Pain in the Head

A while back I mentioned that I was wanting to create a migraine diary on the iPhone.  Well, the time has come to announce that I’ve released the application.  I finished my master’s degree in Software Engineering and the capstone project was a success.

If you’re interested in downloading the application, follow this link and click the iTunes App Store icon.

We’re approaching the fourth year I’ve maintained this blog.  I never really established a mission or goal for the blog other than to be a place to complain about my migraines and maybe find someone who wanted to listen.  What I’ve learned over time is that complaining (or whining as I frequently call it) gets old quickly.  I’ve made a decision to discontinue the blog not because I don’t have enough people reading it but just because I think I don’t have a lot to contribute to “the ether” of the Internet.  I’ve found a few friends through the trials of this and will continue through Facebook or Twitter to maintain those connections.  I’ve seen a lot of bloggers go the way the wind blows because the venture can easily feel like a job (an unpaid job) and no longer a fun journal that happens to be public.

What have I learned from this experience?  I’m not alone in the world of migraines.  Everybody has a different experience with migraines.  Drugs aren’t the answer in every case.  Questioning your doctor on treatments is acceptable and should be expected.  Giving up isn’t an option.

And lastly, the most important lesson I’ve learned?  The pain reminds us that we’re alive.  Without the pain we’d go through life not understanding what a gift it is to be able to relax without pain and distractions.  That pain keeps me from being a sheep, tooling around life without knowing where I came from and where I want to go.

So I’m now back at the point that I believe I will be visiting my neurologist and get put back on an antiseizure medication.  The frequency of my migraines is now at least 5 a week that require medication.  The other day I had a really strong attack of nausea and couldn’t attribute it to anything except a possible aura of sorts – so I took some NSAIDs and it eventually went away.  I’m contemplating Topamax again, simply because it worked, and because I see it now has a generic out there.  I need to call my insurance company to see if they cover it since their super duper website says it’s rejected and I’m supposed to have coverage on essentially all generics.

Down side is the “dope-a-max” effect that comes with the medication.  I also get tunnel vision episodes with the medication which is unnerving but tolerable.  Since I was a little child I’d get these tunnel vision episodes maybe 2-3 times a year at the most and usually only during falling asleep and as an adult sometimes when drinking alcohol.  This medication triggers is every day nearly and it honestly had my neurologist baffled.

Been busy the past few weeks and really haven’t had much to blog about.  I’ve found that Twitter fills in my need to broadcast to the world more often than writing up a formal post.  Half the time I get through writing a post I realize I’ve been babbling and end up deleting it.

The migraines have been pretty consistent lately.  I get 1-2 attacks a week with most of them responding fairly quickly to over the counter medication.  I talked briefly with my neurologist this week and he said if OTC is doing the job, then we don’t have to look at going back on to anti-seizure medications any time soon.  I don’t take enough of the NSAIDs for them to be an issue with my liver at this point.  I’d like to be on a prophylactic medication but the side effects from the ones I have been on aren’t really ideal for me.  Topamax had such a positive effect on the migraines but making me turn into a stupid idiot was difficult to handle.

School has been going well over the summer.  I’ve been making headway on my iPhone migraine diary and may even have something out there by the end of summer.  I have to remember I’m not doing this to make money on the iTunes store, but rather get a good grade for my graduate Capstone project.  Rushing to get it out to the market isn’t what I would consider a good idea.  However, if I got real world users to help with the process along the way, that could make for a very good final presentation.  On a good note, my neurologist is totally on board with helping me with the application!

Summer is FINALLY here in Wisconsin and we’re having our first 90+ degree day.  Can’t say I’m thrilled for the heat and high humidity, but it’s nice to have the body clock reset after a really long winter.

I’m usually not overly sensitive to scents/sprays.  However, I have found automated air fresheners in bathrooms contains some of the most potent, eye-burning scents known to man.  A particular bathroom at the school I go to has four of these babies in the room all firing every 15 minutes or so.  Walking in that bathroom is like walking into a French whore house.  Horrible.

Today I was in the restroom at work washing my hands and I looked up.  What did I see?  One of those evil machines staring at me with its single eye of death spray.  I thought to myself, you need to leave now before it sprays.  As I was drying my hands with my back to machine, it lets out the puff of air.

Awe shit.

Not more than two seconds later I felt the mist hit my neck and then into my sinuses.  You’d think the floral scent would be relaxing, but it’s not.  I’m very lucky I didn’t get a migraine out of this experience.  But now I know, the machines can read your thoughts and are as devious as those squirrels that run out in front of cars to make you swerve to miss them.

Bee’s Nest

Originally uploaded by Astralbodies

Looks what we found in the basement ceiling!