Migraine and Headache Awareness Month #2 – Temple Grandin

For my own reasons, I’ve decided to use an alternate prompt for today’s blog challenge. I am writing about:
Migraine and Headache Awareness Month #2 - Temple Grandin: “A school bell sounded like a dentist drill going through my ears”: Many of us have wondered to ourselves, must you live so loudly? How do you cope with phonophobia (noise sensitivity)?


I know I’m not alone with my Migraine story as I have had Migraines since I was about six years old which was long before being officially diagnosed and really understanding that everyone didn’t have a headache every day like I did. Unfortunately, it took me over 35 years before I finally got that diagnosis.  There were a lot of experiences during that time which didn’t make much sense to me then, but I’ve been able to retrofit them and understand better as to what was going on with me.

One story that still surprises me around phonophobia had to do with the TV volume. I know my hearing is better than my husband’s and the kids liked things a little louder than normal, but I had to institute a volume control for the TV even when we were all watching a movie together in the living room.

The rule was that the TV could not be any louder than the 20 volume setting on it. Occasionally, they would sneak it up to 22 or 24, but I could usually tell. What I really didn’t understand was that some days I could tolerate a higher volume than on other days. The sound would go right through me like a dentist’s drill, but it wasn’t just a head thing so I figured I was just more sensitive to the TV level. It honestly made no sense to me and I never linked it to my every day headaches – after all, didn’t everyone have an achy head all of the time?

I don’t remember when this story finally clicked that it was related to my Migraines and that was why I was a little intolerant to something so menial, but we get a kick out of the story now. The good thing is that we all have been educated more around Migraines and they understand my intolerance to louder sound now as I do too.

Nowadays, it is very common for me to walk into a room and not only dim the lights a little, but also turn the volume down a smidgen. I do miss our family movie nights. They would be much easier to handle now with low lighting and sound.


June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headache Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHMBC

Migraine and Headache Awareness Month #1 - Phantom of the Opera

Migraine and Headache Awareness Month #1
- Phantom of the Opera:
What do you hide behind your Migraine/Headache Disorders mask?  What do you let people see?


The phantom behind the mask; an appearance, illusion or a transparent effect – that sounds like the Migraine phantom to me. 

Unfortunately, I am not always as transparent as I would like to be when I have a Migraine.  These are the times I try to hold strong - to get the job done; usually at my own cost.  I’ve gotten caught when my mask was ripped off by the triptan stupors and even stopped medications that were interfering with my ability to hide behind my mask.

But then, there are other times when my mask is a big happy, bubbly smile.  I can even surprise myself when I have this reaction because the thought behind this appearance is – where did that come from?  I’m minutes from exploding.  I am doing everything I can to keep myself together yet I have this illusion going on that says I haven’t felt this good in a long time.


June 2013, Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, is dedicated to Unmasking the Mystery of Chronic Headach Disorders. The 2013 Migraine and Headache Awareness Month Blog Challenge is a project of FightingHeadacheDisorders.com.

#MHAM, #MHAM13, #MHMBC

Graduation..

.. is a day you absolutely can't miss. So what do you do when you're faced with many of your Migraine triggers?

Knowing that graduation started early in the morning on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I didn't want to oversleep or something silly like that which would make me miss his graduation. So, I didn't sleep well. It was pouring and I mean pouring down rain. They had a huge tent set up since they always hold graduation outdoors. I sat next to the stinky plastic walls on the sides of the tent. People tend to over bath in their perfumes/colognes for these types of special events.

That all equates to too many triggers and my leg was still bruised and sensitive from a triptan shot a couple of days before. What do you do knowing you can't afford another Migraine?

Some of you have been around for a while; helped me along my Migraineous journey and gave me guidance with other family members as one by one they were diagnosed with Migraines. Can you believe how fast time goes by? My son graduated from college today. His official Migraine journey started during his first semester of college.

I still remember getting that sickening feeling when he described to me how often he was getting headaches and was sick at school. He was not the type of kid to get sick plus he still managed to play on the football team.

After much questioning, he started keeping a journal until he came home for his first winter break. I had that pit in my stomach about what he was experiencing. Trying not to get him (and me) worked up before his finals, I kept it low key until I could review his journal.

He started each day bright and early on the field. The class he missed most often because he was sick and couldn't keep his stomach in place was a three hour class at night that met once a week. Not the class you want to miss. Not to mention that it was an honors class where the president of the college was one of his professors.

Needless to say, he didn't pass his first class ever and ended up with a 2.5 GPA for his first semester; not like him at all. Honestly, I think that ended up being a good experience for him too. On break, he got a big education in Migraines. He read his first Migraine book - Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches written by Teri Robert. We talked the whole way on our drive back to school - going through the book and how he could help himself going forward. We figured his big triggers were dehydration and not getting enough sleep. That can be a tall order for a college kid and an athlete.

Three and a half years after that semester ended, he is now graduating. By avoiding his known triggers, taking care of himself and not waiting until the last minute to finish his assignments, he brought his GPA up enough so that he graduated Magda cum laude. He did retake the only class he ever didn't pass and ended up acing it. The class was still offered only one night a week, but he didn't take it during the football season and he prepared himself for the class by making sure he was well rested even though he still had early morning workouts.

I am so proud of how far he has come and that he managed to control his Migraines throughout his college career. That first semester was his toughest time with Migraines as he really didn't know what was going on with him or what to do. Education is so important in many different aspects. I pray that he continues down this successful path.

At graduation, I found myself holding my breath a lot whenever I got that first whiff of something offensive. Luckily that didn't go on very long as they opened up an air crack right next to where I was sitting. I didn't smell the plastic any longer and it helped blow other odors away.

Congratulations baby! Keep up the great work with everything you do.

Migraine Contest

It's that time of the year again!  It's time for the annual Migraine Poetry contest. Wait!  No experience is necessary.  You could have never written a poem before and still be a winner.

There are many ways to win, but the most important way you can win is that by writing a poem you can express your take around Migraines. It can be from your own experiences, things you have observed around Migraines, about being a caregiver - really anything to do with Migraines and Headaches.

There are a few ground rules which can be found on the Putting Our Heads Together Poetry  Contest page. Here are some of the basics:

• Subject must be headache or Migraine related, but may be metaphoric or abstract.
• Form: Rhymed, free-verse, any form of poetry, but not prose.
• Length: Maximum of 60 lines, no more than 80 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation).
• "Family-friendly" language required. No profanity or other potentially offensive language.
• Deadline: Midnight, Friday, May 24, 2013. Submissions received after this date will be deleted.
• All poems must be written in English.
• Entries must be presented complete with spacing, punctuation, and correct spelling. Do not enter in all caps. We cannot retype entries.
• ALL entries must be made via the online submission form. No exceptions.  
• See Putting Our Heads Together for the complete set of rules. 

The winners will be announced and the poetry published on Putting Our Heads Together the first week of June, 2013, in observance of National Migraine and Headache Aware Month.

Join the fun!  Enter your poem by midnight, Friday, May 24, 2013.

Good luck!

Nutrition for Migraine Giveaway Winners

March was National Nutrition month. I had a giveaway for some great items to help us eat healthier.

The winners of these great items are: Cindy Aiton and PPerna.  Congratulations and enjoy eating healthier to help you Migraines.

Thank you to the makers of Excedrin® Migraine!



Disclosure: I am a paid Excedrin® Migraine blog ambassador. Compensation has been provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin® Migraine; my journey for a Migraine-free experience is my own.

American Headache & Migraine Association

Did you know that there is a new Migraine patient organization that was formed under the American Headache Society (AHS)? The American Headache & Migraine Association - or better known as the AHMA.

The AHMA was launched last month and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that is under the authorization of the American Headache Society which is a professional organization for physicians and allied health professionals.

Education, Awareness, Support and Engagement is the goal of the AHMA – to EASE the burden of Migraine and other Headache disorders.

You can join the AHMA organization too! By becoming involved with the AHMA in its early stages, you can help influence and direct the course of AHMA programming to help ensure they meet your needs and those of other members.

Right now, the awesome events and programs that are in place are:

• A members-only support and information forum.  It can be accessed by joining the AHMA.
• A free, members-only patient conference!

The conference is scheduled to be held on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This conference is right after the AHS physicians’ conference which will allow some of these brightest and most caring physician experts present to us patients on a variety of topics that are important to Headache Disorder patients, their caregivers and loved ones. The AHMA is working very hard to not only give us access to these presentations, but to make the event as affordable as possible.

Many of the great leaders in the Migraine community are on the AHMA Board of Directors. Here is a list of the Board Members and I hope you’re as impressed as I am:

Chair: Teri Robert; Co-Chair: Dr Paul Winner
Chair Elect: Ellen Schnakenberg; Co-Chair Elect: Dr Bert Vargas
Vice Chair: Bob Wold; Co-Vice Chair: Dr Rob Nicholson
Treasurer: Julie Zellner McDonald; Co-Treasurer: Dr Rebecca Wells
Secretary: Diana Lee; Co-Secretary: Dr Rob Cowan

Membership dues for the AHMA are very reasonable. Here are the types of memberships available and the respective dues:

• $15 per year:  Standard Membership
• $250: Lifetime Membership
• $0: Active Duty Military and Immediate Family; Disabled Veterans and Immediate Family
• $25: Family Membership for two or more members in the same family at the same address
• Looking to establish and set dues for a Lifetime Family Membership category is currently in the works.

Please visit EaseHeadacheMigraine page to join AHMA.

The AHMA is already blogging, tweeting and Facebooking! You can like or follow the AHMA (if you haven’t done so already) at:

• Twitter: Twitter.com/AHMAOrg
• Facebook: Facebook.com/AHMAorg
• AHMA Blog: AHMABlog.com

Have you ever hung out with other people who are just like you and have some of the same struggles you face all of the time? I’ve had the opportunity to do this on a couple of occasions and even attended another Migraine event where I was able to talk to some of the Migraine experts afterward. There is no experience like this and I still look back on these events as with very fond memories. In many ways, it was also very rejuvenating.

I actually met one of the Migraine experts, a couple of weeks ago, that will be presenting at the conference in Scottsdale this year. He was so witty and a pleasure to be around. I can’t wait to hear him speak at the conference if I can make it there!

There is so much for you to gain by joining the AHMA. You can make a difference.