Saturday, June 15, 2013

Migraine & Headache Awareness Month #15

For today's Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge post I am using one of the alternative prompts- Temple Grandin: "A school bell sounded like a dentist drill going through my ears."

There are many side effects that occur because when one experiences a Migraine.  Not everyone experiences them all, and not everyone experiences the same ones.  One that is very common, however, is phonophobia, or noise sensitivity.

When experiencing phonophobia the slightest whisper can sound like someone screaming is in your ear.  You suddenly begin to notice every sound in your environment.  Every sound you hear is amplified so much so that the pain in your ears begins to match that of your Migraine.

I usually get that acute super-sonic hearing that phonophobia causes along with my Migraines.  It varies in intensity along with the intensity of my Migraine.  At its worst I cannot even stand the sound of the fan in our bedroom.  Also, for some reason, it always seems that the neighbor chooses to mow his lawn when I have my worst Headaches.  When this happens I will pop in my earplugs and pray for sleep.  

On other days, when the pain is not so severe that I lock myself in my room curled up with my earplugs and face mask, I am able to lay down on the couch and watch TV.  My husband usually abandons his TV watching when this happens.  The reason is that the volume that suits him sounds like the actors are screaming through megaphones to me, and in order to sound normal to me I have to turn it down so low that he can't hear it.

It is also possible for the phonophobia to make the Migraine worse.  (It's a sort of chicken or egg thing.)  I remember one time we were at a concert when I started to get a Migraine.  I had left my Maxalt in the car, so we decided to leave.  Before we could get out of our seats the band began to play and my pain level skyrocketed.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Phonophobia is a difficult side effect of Migraine.  Unfortunately, since we can't turn down the volume of the world, we must learn to adapt and create our own silence.

-Jennifer Gayle

June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Migraine & Headache Awareness Month #12 - The Box


The prompt for today's Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is The Box- You are the experiment.  What situation in your Migraine treatment has made you feel most like a guinea pig or lab rat?

A few years ago I was fortunate to find an amazing headache specialist, Dr. Kevin Kahn.  I love my neurologist to death, but once my Migraines became chronic she just didn't know what to do.  Unlike many doctors, Dr. Kahn has what I like to call the anything but the kitchen sink approach.  We started out with a common regimen for Migraine treatment.  When the conventional treatment didn't work he started to get creative.  We must have tried five or six different things, from nerve block injections to a glaucoma medication.  I got some relief from the injections, though they made me feel like a human pincushion.  Unfortunately the other medications were a fail.  One caused a rash, while another made my feet and ankles swell so badly I couldn't put shoes on.  The frustrating part was that one worked.  But, as I couldn't go around with elephant legs, I had to stop it.  In the end we backed off of any preventative medication and just stuck with the nerve blocks.

Although I felt like a medical experiment for a little while, I really did (and do) appreciate Dr. Kahn's approach to things.  Most other doctors would have tried the standard medications, and when that didn't work they would have said "oh well."  Recently, since my Migraines have gotten worse (I've only had one Migraine-free day in the past three months) we decided to give beta blockers another shot.  I have had some relief so far (that one Migraine-free day and a reduction in the duration and intensity of the Migraines) so I have hope that things will continue to improve as the medication builds up in my system.

-Jennifer Gayle

June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Migraine & Headache Awareness Month #9 - Mama Mia

The prompt for today's Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is Mama Mia: Money Money Money, How does living with Migraine affect your financial situation?

According to the American Headache and Migraine Association Headache Disorders cost the U.S. economy $31 billion every year.  This sum not only includes the cost of treatment, it also includes the number of man hours that are lost due to Migraine attacks.  Ninety-one percent of Americans cannot function during a Migraine attack.

Chronic Migraine has had a profound impact on my financial situation.  I have lost four jobs due to Migraine.  In each case my employer did not understand what it meant to suffer from Migraine.  They either had no personal experience with Migraine, or they played the "I get Migraines and I can work" card.  In both cases it was impossible to adequately explain how my Migraines affected my ability to work.

After losing my fourth job I applied for disability.  I was extraordinarily fortunate to have been approved on the first try.  While I do receive a small amount of money each month (and I do mean small), the most important thing that disability provides is Medicare, and in my situation Medicaid as well.  The reason this is so important is that Migraine treatment is expensive.  I went nearly a year without insurance after I became unemployed and as a result I had to pick and chose how I treated my Migraines.  I had to limit the number of times I saw my specialist.  I also had to stop several medications because I could not afford them.  It was very stressful.  And while stress is no longer considered to be a Migraine trigger, it certainly did not help.

Lost jobs, medication, doctors' bills, and hospital stays all cost a great deal of money.  They are just another way my life revolves around my Migraine.

-Jennifer Gayle

June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC

Friday, June 7, 2013

Migraine & Headache Awareness Month #7 - Pretty Woman

Today's Migraine and Headache Awareness Month blog challenge theme is Pretty Woman- What do you do to look good when you feel like crap?  

I don't know about most people, but I've mostly given up on looking good when I feel my worst.  I have to struggle so hard to be functional that my appearance takes a back seat.  Instead I try to compensate on the days that I am feeling better.

On my better days I like to do a few simple things to make me feel a little more 'girly'.  I take time to style my hair, instead of just letting it dry on its own.  I make sure to put on my cutest pajamas.  And, if I feel particularly good I may even paint my fingernails.  It doesn't take much to contrast with how I feel when I am at my worst.

When I was younger I didn't take much stock in the claims that you would feel better if you spruced up a little bit.  But I have learned that it really does work.  So, when you can, spend a little extra time to make yourself look refreshed because it might actually make yourself feel refreshed.

-Jennifer Gayle

June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Migraine & Headache Awareness Month #6 - Premonition

The theme of today's Migraine and Headache Month blog challenge is premonition–where would you like to see treatment options for Migraine and Headache Disorders go in the future?

Like many others, I hope for the day when there will be a cure-all, one drug that I can take that will rid me of this curse.  I know I have to be realistic.  Migraine and other Headache Disorders are caused by such a broad spectrum of things that all of the research in the world will ever find one magic pill to put a stop to the pain.

What I would truly like to see in the future is research towards a Migraine-specific drug.  Currently all but one drugs to treat Migraine were developed for other uses.  Ease of Migraine pain just happens to be a happy side-effect.  I currently take a drug made for epilepsy, an antidepressant, and blood pressure medication for the treatment of my Migraines.  They help, but they are not Migraine drugs.  I would like to see the day when I can take one medication, one pill, to help relieve the symptoms of my Migraines and that will help to prevent them.

Currently the government gives very little funding to the research of Migraine and other Headache Disorders.  Other 'flashier' disorders get the most funding.  What many don't realize is Headache Disorders cost the U.S. economy $31 billion each year.  Ninety-one percent of the 37 million Americans who suffer from Migraine are debilitated during an attack, unable to work and function.  Research for a disorder like this truly needs to be better funded.

While we are nowhere near there yet, my premonition for the treatment of Migraine and other Headache Disorders is a medication for Migraine that will relieve the symptoms and prevent Migraine altogether.

-Jennifer Gayle

June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Carousel- You'll Never Walk Alone, Migraine Awareness Month #5

June is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.  Fightingheadachedisorders.com has challenged those of us who suffer from migraines to write a blog post everyday to help spread awareness.  I'm a few days late, but I thought I would give it a shot.

Today's prompt, You'll Never Walk Alone, makes me think of my husband.  I don't think that I could survive without the support of my husband.  There is an old joke that the reason to have a spouse is so that you have someone to take you to the hospital.  My husband does so much more than that.

Having chronic migraines takes so much out of you, physically and mentally.  Whether I'm down or whether I'm up, my husband is there for me.  He gives me a hug, a shoulder to cry on, and an ear to listen to my rantings.  When I have a migraine he get me icepacks, closes the blinds and turns off the lights.  He endures watching the tv when the volume is so low he can barely hear it.  But most importantly of all he is just there.  He has stayed with me no matter how bad my migraines get.  Just knowing that he will never abandon me gets me through the pain.

I am truly blessed to have a husband who loves me and who stands by me.  With him I will never walk alone.

-Jennifer Gayle


June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.
#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHAMBC