Pain in the Head

This Wednesday marks two full years of me complaining about discussing my headaches and my life that revolves around them.  It’s crazy that it’s only been two years since it seems like I’ve been actively involved in blogging longer than that.  Honestly, this is the first thing I’ve kept on doing longer than a month before some other shiny metal thing grabs my attention.

I wanted to review a little of what’s happened to me in the past two years.  Maybe not so much for your sake, but as a tool for me to reflect.  That sounds sappy but why have a journal if you never reread it, right?

1. Topamax hurt me more than helped me.
2. I finally got out of my deadend job; 4 employers total in the past two years since leaving the hell hole.
3. I got my bachelor’s degree and now I’m going back for my master’s.
4. Coffee is a drug and I’m a pusher.
5. I’ve had raw sewage dumped all over me.
6. Stomach acid sucks big time.
7. Losing weight also sucks big time.
8. I’m more scared about losing my vision than being in pain all day.
9. Verapamil made me fatter.
10. Hawaii is awesome.
11. Podcasts are fun but take a lot of effort to do them.
12. Aging parents frighten me.

I’ve learned and experienced much more past these twelve items.  I never wanted my head pain to define who I was or to change how I interact with the world.  The truth is, I am the headache pain and it’s me.  I’m just glad I have a place to bitch and whine about it!

I’m currently riding a lovely caffeine wave lovingly supplied by my new favorite drink, RockStar Pomegranate energy drink. I was hanging a little from going out last night dancing and it’s put me right back into a mood to get things done. Caffeine has always been my weapon of choice when combating migraines and I think it continues to help. My Aunt from San Antonio introduced me to this lovely nectar. I’ve been warned to not overdo it and I will oblige.  There is another brand of drink that I like too called RedJak; the makers of Big Red soda also make this one.  My Aunt likes them because they don’t have that shitty stuff called High Fructose Corn Syrup.

This is going to be a short post because I’m working on homework.  My current assignment is to create a simple fake cell phone web site and allow for processing of orders for new service.  It’s actually going to be fun :).

Until later.

Over the past few weeks I’ve considered going back to my neurologist for a tune-up. The frequency and duration of my headaches has been anything but consistent the past 18 months. I can go a week without any pain and then have a 7-day span that feels like the world is ending and I’ll never be without the headaches. I’m just not quite sure what good is going to come out of seeing him again.

I’ve been on Topamax, Depakote, verapamil, triptans, melatonin, indomethacin, celebrex to name a few. None of them really worked. Is that strange? I’m not willing to stay on any more anti-seizure medications. I was not myself on Topamax and I’ve realized I’m probably better off not screwing with my neurotransmitters if I don’t have to. Ultimately, coming back to Tylenol and ibuprofen has proven more effective than any $50/month medication.

I’m not expecting some new miracle cure that developed in the past year to fix it all for me. I think at least I’d like to get another MRI done for comparison to the two others I’ve had. While I’ve been assured that nothing like a tumor or clot is responsible for the pain, I’d like to stay up on it. Maybe some day I’ll make a mobile made up of brain scans. I think that would be pretty.

I am back at work today and still feeling the slump of post-vacation blues. It was nice spending time with my Aunt and grandparents. My step-grandmother is degrading slowly because of the dementia and my grandfather is being a saint with her. She isn’t eating much anymore but she’s still talkative and remembered who I was.

I had such problems with headaches the entire time I was there. I don’t know if it was the heat, the weather, or possibly the cats at my Aunt’s house. I took a Claritin equivalent to help with the allergies and it seemed to do it’s job. I probably took 4 or more Tylenol or Ibuprofen every day except Sunday - I just couldn’t kick the headache! We also wiped ourselves out with going different places; but I did have a lot of fun doing that.

I’m going to be posting more pictures of the area on my Flickr account if you’re interested. I got some good shots of an Orb Weaver spider in my Aunt’s side yard among other things. Keep an eye out for that

Time for my annual summer upper respiratory infection everyone.  I was all happy and pretty Monday morning.  I was even ready for a long boring week at work because I had a sparkle in my eye that wouldn’t let me get down about it being boring.  Then Monday afternoon hit with a scratch in my throat, and I knew trouble was coming.

That night ended in Nyquil and about 12 hours of sleep.  Three days later and I’m still battling the persistent bug but I am feeling mildly better.  We’ve had mucho rain this week and I don’t think it’s helping my mood very much.  Attitude is everything when you’re trying to get well, and mine sucks ass right now!!

On a happier note, I finished the newest Harry Potter book.  I won’t reveal any spoilers but let it be said I wasn’t altogether happy with the ending.  It seemed kind of thrown together and a lot of finer details were missing from the already large novel.  I’m kind of glad it’s over because now I can reread the series with a different perspective and not speed reading to the back covers.

We had a great time camping this past weekend.  The weather was beautiful and the bugs not so bad.  My headaches, on the other hand, were not so good.  I found myself medicating at least twice a day for the three days we were gone.  I’m sure the camp fire and particulates didn’t help so much.  The stress of setting up camp, etc also wasn’t too fun.   All things considered, it was worth going.

Getting back into the groove after camping sucks.  I can remember being in a “funk” after camping when I was a kid.  Of course my parents usually had the mother of all fights during camping trips so it wasn’t always an unwelcome return.

Haven’t started Harry Potter yet.  I’ve been reading a fairly large-sized book for a programming language certification exam for work.  It means a pay increase when I pass so it’s kind of the focus of what I’ve been reading.  Although finding the motivation has been hard lately.  Every time I get home I’m wiped and I think a lot of it is caffeine hangover.  I should really cut back on the coffee and soda during the day.

Enough for now; I have a lot to catch up on.