tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021851682736515743.post8001268011550949358..comments2023-11-03T08:25:53.462-04:00Comments on what fresh hell is this?: Migraines and Me: Part One by Alex SniderAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14802154503675431075noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021851682736515743.post-47998440482675860172011-10-02T21:25:04.136-04:002011-10-02T21:25:04.136-04:00Hi Cluisanna! I really appreciate your kind words ...Hi Cluisanna! I really appreciate your kind words and encouragement! I usually have a pretty good idea of why I have one when I do, like this week I had one because I was between refills of my meds, it was the end of my period and the weather was all over the place (sunny/rain/sunny/cloudy/rain UGH!) . It's more frustrating that there is nothing I can do once I've got one. <br /><br />There is so much that we don't know about the human body, about what causes pain and ailments, and all that lay people can really do is just have compassion for those that suffer from things that medicine doesn't have a ready answer for. Really, I think I'm lucky because enough people have had migraines or even just really bad headaches that not many people doubt that they're painful.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14802154503675431075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021851682736515743.post-83742200911716642272011-10-02T21:12:25.604-04:002011-10-02T21:12:25.604-04:00Hi Anonymous! Thanks for the words of encouragemen...Hi Anonymous! Thanks for the words of encouragement and for the recommendation of Bernstein's book, I will definitely check it out. I'm really sorry to hear that you also suffer from migraines, and since you just a small child! That must have been so terrible and painful. <br /><br />I'm on Topamax now, and it's working pretty well, just not so great around my period but I can handle that. I've also found that my body adjusts to treatments pretty quickly which frustrates me to no end. <br /><br />I'll talk about it further in other posts but it's taken me such a long time to even accept that the migraines aren't my fault and that they're actually a serious problem so I feel like I'm barely getting started in terms of truly taking control of my treatment. I'm looking forward to looking at The Migraine Brain. <br /><br />I hope you have a happy, migraine-free birthday!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14802154503675431075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021851682736515743.post-31370275499894800512011-10-02T12:45:20.095-04:002011-10-02T12:45:20.095-04:00I'm happy that your migraines aren't as fr...I'm happy that your migraines aren't as frequent/bad as they were before - but you still don't really now what exactly causes them, right? That must be pretty frustrating :( <br />I find it fascinating (and kind of frightening) that there are so many illnesses science just doesn't understand, especially (chronic) pain 'attacks'.Cluisannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17223859994666636372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9021851682736515743.post-70970947376860999992011-10-02T12:34:37.237-04:002011-10-02T12:34:37.237-04:00My heart goes out to you -- I've been getting ...My heart goes out to you -- I've been getting migraines since I was a wee thing, about 7 or 8 years old, and I'm now 47. (Almost 48 - I keep forgetting I have a birthday in a couple of weeks.) Mine aren't usually as severe as yours, although they were like that when I was an adolescent. In my 20s and 30s they were less frequent but more severe. As I approach menopause, they've begun to get worse again.<br /><br />Anyway, I didn't want to write about me, just to encourage you to keep trying, keep working with your health care providers and pushing them to try different treatments. As I'm sure you already know, there's no cure, but different treatments work differently for different people. Botox injections have been miraculous for some, but didn't work for me. Topamax worked great for me for a couple of years, then petered out. I was off it for a year, and now on it again, and it's working great after a break. <br /><br />Like most migraineurs, I've read a lot about migraine over the years, as I'm sure you have as well. One of the most helpful texts ever is Carolyn Bernstein's book, The Migraine Brain. If you haven't already got it, I highly recommend it.<br /><br />Best wishes. <br /><br />(Found you via Feministe's Shameless Self-Promotion Sunday, by the way)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com