Sweet Migraines

So living with migraines and trying to find my triggers has been a struggle and a blessing. I have found some triggers that I am not happy about like aged cheese. Some of my favorite places to eat have aged cheese in my favorite meals. It is also a blessing by knowing what to avoid to try to reduce the number of migraines that I have to suffer through.

The other day I am sitting at work and my co-worker/dinner buddy comes over to my desk and wants to know if I want to go out to dinner with her. She tells me she going to Bread Co. for a salad to which I tell her, oh I cant eat there anymore because of the blue cheese in the salad. It is a big trigger for a me to have a migraine. She is totally put off. Like I am making it up because I just don't want to go out to eat with her or something. She is like just a little bit wont hurt, or cant you just pick it out? Pick it out, seriously? Have you ever tried to pick out blue cheese crumbles, there are tiny pieces everywhere! Then she says you could always get the salad without the cheese. Yes I realize this, and maybe she is just trying to be helpful, but now it just feels like she is patronizing me. I am trying to deal with this in my own way right now. If I told her that I would have some visible reaction like my face would swell up with red blisters if one little piece of blue cheese made it into my salad would she have dropped it and thought of somewhere else to eat?

I do try to put myself into the other person's shoes, they cant see migraines. It is a hard disease to understand. They don't have them, so there is no reason for them to be educated. I don't want their sympathy. I don't want to be treated any differently. What I do want however, is for other people to know that I know my body and I do know what is best for it. I am the one living with this disease, and when I say no I don't want that glass of wine, that salad, or to stay up that extra hour, I am not trying to put you off or inconvenience you in any way. I am just trying to keep my self healthy and pain free.

I have had a great migraine free week. I don't know really what I have done. My last migraine was a week and half ago that lasted three terrible days. I was able to find another trigger in aged cheese. I have now cut deli meat, aged cheese, nuts, alcohol, aspartame, and NutraSweet from my diet. Of course just when I really made a true commitment to keep my headache journal up to date, I have only had one migraine to document. Granted that migraine was painful as hell and I thought it would never go away no matter how many triptans I took. I ended up taking 2 Maxalts and a couple of Vicodin. I could go check my journal for the exact doses, but I am lazy and don't feel like getting up. I thought for sure I would end up with a migraine this week as I am having a bit of anxiety due to the fact that I should find out if I got my new job, and it never fails that when my stress level is up a migraine is sure to follow. I guess I am kinda laid back about whether or not I get the position as I blogged about before, so maybe I am not stressed out as I normally would be. Work has been busy busy busy and that for sure will bring out a migraine in people that may have never experienced one before, so again I am left asking myself...what is different. I wish I could just say, who cares. Part of me wants to believe that, maybe they will never come back, maybe that was my last one, but the realist in me knows better. I cant help but wonder is this the calm before the storm, is the next one going to be the worst migraine I have ever had? What if I cant manage it, what if I have to go to the hospital and be treated like a drug seeker for drugs I don't even like, because of the way they make me feel. I do not enjoy the out of my mind feeling, or the so drowsy feeling that I must sleep or pass out, or the way my face goes limp like I have had a stroke. On top of all that the drugs usually do not make the migraine go away, when the drugs wear off the migraine is still there, yes it is less on the pain scale and I can tolerate it for the next day or so until it is completely gone. I am very appreciative of the anti-nausea drugs though. Without those I know I would not battle those fluorescent lights, that for some reason can't be turned down. Anyone else wonder why there is no light switch in the ER rooms, or at least a dimmer?

I had to have another A1C test, which is a blood test that tests my blood sugar over a three month period of time. It was only a couple of hours that my doctor's office was calling to schedule an appointment to discuss the results, so I am sure it was not great. I really have been watching my carbs and my sugar intake, so if my blood sugar is still high then I am going to have to start taking Metformin. I really hate having to get my blood drawn. I am one of those people that my veins are not easy to find and will roll and blow out. Needless to say when I went in on Friday to get my test done I had the nurse stick me three times digging for my vein, then she looks at me as my face I am sure is turning white and asks, "Are you ok?" Umm Nope! She then goes and gets another RN and she finds a vein in my hand that she has no trouble getting the blood out of, but as she pulls the needle out, my vein blows and swells like 2 inches above my hand. I have a solid black and blue bruise all down my hand. I really hope that I don't have to have my blood drawn again anytime soon.

My husband got me an early anniversary gift! I finally got my laptop. He really is better than Santa Claus.