Pain in the Head

Recently my lovely migraines have been affected by the weather conditions.  Either that, or a huge coincidence of having more migraines during odd weather patterns exists.  It’s been hard to manage the pain because it varies in intensity and location that I can’t tell if it’s a migraine, rebound headache, or a standard vanilla headache.  Plus, I’m really tired of taking Ibuprofen since it doesn’t seem to do anything.

Luckily I haven’t had too many incidents at work with the migraines.  It’s hard to manage work flow and a consistent software development schedule when you keep getting distracted from the pain.  It’s been that irritating “I’m here to annoy you but I won’t kill you” pain.  It’s almost like I’d want one big ass headache a week instead of these little headaches.

Senseless rambling is also a sign of irritation, from what I know about myself.  :)

We’re keeping busy on the social calendar this weekend.  Tomorrow night we’re meeting our friend Marie for dinner.  We haven’t seen her in months and I miss talking with her almost every day on IM.  Friday we’re off to my parents’ house for dinner and a bonfire out back.  Saturday it’s our turn to host and Tazz’s family is coming over.  Sunday is my homework day.  Actually, tomorrow my current client is closed so I’m taking the day off for cleaning and homework.  I had the opportunity to come into the office to work on other tasks, but I need the time off.

Storms coming in tonight and I think I’m turning into my mom.  I can tell the barometer from how much my head hurts.  I wonder if mercury will come shooting out my ears when the storm hits?!

The past two weeks have been very violent, weather-wise.  I’m sure most of you have heard about the weather systems pouring through Wisconsin.  Tazz and I were at a waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells area when the first system of the week+ period of tornados and rain came through.  We ended up getting home okay that night but saw many funnel clouds and dodged lots of lightning and rain.  The area is flooded but luckily our house has been spared, for now, and the basement is dry.

The weather systems have been playing hell with my migraines, too.  I’ve been using abortive drugs more than normal and I think it’s been killing my stomach too.  Sigh, woe is me.  I’m not to a point where I even want to consider going back onto antiseizure medications, but if my stomach is getting nailed, I bet my liver isn’t liking it.  My doctor is finally getting me off of beta blockers by decreasing the dose.  I forgot to refill the lower dose and today I’m going through, for a lack of a better term, withdrawal.  My heart rate is usually pretty low, around 60bpm, with the beta blocker and with it being higher I feel weird.  Stupid me for forgetting to get the pills earlier.

In any case, school will be over in a little over a month.  Tazz and I are going to be driving out to Niagara Falls in August and camping in July and September.  I’m hoping the mosquitos aren’t horrible in July!!

I finally went back to my doctor and talked to him about the current medications I am on.  I’ve been trying to lose weight over the years and even the modest amount of activity fails to show results.  Reading up on beta blockers (I’m on Toprol XL) I found out that because they keep your heart rate low, it can interfere with aerobic exercise.  Not getting above a certain bpm prevents my body from burning the fat like it should.  Funny huh - I’m on beta blockers because I have high blood pressure and the best way to drop that is to lose weight.  Can’t lose weight if the meds prevent it…

Tazz and I also went camping two weeks ago and it was a lot of fun.  The weather was decent and the headaches kept themselves to a minimum.  We’ve already planned another weekend trip in July and September, camping in local areas.  I found that being away from technology and being active kept my mind off of the headaches.  Sometimes I wonder if they’re self-induced anyway!

I started this post early this morning and am now finishing it up before I leave from work.  Since I left during lunch to take a walk around downtown, I’ve had a wicked headache.  Caffeine, Ibuprofen, and now Naproxen isn’t even touching it.  I’m thankful that I’m leaving work soon because this one is kicking my ass right now.

I’m trying to figure out what exactly I need to do to keep myself from having pain when I vacation.  This weekend we’re going camping and while I’ve been spending time getting the camping gear together, I need to make sure I bring a kit in case the ice pick shows up in my head.  I’ve had relatively good luck with the migraines lately but I know I have to prepare for the worst.

Part of the problem with being on vacation and having migraines is you never know what could happen.  If you’re traveling with one person or ten people, you kind of feel like you have an obligation to not “ruin it” for the other people.  I plan on keeping a good stock of my abortive drugs on hand and not getting myself wrapped up in the triggers like alcohol.  I don’t want to be a stick in the mud either but I will stay aware of how I’m reacting.

I know that most people that know I have migraines are understanding if there is a problem when we’re out having fun.  I still feel it’s my responsibility to keep the party going, however.  I probably got that from my mom who wouldn’t tell you if her arthritic joints were locking up if it meant going home.

So simply be aware of what’s going on around you and don’t be afraid to tell people you have boundaries.  Most of the time they’ll understand, and you know what if they don’t, screw ‘em.  I’ve been out at a club/bar too often having to suck it up to keep the night going.  I also didn’t know where I should have stopped.  Don’t feel afraid ordering the bottled water or going with the bland salad if it’s going to keep you migraine free for the night.

Camping shouldn’t be a problem but in August we’re driving out to Niagara Falls and that could be interesting.  Hopefully the temps stay down so I don’t get overexerted.  Nothing like being hot, crabby, and migrainy to ruin a time that’s supposed to be fun.