Hang on, this is actually a post about migraines. But first some background: Hubby and I disagree on a fundamental level about the rules of a staring contest. He believes one wins a staring contest by going the longest without blinking or looking away. I believe one wins by staring into someone eyes the longest, not looking away or laughing. Essentially, the difference is he thinks it's a physical task and I think it's a psychological one. People tend to get uncomfortable staring into someone's eyes for extended periods of time, which is what makes it a challenge that anyone can potentially w ..read more

With temperatures warming in February this year, I was worried that spring was going to be warmer too. While we've certainly had some hot spells, we've also enjoyed some nice moderate to cool days. Before the dreaded heat and humidity settles in for the long summer ahead I wanted to take a moment and look back at the spring that was. Spring Favorites As usual, I spent a good amount of time resting and/or distracting myself from my various pains with Netflix. In April I started streaming a show called Life Below Zero. I would call it a docuseries. Sort of a hybrid of a reality show and a docum ..read more

As June quickly approaches, I've been spending a fair amount of time thinking about this year's migraine awareness month. Each year I try to spend the month participating in some kind of awareness raising activities. I've done the blogging challenges and shared facts on social media. I've been trying to think of something different to do this year, just to change things up.  The theme this year is, The Art of Migraine and Headache Management. The only idea I've come up with is to spend the entire month documenting the raw ugliness and everyday realities of living with chronic migraines o ..read more

This has been a rough week so far. I've been battling a terrible migraine and now the muscle spasm in my neck, shoulders and upper back is redeveloping. In an effort to get on top of this spasm before it gets out of hand, I've started using the Thermacare Heat Wrap and am working hard to keep the area relaxed.  Relaxing these muscles is a huge undertaking as they tense up in response to the migraine. The worse the pain the more of my upper body becomes tense and the harder it is to relax them. This tension seems to then make the pain worse, which makes the tension worse.  I don't e ..read more

Are any of you as worried as I am about this repeal and replace business? I was so relieved when the bill was pulled last time and Trump was pitching a fit, saying we are stuck with what we have for the foreseeable future. But here we are, several weeks later, and the house is getting ready to vote. I guess he can't see more than a week or two into the future at any given time. Then I see something like this and my worry turns to a feeling of panic. This man is a lawmakers!?!?!?! The stakes are high and I'm troubled that none of the discussion are about what will bring down costs and prov ..read more

Well I tried a new primary care doctor yesterday and it didn't go well. Yet another dehumanizing experience. This doc wanted me to justify why I was taking the medications I take. I don't mind explaining who prescribed my medications, how it came about, what the medication does for me and how long I've been on them. I'm not on any opiates. All of the medications I'm currently on have a direct benefit to my quality of life. The dosage was dictated to me by specialists and I'm just looking to maintain the status quo. I have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide so discussing them with a n ..read more

My recent trip to urgent care for my muscle spasm yielded a very interesting conversation with a fellow migraineur. The doctor who was working at the time happened to be a D.O. who used to have frequent migraines. A quick look at my history revealed my status as a chronic migraineur and so she wanted to tell me about how Botox significantly reduced her migraines. I explained that I had tried it before and it hadn't been effective. Honestly, I just wasn't interested in having a conversation about it. I was there for my spasm and the matter is quite complicated. But since she's a doctor I heard ..read more

So I never heard back from my primary care doc. I called her on Monday (day 5 of this muscle spasm) and asked if she might be able to spend in a script to help me because I wasn't able to drive. She didn't bother getting back to me so on Tuesday morning hubby had to go into work late so he could take me to urgent care. I called the doctor in pain and with almost no range of motion in my head/neck area. She couldn't even bother calling me back. I wouldn't have minded at all if she wasn't comfortable sending in a prescription without seeing me. That is a perfectly acceptable response. But no re ..read more

I'm now 5 days into a fairly severe muscle spasm. My neck and upper back started to spasm this past Thursday. Despite resting it, using the heating pad and taking my usual daily dose of muscle relaxant, the pain and stiffness has only gotten worse. Muscle spasms are a regular part of my life. They have been for a very long time. What's unusual and noteworthy about this one is that it isn't resolving and it covers a fairly large area. I had one like this right around the time my migraines were starting to increase in frequency. A little more than a year later my migraines were daily (constant ..read more

Still in full wedding weekend recovery mode, I thought I would take a moment to talk about the important lesson I learned from this event. The very nature of a wedding reception is intolerable for my migraine prone self. I've decided that this was my last wedding reception. I went into the weekend feeling as prepared as I could have been. With all the family coming into town there were gatherings being planned Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I had made up my mind that I would attend the Saturday and Sunday events, knowing that 4 days of activity was just not going to be possible. That ..read more