew a half-dozen times or so after I got my license-- really nothing more than a jaunt down to Cincy or up to Akron, or a joyride over to Dayton. I was passionate about flying, and found it to be one of the biggest stress relievers that I've ever known. When you are above the ground like that, you need to put all of your concentration into flying, and can't worry about the petty things you left on the ground below you.

Anyway, once I got my migraine diagnosis, I effectively lost my medical. Now, I could be like some pilots out there, and neglect to mention to the flight physician that I have been having headaches, but understanding that loss of vision in one eye during landing might make that task a bit tough made me decide to do the right thing.

I estimate that it cost me about five or six grand to learn how to fly, and now that's a skill I'll never use again. However, even knowing what I know now, I would have done it anyway, because at least a few times I was able to "slip these surly bonds of Earth and dance[d] the skies on laughter-silvered wings." That made it all worth it.

(Credit goes to John Gillespie Magee, Jr. for the line from the poem "High Flight")

My Trigger: Skipping Meals

2006-01-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, this post probably falls into the category of "TMI," but I'm sure this will help someone out there. Last year, my family doctor suggested that I schedule a colonoscopy (for non-migraine related issues). As much as I dreaded the idea of a five foot long camera being pushed where the sun don't shine, having a new daughter has made me think more about my health, and gave me the courage to go through with it. Well, the day of the procedure finally arrived today.

As preparation for the procedure, I had to go through a "cleansing" procedure, which included a full day of fasting (clear liquids only), and an evening of drinking two liters worth of an electrolyte / polyethylene glycol solution called "Trilyte" (this is an industrial strength laxative that "cleans like a white tornado").

I didn't do too bad with the fasting, though I certainly was hungry by the time the laxative drinking began. By bedtime, I had a very mild headache in the upper right part of my head. It really felt more like dehydration or tension than a migraine, plus, I rarely get migrainous symptoms on the right side. I took a couple of Tylenol tablets and went to bed.

When I woke up this morning, I had that oh-so-familiar feeling of my hair hurting. To non-believers of the church of Migraine, this may sound kind of weird, but for some of you out there, you know just what I mean-- my scalp was extremely tender right where the hair is connected. Yet another fun example of what it means to have migraines!

Anyway, in addition to the hair hurting, I also had a mild Richter 1 migraine in the normal place, just behind my left eye. I knew it was a migraine, but since I had to be at the endoscopy place by 8AM, I didn't want to treat it with anything that might interfere with the sedatives-- so, I stuck with it, and tried to keep it from blooming by sheer willpower alone.

By the time I was prepped for my colonoscopy, the headache had risen to a 3. Luckily, I had no food in my system whatsoever, so that seemed to prevent my typical gastric symptoms. They wheeled me into the procedure room and gave me an IV of Demerol and Versed (like Valium). Both of these medications made me forget about my migraine completely. They didn't fully wear off until a few hours later, which is when the migraine came back with a vengeance.

I didn't want to put another sedative (Midrin) on top of the sedatives I had for the procedure, so I treated with a Maxalt and 400mg of Ibuprofen. That took about 20 minutes to set in, but it seems to have killed this migraine completely.

Things I've learned:

It is ok to get a colonoscopy. Some people feel shame about the fact that they're getting one, but that's just stupid. A colonoscopy could save your life. For me, there was nothing wrong, but had there been something wrong, the earlier it is detected, the sooner it can be treated and hopefully cured.
Narcotic painkillers like Demerol can do wonders for masking the pain of a migraine, but they do nothing to stop the pain of a migraine. I can understand how these would be useful, though, if the abortives aren't working, or they're taking a long time. I've heard people refer to these types of painkillers as "rescue medication" and I can understand why.
Skipping meals is definitely a trigger for me. This is the first time that I've had to fast for an entire day, but there have been other times that I've skipped (or taken a really late) lunch, or put off dinner-- many times that has resulted in a next-day migraine (sometimes same-day, too). No more meal-skipping for me.

Well, that's about it for me this evening. Here's hoping that you have a migraine-free day!

-R

I Hereby Resolve . . .

2005-12-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

I hereby resolve for the new year, to remember to take my medicine. My dosage of Effexor has changed to twice a day. I take 75mg at night before bed, and another 75mg in the morning before work. The nurse practitioner at the neurologist suggested this because 150mg at night might cause sleeplessness. Unfortunately, taking pills in the morning is about as natural to me as C# programming is to an iguana. Combine that with a few days of travelling and a totally messed up schedule, and you get lots of missed pills.

I assume that this is one of the things that has thrown me even further into the cycle of low- to medium-grade headaches.

Speaking of headaches . . . Last night's headache was an interesting one. The headache itself never topped a Richter 2, but the digestive effects were a Richter 5+. I swear, I was running to the reading room every hour or so. I took a couple of Midrin before bed, and that cleared up both problems until this morning. Now, I'm dealing with an annoying little bastard just above and behind my left eye. I'm seriously thinking about downing a few Ibuprofen to see if that will clear it up, but, given the cycle as of late, I am really starting to get worried about a major medication rebound headache. I've had one of those before, and it was the worst migraine I have *ever* experienced.

Other things of note (not migraine related) . . .

This was the first Christmas with our little Ellie. At four months old, I never expected her to participate in the Christmas holiday, but she delighted in ripping the wrapping paper from her gifts. She got a mountain of toys, even though we asked our family to limit the number of gifts. I was actually worried about being able to pack it all in the sport-ute for the trip home, but my wife, expert packer as she is, managed to get everything in (and on the roof carrier) with about a cubic inch of room to spare.

It is really interesting watching the neurological development of Ellie. Every day, so many new neuron pathways are forged, and you can see it happening in her behavior. This morning, she was having a geat time in her exersaucer, chewing on the "clown-dog" accessory. When I sat down to talk to her, she immediately offered the accessory to me, practically shoving it in my mouth. At first, I thought it was an accident, but then she did it four or five more times. No accident, that.

I pray every night that she isn't burdened with my affliction.

-Rob

Quick Holiday Update

2005-12-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

First off, Happy Holidays! to everyone. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, this is a great time of year, with the new year just about to start, and the promise of better things. I hope each and every one of you gets those "better things" whether it is an Xbox 360, or just a few days of being migraine free.

As for me, I've still been fighting the string of low grade migraines. Lots of short-lived aura, and mild headaches. The headaches themselves are tolerable-- it is the frequency that is getting to me. Getting used to having a headache sometime between 5PM and 7PM every night gets a bit tiring.

Well, with the new year, I resolve to refine my medication, even if it means a lot more trips to the neuro. I also resolve not to try trepanation (Wikipedia definition. May be a little disturbing) this year, no matter how much of a good idea it seems in the throes of a bad headache.

Great good fortune to you in 2006.

-Rob

This one may be a bad one

2005-12-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

First off, I'm posting this through the email posting function of Blogger, because the main site seems to be acting wonky. Second of all, I have a big spot of negative scotoma that is causing me to not see everything I should (though, as I wrote this sentence, the spot has died down to a pinprick). Thirdly, I've had a mild left side frontal migraine since about noon today. Given all that, please forgive if this posting seems a little off kilter.

Well, 12/5 was a pretty good day, being headache free, and all. Also, 12/6 was pretty darn good without a headache as well. I was definitely feeling a little out of sorts this morning at work, so I knew something was up. I figured I was going to get a visit from the migraine fairy sometime today. About noon, I had a very short lived auditory aura followed by a mild headache (maybe a Richter 1 at worst). I had a mandatory happy hour at 3:30, where I consumed 2.5 beers, even as the headache worsened to a two. I knew I was setting myself up for a problem, since I didn't want to combine the beer and Midrin.

I got home and the headache was up to a Richter 3 while I put Ellie (my daughter) to bed. As I was finished, I sat down at the computer, and before you know it, the negative scotoma was there (it is now gone). This one was a right-eye blank spot that was about the size of a kalamata olive held at arms length. It got a bit bigger, then faded out. I'm sure the headache will follow this one, as the aura stayed around for a few minutes. I've dosed with Midrin, and need to think about going to bed, however, I have to fill out pre-visit information for an upcoming medical test (routine and unrelated to migraines). It's pretty much the last thing I want to do tonight, but I did make a promise to my wife.

Today is my Birthday

2005-12-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

And I haven't had a headache all day!

-Rob

Blast and Damn - Chronic Pain

2005-12-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the string of headaches continue. This pattern is similar to the one that I was having late last year and early this year, but without the BTM (Basilar Type Migraine) effects that I was having. It's nothing really serious, just a chronic headache that's just behind my left eye, combined with aura that comes and goes throughout the day. Luckily, the headache rarely gets above a level two or three, so a couple of ibuprofen are enough to keep it down. The bad part is that I'm never really sure when the rare occasion of it popping to a 5 or above is going to happen, so I don't usually have much warning to hit the Midrin or Maxalt.

It is interesting to note the effects of chronic daily pain on my general outlook on life. They definitely make you look at the more negative aspects of life, and have a tendency to urge the black cloud of depression up over my head. The one thing that the daily headaches definitely don't detract from is Ellie (my almost-four-month-old daughter). She's still a wonderful joy to deal with, and even if she's screaming in my ear during one of these headaches, it miraculously doesn't make it any worse.

I know that I'm lucky. If I had to deal with a daily level 2 headache for the rest of my life, I know that I could do it, and do it with aplomb. There are other folks out there that have much greater pain to deal with daily. They have my sympathy, and to a small degree, my empathy.

-Rob

It's official - a "Trifecta"

2005-11-30T07:42:00.000-05:00

6:30 this AM, I got the weird tingly sensation in the left hemisphere of my scalp. Not long after came the migraine. This one had a quick ramp-up to a Richter 3. I treated with a Maxalt and 400mg of ibuprofen, and it is under control now (but still there).

I hope I make it through most of the day without it coming back, I've got a full calendar of meetings at work today.

Two fer the price of One

2005-11-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

Went to bed last night with a mild headache. I didn't think it was a migraine because it was a whole-head ache, and it was very mild. Again, I fooled myself.

Earlier yesterday, I was at Kroger's supermarket (pretty big chain in the midwest and southern US of A), and I got a pinpoint aura that was, in many ways, similar to a micro-aura. However, this one lasted about five minutes, but didn't grow. It was also in my right eye, which is pretty unusual for me.

Anyway, not long after the aura, I got the symptoms of a basilar type migraine. For me, this is a feeling of being "disconnected," along with an ataxic gait (i.e. walking like I'm drunk). No real headache to speak of, so I didn't treat it. I forgot one of my cardinal rules: Migraines beget Migraines.

For me, when a migraine hits, I really can't just sleep it off. If I don't treat it with at least an analgesic, it is bound to get worse. The BTM wasn't really bothering me, so I just ignored it. Later on that night, I started getting a "sinus" headache. I've been pretty congested over the past week, so my assumption was that my sinus was a bit inflamed. No such luck-- by 1Am it was a full blown migraine, coming in at a Richter 4. Time for some midrin and sleep.

Woke up this morning around 6:30, and it was still there (that bastard), hovering around a Richter 2. Before 7:00, it had escalated to a 3.5, and I treated with Maxalt and lay down for a few. By 8:00 it was at a 3, and I chased the Maxalt with a couple of Midrin and 600mg of ibuprofen and went to work. By ten AM, the headache was gone, though I felt like I was high as a kite.

At 5:30, we had a production problem at work, and I had to stick around for a bit to see it through. By 6:00, I spiked a Richter 2, and treated with Maxalt. I was home by 7, and the headache was still there at a Richter 4, and only a couple of Advil seemed able to chase it away.

I still have the feeling that this one isn't gone, it's just resting. We'll see tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving to those readers in the US of A. I made the four hour car trek to the parents house this weekend with wife and three-month-old in tow. Did relatively well throughout the four days that we were there, with the exception of Wednesday night.

On Wednesday, I got hit by a 3-banger that needed two doses of Midrin to take care of. It peaked at about a four, but stayed steady at a three until after I fell asleep. Thankfully (heh, excuse the pun), my wife is good at remembering to take along meds, so I had my Midrin, Maxalt, Inderal and Effexor all close at hand.

-Rob

Micro Aura - What is it?

2005-11-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

No... seriously: What is it? Is it migraine related? Is it eye strain?

Someone posted on a thread on Usenet's (link is to Google Groups) alt.support.headaches.migraine group about a situation where they were experiencing mild aura like symptoms, particularly in situations where the lighting was bad or when they were working on the computer. This has prompted me to talk about something that I've referred to as "micro aura" over the past year.

After my entrance into the world of frequent migraines, I started noticing that I would get these very short-lived auras. Primarily, they would be a small, pinhead sized either negative or scintillating scotoma (sometimes a combination of the two) in one eye-- primarily the left eye. These aura would not progress to the curved jagged "classic" scintillating scotoma, nor would they cause significant negative scotoma. Instead, they would simply stay there for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Most often, the aura would not be followed by a headache, and, in the cases that a headache did follow, it was relatively mild.

Like the Usenet poster mentioned, these either occurred or were most notable in "bad" lighting conditions. For me, the definition of bad lighting is either high contrast situations (bright monitor, dark room), or being surrounded by fluorescent lights. I most typically notice this aura when I am working on a computer hooked up to an LCD panel.

In addition to the visual aura, I sometimes experience an auditory aura. For me, this is manifested as a short sharp attack of tinnitus in one ear (again, typically the left). I get a sharp ringing sensation that quickly fades to nothing, though hearing in that ear might be degraded for a short amount of time.

Anyone else experience this? The worst part about it for me is that when it happens, I don't know if it is going to be simply micro aura, or if it is the precursor to a "banger."

-R

Increasing Effexor Dosage

2005-11-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided (with neurologist input) to up my dosage of Effexor XR to 150mg per day. Lately, the Effexor XR 75mg and the Inderal LA 60mg haven't been cutting it. The neuro warned me that I should be careful with the 150mg and maybe try to spread them out to two a day, because otherwise I might have trouble sleeping. That's interesting because the 75mg dose does the exact opposite-- it makes me drowsy. So I decided to look at the drug information for Effexor on WebMD.

To quote:

Other side effects reported include trouble sleeping, nervousness, sweating, loss of appetite, dry mouth, tremor, blurred vision, constipation, drowsiness, change in sexual ability, or anxiety.

So Effexor XR has both "trouble sleeping" and "drowsiness" as side-effects. Excuse my ignorance, but isn't one the polar opposite of the other? Also, "change in sexual ability". . . is it a positive change or a negative change? Can I start ignoring the spam email for C1al1s and V1agr@?

-R

3:36 AM.

2005-11-18T03:36:00.000-05:00

Ellie woke up this morning around 3:00, which is unusual for her-- she usually goes until at least 5:00 AM. I got up to change her, as my wife got up to make the bottle. A minute or so into changing, I realized that I was dealing with a headache. At first I tried to convince myself it was a regular garden-variety headache, but my gut (literally) told me otherwise. I finished my daddy duties and it was off to the bedroom for a Maxalt and some Advil. I'm trying to avoid the Midrin, because if I take two, I'll have trouble getting up at six.

This is actually the third out of four days that I've had a migraine. This cluster o' migraines really sucks. It makes me remember what it was like to be pain free a month or so ago. Maybe I should go back on the higher dose of Inderal. Even though I had the dreams, at least it was effective.

I'm getting ready to head back to bed, and thought I would throw this down before I did.

Did you know . . . Migraines can also present with a congested or stuffy nose? Some people (myself included) are convinced for years that they're suffering from sinus infections or sinus headaches instead of migraines.
- Source: Personal experience, and several websites, including About.com

Headache tonight - but still sharing info

2005-11-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

Small flash of light and a bit of nagging pain as we were giving Ellie her bath tonight. Nothing major, so I started feeding her and getting her ready for bed, then Mr. Digestive Distress decided to show up. Thankfully, my dear wife was able and willing to help put our little Princess to sleep.

Anyway, as the Midrin takes effect and gets me mellow, and as I'm waiting for the Steelers' game to start on ESPN, I thought I would share with you a few resources.

The Migraine Aura Foundation (http://www.migraine-aura.org/EN/index.html) has a lot of interesting information about migraine auras, and a lot about basilar type migraines (or basilar artery migraines). They've compiled a significant amount of anecdotal experiences that helped me feel less alone.

MAGNUM (http://www.migraines.org/) The National Migraine Association is a US-based advocacy group. If you believe that you are legally disabled by your migraines, this is a good site to start.

A couple of 'blogs that have caught my attention include Moogle's Thoughts (http://www.mooglesthoughts.blogspot.com/) a very well written journal of one woman's experience with migraines, and Pirate's View (http://www.piratesview.blogspot.com/), which is the story of a man with disabling headaches as told from his dog's viewpoint. Very poignant.

Another place to which I wander from time to time is the usenet migraine group (news://alt.support.headache.migraine) also accessible through Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.headaches.migraine?lnk=oa

Here's wishing us all a few pain-free days.

-R

Feelin' Good, so Let's talk about Nausea

2005-11-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

Feeling pretty good today. The migraine that has been threatening me seems to have remissed for a while. In the mean time, I want to talk about nausea-- or, more specifically, the digestive effect of migranous headaches.

In my experience, the digestive effects are one of the things that is least understod by non-migraneurs. For me, I don't actually get nauseous. Instead, I wind up having pretty drastic lower digestive system effects. In essence, my digestive system is sped up considerably, which doesn't give time for the digestive matter to absorb water in the large intestine, which means (and pardon me for the relatively graphic description) loose, watery stools with reeated urgent needs for a bowel movement. Other people I know get the more classic nausea of an upset stomach and intolerance to different smells (or even sounds). Some people get migraines without any digestive system effects at all. This is the variability of the migraine.

Most of the non-migraineurs aren't able to understand how the head and belly effects can be related. From my standpoint, everything starts with the brain, so if you screw up the processing there, God only knows where the effects are going to manifest. Additionally, a lot of the studies lately have pointed towards migraines being chemical related. Screw up the body's chemistry, and other organs might react as well.

The gut-effect is also another reason why these headaches can be so debilitating and disabling. I can work through up to a Richter 3 headache, but if you start throwing in multiple trips to the bathroom, my ability to continue working is eliminated. For those migraineurs that get nausea early on in the migraine process, it's gotta be even worse.

Well-- that's all for now. Here's wishing you pain free days.

-R

A little bit about Aura

2005-11-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

I'm looking for some input from the blog readers here... what kind of aura do you experience? For the longest time, my aura was limited to the classic combination of negative and scintillating scotoma, but recently, I've started noticing more and varied kinds of aura. Many of these are precursors to very minor migraines, some are precursors to heavy migraines, and some seem to have no headache associated with them at all.

Here's a small list of things that I think are aura:

Perception changes. Sometimes I'll get the feeling that I'm moving in either slow motion or fast motion. I'll also get very aware of my peripheral vision, which gives me a fish-eye lens type of a feeling.
Skin crawling. Weird sensations on my arms and scalp that feel like prickly skin. I'll also get the feeling in the center of my scalp like someone is pulling an invisible thread that is making my skin tighter there.
Tinnitus. I'll get ringing in my ears (particularly my left ear). Usually only lasts for a couple of seconds before it fades. This usually is a harbinger of a minor migraine.
Psychological changes. I talked about this a bit earlier, with respect to feeling manic prior to a migraine. My perception of people will change, and suddenly every stranger looks really odd. Almost like cariacatures of themselves. It is almost like someone turns up the wierdness meter in my life.

-R

Emotional Aura

2005-11-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

I think I might be headed for a big one. I've gone from mildly depressed to mildly euphoric, and I've noticed in the past that these kind of mood swings can be harbingers of strong migraines. Well, I'm fully stocked on Midrin and Maxalt, and I'll continue my preventatives as well. There's naught I can do but hope it doesn't come, and if it does, ride it out the best I can.

I think I found a trigger

2005-11-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

Our company cafeteria has a cook (Al) who likes to experiment with food. Though the food is generally passable at the cafeteria, I have found that there is one key food that he makes that will trigger a migraine consistently-- his hamburger. He makes his hamburger patties with A1 steak sauce and a mix of arcane spices known only unto him (though I think one of the key items is Montreal Steak Seasoning). I've learned to avoid the burgers.

Well, today's special was an Au Jus Roast Beef Dip. I figured I was safe. No way. Don't know if it was the meat, sauce or dressing, but something messed me up real good. Only Richter 2, but the digestive effects were just short of amazing.

One Maxalt down about an hour ago, and the pain is pretty much gone.

No good deed goes unpunished

2005-10-28T01:08:00.000-04:00

I spent the entire day today working at the local Food Bank sorting food for the needy. Very labor intensive work, and I can feel it throughout my entire body. Got home around 4:30 and napped on the couch for (at most) half an hour.

No aura this time, just a Richter 2 that worked itself up to a Richter 5 and hung around for a while. Midrin brought it back down to a 3, but no less. It might be time for a Maxalt chaser (it has been about 2 hours).

There've been some studies that link migraines to relaxation (instead of stress). I'm paraphrasing here, but the theory is that after a stressful period, the body relaxes and allows more blood flow to the brain. The resultant dilation of the blood vessels helps bring on the chemical changes necessary for the migraine. Given how I feel right now, maybe there's some truth to this theory.

Peace.

-R

Migraines as a kid

2005-10-20T23:47:00.000-04:00

As I was finishing the previous post, I started thinking about my migraines when I was younger. I can remember the "pounders" all the way back to being a pre-teen. Back then, I thought they were just headaches, and since I didn't get the nausea -- only the (sorry for TMI) diarrhea -- nobody ever put the facts together.

Anyway, there's a distinct migraine memory that I have. I had to be around 13 years old. It was a winter Saturday morning, and I was watching TV in the living room and I was wearing my black terrycloth robe-- the one with the red piping. I don't remember if there was any aura, but I remember the migraine hitting. My head hurt so bad that I didn't even go into the kitchen to tell Mom. I just lay down on the couch and buried my head into the cushions.

I didn't get much relief from that, so I took off the belt of the robe and I looped it around my head (like Rambo) and pulled it as tight as I possibly could. The pressure against my temples and the constriction of my skull gave me some relief. Unfortunately, as soon as I would release the pressure, the headache would come flooding back-- but worse than before.

I have used this trick a few times in my adult life as well. A few years back, I was in "Crystal City" in Washington DC for a business meeting. About 2AM, the skull splitter started, and I was without analgesic. This was still in the days before I had been officially diagnosed, so my typical treatment was four or five advil (800 - 1000mg of Ibuprofen). Anyway-- I didn't have any, and I needed some relief, so I got out my belt and wrapped it around my head and tried to go back to sleep.

Sleep did not come.

Some time later (about 3:30), I took off the belt, threw on some shorts and went down to the front desk to beg for some asprin or advil or anything. I garnered a lot of sympathy, and eventually, the security guard essentially broke into the gift shop to get me some. I dry swallowed them and thanked them profusely before heading back to my room. As I was getting a drink of water, I noticed that I still had the impression of my belt around my forehead. I wonder what they thought.

Good couple 'a days

2005-10-20T23:41:00.000-04:00

Thank God for small blessings (and big ones too). The small blessing is that I'm through a couple days migraine free. That always makes you appreciate life a little more. The big blessing is my daughter Ellie. Always precious-- always daddy's little girl. At 9 weeks old, she feels so new, but yet so much a part of our life. I still tear up while thinking about her.

Ellie got her first vaccinations on Tuesday. Four of 'em. You could tell that the shots themselves hurt, and you could tell later on that day that the shots were making her feel lousy. In 9 weeks, we've seen a lot of crying, but this was the first time that we actually saw her sad. :(

She's doing good now, and the shots are just a dim memory. Now I know why Stewie is always so mad at Lois on "Family Guy."

Aura now - Migraine soon?

2005-10-16T20:53:00.000-04:00

Ugh. I seem to be on a bender of migraines. Just a few minutes ago, the aura started in my left eye, and now my stomach is getting upset. When the belly gets upset this early, it is usually a bad sign.

In other news, apparently my blood pressure is up a little bit, so my general practitioner decided that it made sense to restart the low dosage of Inderal, since I was able to tolerate that without the vivid dreams.

I popped a Maxalt about 5 minutes ago, so hopefully that will head this one off.

Update 10.16.2005 @ 10:50 PM

Well the Maxalt did the trick. I got a little logy, and a bit of a left side occipital headache, but nothing more than a Richter 1. The aura stayed around for a very long time tonight. At 8:00, it was still there. Weird.

Zing - the fun continues

2005-10-13T22:51:00.000-04:00

Excellent day at work today. At 4:45 a coworker needed a ride to pick up his car, so I volunteered. As I was walking down the steps, I had the oh-so-familiar aura in my right eye. I managed to convince myself that it was just a retinal afterimage-- I must've seen a glare. You'd think after all this time, I wouldn't delude myself.

The spot was gone by the time we were at the dealership (less than 10 minutes), and the headache started a few minutes from being home. This one peaked at an 8, and wasn't affected by Maxalt at all. The midrin has it calmed down for the time being, but I can still feel it out there.

Amazing how a stretch of 6 weeks of being migraine free can make two days worth of headaches seem that much worse.

The worst part was that I got to spend all of 10 minutes with my beautiful baby daughter. :(

Three within 24 hours. Life sucks.

2005-10-13T10:53:00.000-04:00

Woke up at 2AM while the wife was in feeding the baby with a pounder. Waking up with a Richter 5 is not fun. Popped two midrin, and told the wife she'd probably have to get the 5AM feeding as well, since I'd still be "high" from the sedative.

The good news is that I'm relatively headache free this morning, and feeling better than I was yesterday at this time.

Oh, yeah-- the wife brought the baby (8 weeks) into our room to sleep in the bed between us this morning. Even though I was hopped up on goofballs, that was a memorably great experience. :)

Ugh. Two posts in one day. Definitely not good.

2005-10-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

Wandered into work at about 1:30 this afternoon feeling pretty good. Stayed in for a whole 4 hours (and was productive, too!). On the way home, the head started feelin' funny. After dinner (and a perfectly happy baby), it started creeping up the Richter scale. When it got to a 2+, I hit it with 600 mg of ibuprofen. When it got to a 3, it was time for a Midrin. I knew the Midrin would work earlier, but didn't want the sedative side effect. At a 3+, though, I'll take sedative over increasing pain.

Lesson learned: don't skip the Effexor.

Peace out.

Caution - skip Effexor at your own peril

2005-10-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Rough night the other night with the baby. Not screaming and crying, but just awake! Last night, I lay down in bed, and the last thought I had was that I needed to take my Effexor-- next thing I know I'm sawing logs. Flash foward to this morning at 5 AM with the baby awake (again), and me with a Level 2 skin-crawler headache (I get skin crawling sensations on my scalp with some of my migraines).

Took a Maxalt (my last) and lay down as it peaked at about a 4, then subsided to a zero (now). The upside of all of this is that I'm only going to work half a day, and I got some much needed extra sleep.

Sounds like my little princess is starting to stir again. Ciao!

Been a while, but all for good reasons

2005-09-21T13:18:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a while since my last posting, but for two good reasons. First of all, I have been relatively migraine free over the past several weeks. It looks like the Effexor / Inderal combo is continuing to prove itself out. I have a trip back to the neuro in a couple weeks to re-evaluate whether or not I even need the Inderal.

The other good reason for not posting is the birth of my daughter (boy, does it feel odd saying that) Ellison MaGee. Both her mother and I are hoping that she doesn't inherit either of our neurological issues (Migraine on my side, and MS on her side).

On the bad side, I've had a couple of migraines over the past two days. Visual and auditory aura that falls into the "micro" category for me (lasting less than 5 seconds), followed by a moderate migraine. I am still using Midrin to counter these, and it works well, but the sedative effect doesn't mix well with the sleep habits of a 5-week old.

Effexor Effects

2005-08-10T23:41:00.000-04:00

So far, I'm happy on the Effexor (that's kind of like a double entendre, since Effexor is an anti-depressant). I'm actually just about headache free right now. I'm not even getting much in the way of "micro aura" like I was before, where I would be sitting at the computer, and I'd get a little bit of scotoma that would last about a second or so with no follow-on headache.

One thing I've noticed is that my sense of taste has changed considerably, particularly around tartness, though all of my taste senses seem a bit dulled. I need to do a quick search and see if this is a common side effect.

All things considered, I would trade off some of my taste buds for reduced headache.

Edited-- 5 minutes later:

Ok, it seems that there are a few posts about food not tasting as good. It also looks like one of the "talk to your doctor" side-effects is "taste disorders." I'm not sure if food not tasting as good counts as a taste disorder, or my inability to match shirt and pants in the morning. I guess I'll call the neuro just in case.

Warning... may cause headaches

2005-08-05T23:04:00.000-04:00

One of the potential side-effects from Effexor is headaches. Ain't that a kick in the head? Hopefully, that won't be a side-effect for me.

In other news, had some aura and a slight headache today. The aura hit as I was picking up some socks. Primarily a spot of negative scotoma, with a little slash of scintillating scotoma. The aura stayed around for a lot longer than normal (about 45 minutes), and turned into a mild headache, but that was probably because Midrin helped save the day. I have been feeling "loopy" ever since, and as I sit here and type this, I'm realizing that I do still have a bit of a headache.

Effexor

2005-08-05T16:51:00.000-04:00

Well-- I decided to try Effexor as my second option. Inderal LA is dropping to 80mg a night, and I'll be supplementing with Effexor. I need to stay on the Inderal for a while, as a quick cleansing might make my blood pressure jump to a dangerously high level.

I'm interested to see if the Effexor does make me drowsy-- and I'm interested to see if it affects my personality at all.

Inderal Dreams

2005-07-31T02:43:00.000-04:00

Sheesh. It was naptime today at 3 o'clock. We had been on the move since about 7 AM, and both the wife and I were tired. She went into the bedroom, while I crashed on the couch. Immediately upon dozing off, the dreams started. We're talking 3D, color, Sensurround dreams.

In one of the dreams, I had my hand on the wife's pregnant belly, and was feeling a contraction. In my dream I yelled out "Yeah, that's a real contraction!"-- apparently, I yelled that out for real, too. Immediately after, I woke up, and realized it was a dream, but I could still feel this contraction with my hand.

I really need to think about switching off the Inderal and onto something else.

myDNA.com - News: Uncovering clues in the migraine mystery

2005-07-28T07:14:00.000-04:00

myDNA.com - News: Uncovering clues in the migraine mystery

Interesting article about the genetic aspect of migraines.

Dream a little dream of pain

2005-07-27T20:24:00.000-04:00

I think I forgot to mention this last time, but the migraine that hit me at a factor 8 the other night started while I was asleep. I woke up around 1AM after having dreamed that I was having a migraine.

How fun is it to dream you have a migraine, only to wake up and realize that you do have a migraine? Answer: Not fun at all.

Inderal - Worth it? Or not?

2005-07-26T00:27:00.000-04:00

Well, the neuro has me on Inderal LA, 90mg per day. Frequency has been down, and severeity way down. However, I've been dealing with a migraine that's been dogging me for about 5 days, peaking up to a 5 a couple of times, and last night, all the way up to an 8.

I think the Inderal is helping, but along with the Inderal comes vivid dreams nightly. And I mean all night long. Stupid dreams. Dreams about being at my grandmothers house. Dreams about being at work (yeah, great-- work 9 hours, then dream about being at work for 8 hours). Additionally, the pill keeps my heart rate down-- in the low 60's. This makes it fun to walk up a set of steps. I'm wheezing for air by the time I get to the top.

Maybe a tricyclic antidipressant needs to be tried-- either that or one of the anti-siezure medicines like Topomax. I need to call the neuro and ask.

Midrin vs. Maxalt

2005-07-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

Wow, two posts in one night. Amazing.

For the longest time, I was on Maxalt as an abortive. Based on the frequency that I had to take it, the neuro switched me to Midrin. I really think this was more of an insurance strategy than a health strategy, as the Maxalt comes in a 9-pack, and I routinely get 50 capsules of the Midrin.

So far, the Midrin has worked 90 percent of the time. Only a couple times have I either suffered through, or tapped my stash of Maxalt. What the Midrin can't fix, the Maxalt can.

I guess the Midrin is slightly more "aged" than the triptans for treating migraine disease, and isn't very popular of a treatment option. My understanding is that Midrin is a combination of acetominophen, a vasoconstrictor, and a mild sedative. The acetominophen helps kill some of the pain, the vasoconstrictor helps lessen the effects of the migraine itself, and the sedative makes you care less about the pain. All I know is that when the #8 hit last night, two midrin put me to sleep in about 15 minutes, even with the headache. Now that I can deal with!

Migraine - the story so far

2005-04-24T19:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, if you haven't done so, read my posting on migraines so you can get up to speed. . .

The story so far:

I've had migraines since I was a wee little kid. However, for the past 28 years or so, they've been about as frequent as two or three per year. Starting late last year, however, they started to get more frequent. Now, over the past three months, I've had an almost constant series of headaches and aura symptoms. And, with the addition of BTM starting, I'm sometimes seen stumbling and mumbling like I'm drunk.

I take Maxalt MLT tabs to abort the headaches when they start, and I'm now on Inderal daily to try to break the cycle. If the Inderal works, it'll be a maintenance drug that I'll have to take for as long as I don't want to get migraines.

Right now, I have a #1 (on a scale from 1 to 10), so I'm not treating with anything. If it gets up to a three, I might take some Advil. Anything beyond that will require more drastic measures.

Migraine - more than a headache

2005-04-24T19:29:00.000-04:00

A lot of people think a migraine is just a headache-- maybe a bad one, but simply a headache nonetheless. Not quite.

A migraine is a neurological condition. Until recently, the consensus was that either a constriction or dilation of blood vessels caused the migraine. However, more contemporary research seems to think that the dilation is secondary to the migraine itself.

There are a number of different types of migraine, including ocular migraines, with and without aura, basilar type migraines, and others. For the purposes of this particular discussion, we're going to focus on the three types that I seem to have: migraine with aura, migraine without aura, and basilar type migraine.

The only difference between migraine with and without aura is-- you may have already guessed-- the aura. The migraine aura is typically expereinced for between 5 and 60 minutes before the headache stage, and can encompass many different types of neurological symptoms. Before one of my migraines, I might experience:

scintillating scotoma: flashing bright spots in my eye (usually left eye, but sometimes right, or even both)

negative scotoma: a totally blank spot in my vision.

With the scotomas, they usually start out just about dead center, and gradually grow and move until they are in the corner of my eye. At their worst, my vision is reduced to about 10% of normal.

This is usually followed by a headache that is bad enough that I need to lie down in a nice dark room until it passes.

Another type of migraine is either refered to as "Basilar Artery Migraine" or "Basliar Type Migraine" (or BTM). In these types of migraines, the brain stem and occipital lobes are typically affected. There are a few significant differences.

non-BTM headache stages (for me) seem to be limited to the temple and behind the left eye. They may pound, but they stay put.
My BTMs seem to like to hang out in the back of the neck and left temple.
My BTM aura (though this is sometimes experienced during the headache stage) also includes difficulty walking, some confusion, difficulty speaking, and depersonalization.

Sounds fun, huh? Well, one of the things I want to do with this blog is try to keep track of when these headaches happen, and what I'm doing to deal with 'em. I'm anxious to hear if anyone has any thoughts as I go through this.