Tough Winter; Now Losing It?

This has been a tough winter and I hear it's been harder for many Migraineurs. In my state, we usually get snow, but nothing like what we have had this year. We probably didn't see our grass for about two months which is very unusual for us and also meant two months of gleaming snow.

Shortly after we finally saw our grass again, we had back to back snow storms. Right now, we're back to white lawns with all of the snow glare glory that comes along with it, but I don't think it will last too long this time.

Because of these and other uncontrollable triggers, I actually ended up suspending my elimination diet for a little while. This meant that I could only eat the foods I had already added in to that point and was not adding anything new back in until I felt these triggers weren't going to keep interfering with my diet. This helped maintain the integrity of my diet while not falsely identifying foods that don't trigger a Migraine for me.

My difficulties continued into this week as this was the week that started off with the two snow storms. On Wednesday, I also received a phone call from home and needed to leave work abruptly with the expectation that I would take care of a few things, finish my workday from home and return back to work the next day.

As it turned out that next day, I ended up working from home again while taking care of an injured family member. After spending the day at home with all of the new smells around, I believe I ended up with a smell induced Migraine and possibly a new symptom that I hope doesn't stick around.

Most of the time I get nauseated, but I don't lose my cookies. I ended up getting sick in the middle of the night. I don't know if I caught something or if it was Migraine related. I have read that some people feel better after they get sick. My head felt three times worse afterward plus I didn't even try to take anything for the pain because I didn't think I could have kept it down.

I really hope this is not a new Migraine symptom of mine. It's bad enough that my Migraines have changed and I have developed other triggers over the past year, but I would rather it be a one time thing or a twenty-four hour bug I caught. No matter how uncomfortable it may have been, I've always been grateful that I would only get nauseated with Migraines and I hope this is not the start of another Migraine change.

If you get sick from Migraines, does your head typically feel better, worse or about the same after you lose it? How has your winter been? Is spring really here now?

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Missing Opinion and Reasons

After I left my last doctor's appointment, I know I wasn't myself and even she said I would have a lot to contemplate. There was something bothering me about that appointment, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

I know I can be kind of persnickety at times, but some things just need to be a certain way. I mentioned to my doctor that I had been thinking about Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) for over a year as something I might want to rule out and wanted her opinion on it.

There is no definitive test for Migraines, but a whole slew of tests to rule out other things. That's kind of the way I was looking at this whole thing. I have become very frustrated with Migraines and I just want answers or something that will help reduce or stop them.

I didn't approach her in a demanding way. I honestly wanted her opinion plus I laid all of my cards on the table because I don't like game playing. I mentioned that I knew you didn't need to have papilledema in order to have IIH and even knew of a few people who have IIH that don't have papilledema. I have a few concerns about the test which I did not bring up to her as when she started answering me, I didn't get what I've come to expect from her.

This month is actually two years that I've been with her so we know each other pretty well. She is the doctor I've been with the longest and although I trust her, she also listens to me when I talk about new ideas or theories I come up with. If she doesn't necessarily agree with me, she will give me her opinion and then give her reasons behind her thought process. This is the best way to deal with me.

When I brought up IIH, I know I brought it up in a very tentative way because I didn't want to come across as my way or the highway. I wanted her opinion. Although I didn't come out and say how frustrated I am right now, I know it was in my voice and mannerisms.

When she responded, she started off by talking about my having thought about this for so long. For me, this is just the way I am. I need my 'think' time and to feel like I have researched something enough that I can talk intelligently enough around a subject so that I can ask pertinent questions, not have the wool pulled over my eyes, be able to make an educated choice and sometimes to see how informed a doctor is in a particular area or how they react if they need to brush up. In this case, I just wanted her opinion and to take it from there.

After the empathy part of her talk, she started telling me to be careful about what I read. I knew immediately she was referring to "medical student's disease", but I'm sure they call it something else for us internet folks. Medical student's disease is a condition many medical students contract when they perceive themselves or others to be experiencing the symptoms of the disease they are studying. Another one of the reasons it takes me so long to research something is that I want to rule out medical student's disease or whatever they call it for us. Do you know if there's a name for us?

Anyway, she proceeded to lecture me on that. I know I don't take well to being lectured plus because I am not convinced I have IIH and would like to rule out anything at this point because I want to reduce my increasing Migraines. I also have a couple of other theories to go on right now which was another reason I went in a little softer on the subject. It also let her know some of the things I have been thinking about and I truly wanted to get her opinion on the subject.

She did go through everything I would need to do before I could have the LP test done. She told me I would need to go to a neuro-ophthalmologist and have a CT done before the LP. There was another thing she said that really bothered me too. She said that since I'm not obese, I would probably get a spinal headache. As silly as it sounds, I believe in positive thinking. I believe I would not get spinal headache, but will know what I need to do just in case I did. At the end of the appointment, I knew there was something bothering me about this whole appointment, but I just didn't know what it was or what I wanted to do next. I left the appointment where I came in only with a lot more to contemplate.

I know I am not the same patient I was with my first neurologist where I started off as the typical dishrag. After learning about Migraine disease (not from my doctor) and how to stand up for myself, I fired this first neurologist after she actually tried to discourage me from doing the biggest thing that has benefited my Migraines the most to date. I realize that I can probably be a challenging patient at times, but that's not something I'm willing to change.

Now that I figured out what was missing from my last visit, I will plan to bring it up during my next appointment along with making sure she understands that I am very frustrated. I want to make sure she knows where I stand.

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Upcoming Office Move

Although the date of our office move keeps getting pushed off, it is also getting closer and closer to when we will be moving. No matter what the date, I will be losing control over my immediate work environment as soon as we move. Yikes!

I have to admit that I am still very uneasy about this unknown. The biggest comfort I have is that Bart my Boss has a good idea of what I need and will do what ever he can do to make sure I get reasonable accommodations.

We had a building meeting this past week and I can't say that I feel much more comfortable after the meeting than I did before it. There were four of us in this meeting. Bart, me and two executives in charge of the move. Everyone there knew about my light challenges.

When it came to picking out where I would be sitting, Bart was really good. He would listen to what I had to say and try to guide the others as to what was needed without coming out and saying it was an ADA issue since they already knew that. We're still trying to work with them as much as we can without making too much of a ruckus yet.

The two executives have even had other conversations with the buildings people on what could and couldn't be done to help accommodate me. I can't say that they really understand, but it certainly sounds like they are trying and it really touches me. In the end, I know that Bart will do whatever he can to help me get what I need and I will do what I have to do.

The biggest item I am concerned about with the move is the lighting. This is what is the most out of my control and what is toughest for me to workaround. In the past, I have used my own lighting workaround that was sufficient for me although management was not too keen on how I worked around my lighting issue. I did what I had to do to make it through the day and I will do the same again if needed. I currently have full control over my lighting environment which includes a light switch, blinds and light sleeves that filters the fluorescent lights and some of their flicker.

During our meeting, noise was also brought up during the conversation. They had actually already taken noise into consideration and had not reserved any desks for me that were in any of the main traffic areas. That was really touching especially since I have never said anything about noise because the lighting has always been my biggest concern. I figured if I could get help with the lighting, I could deal with the noise better on my own than I could the lighting.

I also never mentioned some of my other environmental concerns, but if my desk is in the area we picked out, I don't think I will need to worry about smells from the cafeteria, microwaves or bathrooms. I figured I would ask for the item that was the most out of my control and manage the others as best I could. I don't think I have to worry about the smells now and am real thankful for that.

I will have to start putting my plan into action about my noise concern because no matter where I was going to sit, noise was going to be something I was going to have to handle on my own. I have ideas about the noise and will start putting some of my plan into motion soon.

One of the hardest parts about this planning and picking stage right now is that I haven't seen the inside of our 'new' building. They will also be redoing a lot of the inside so any questions I have asked, they really can't answer - such as questions around the positioning or patterns of the lights. I am already expecting them to be uncovered fluorescent bulbs.

There is more to come on the move. Much more to come on where I will be sitting and what ADA accommodations I will end up with. I have worked too hard on my Migraine management to let this be a big obstacle to getting under better control and am happy that I have Bart in my corner to help me through some of the red tape. In the end, I will make sure I get what I need one way or the other. I have to...

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How much does the Doctor's Office Matter?

There were a couple of reasons I had started another elimination diet last year. Of course I wanted to try to find any additional food triggers I might have, but I also wanted to feel like I had done everything I could so if I needed to take the next step for my Migraine treatments, I could justify it to myself.

Although I still have a long way to go on this elimination diet, I feel that I will not reduce the number of Migraines I am currently getting as I add back more foods. I may find more food triggers which will help me in the long run, but that won't reduce my Migraines further than they are now.

I have to say that both of my elimination diets have been successful as the first one decreased my headaches and Migraines almost in half while the second one reduced it by almost another third of this lowered number. However, I am still getting too many Migraines and am still in double digits per month.

Since I had already laid the ground work, I decided that I might as well get some of my other questions answered about my next step doctor. Just to set the record straight, I am not ready to move yet, but I need all of the information in order to make the best choice I need to make for me and my family next.

I called the next doctor's office I plan to go to if I decide to move on. I had already seen that this office is having some staffing issues so I was prepared for some disorder, but I'm not really sure I am ready to deal with a doctor's office like this either. I did not like the way I was treated and the abruptness of being thrown into an automated system the first time I called. Knowing their staffing issues and not looking to transfer there yet, I could easily overlook it and move on.

Even though it seemed like it was a long way off, the automated system set the expectation that it could be five days before I received a call back from the office. Since this was not an emergency, I was willing to live with this especially since I know I am not ready to move yet, but I also know that this is what I tend to do before I jump into doing something.

I realized the morning of a client visit that the doctor's office may call back on that day. I decided it was worth it to leave an extended message on my cell phone, which I left in my car. It seemed to work like a charm because of course they called in the middle of the client visit. The message they left really restored my faith in the doctor's office as they acknowledged my message left specifically for them and said they would try to call after the certain time I mentioned or the next morning.

They were really pleasant, but I never heard back from them again. Since I am so tentative about making any switch at this time, I find I am using it as an excuse to not call them back plus I need to be prepared for the coldness again. Here are the pros and cons that keep going through my head right now:

Pros: The doctor is a top notch doctor. He is only a couple of hours drive away. He would be a partner and a true Migraine specialist.

Cons: Scuttlebutt has it that the office is in total disarray at this time. The office is a couple of hours drive away. It would cost more to go to him; especially the first visit.

I know his office is going through a tough time right now, but I've heard of them going through hard times before too. My current doctor's office does not rate well on the doctor rating sites, but I have never experienced anything negative with them. They have always been very pleasant and most importantly, available for anything I may have needed.

Although I know the doctor is one of the best in the world, I don't like the taste the office left behind. What if I weren't just inquiring now? What if I needed to get through with an issue? I think I question it more right now because I have also seen where a couple of their patients have had issues trying to get in touch with their office. This was actually the reason I thought to leave the extended message to them on my cell phone in the first place.

Honestly, I never really thought about how important a doctor's office staff would be to me and how much I would be willing to put up with from an office no matter how good the doctor. I don't know that I like the feeling of not being able to get in touch with my doctor especially since I don't call into the office very often to begin with.

I question this more right now as I analyze my current doctor even closer and keep going back and forth as to what I should do. That's probably a big reason I reached out to this next doctor's office at this time too. I also had another visit with my doctor this week. I probably came out of that visit with more questions and quandaries than I have in a long time. Granted, I probably put myself in that position and she even told me that I will have a lot to contemplate, but I haven't had a chance to research anything since my visit. I can't seem to get rid of this cold where the coughing is wreaking total havoc on everything.

How much does a doctor's office matter to you? What do you look for from the office? What is important to you? What can you or can't you overlook?

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Client Visit

My client visit started out awful. While driving there, I just couldn't take it anymore. The sun glare was worse than it had been in a long time and it did not help having all of the ice on the sides of the road which was also beaming into my eyes. After trying on three different sunglasses, I finally caved in and took one of my triptans.

I tried not to take a triptan because of the cognitive side effects it usually has on me, but having a Migraine wouldn't be any good when trying to think and come up with solutions for the client either. I still had a few hours before the visit and I was hoping that would keep my brain honest enough. I had to balance taking the triptan now or possibly needing it even more later when I was actually at the client's site as a last resort.

I always have a horrible fear when I go to one of our clients offices because I am terrified the lights in the room are going to be murderous. This is based on an actual experience I had a while back where a client visit triggered a multi-day, hard to treat Migraine that was tough to make go away all because it was triggered by the lighting the client had. I still don't know if there is anything I can do preventatively to help my Migraines when I find myself in a lighting situation that is going to turn bad quickly.

As it turned out, it was a good thing I took the triptan when I did. I met my boss near the client site for some coffee, where I got water, so we could discuss our visit before we headed over there. Considering we each had a couple of hours to drive from different directions, this worked out great. We found a table we could spread out on. After a few moments, I asked if he minded if we moved tables. He knew immediately why I needed to move without me having to say anything else. I couldn't take the lights at that table and would not have lasted there much longer let alone whatever was ahead of me light wise at the client site.

We found another table, with a different light setup that was a little better, but I still needed to adjust where I sat by sliding over a seat to make it as comfortable as I could while keeping the beast as quiet as possible. I would not have made it through this 'coffee' break if I did not take the triptan before this stop.

Do you want to know the kicker? We arrived at the client site a little early. We entered into the conference room way before the client was even there. They had all of these funky settings you could do with the lights and the person who turned the lights on, only turned the lights on which were along the outside walls. It was soooo nice! You would have thought I turned on these lights! I figured this would at least cool my head down until the client came in when I would deal with the lights as best I could.

After they arrived, they started to turn on all of the lights. Thank goodness for a menopausal woman who was there. She was having a hot flash and politely asked if they could keep the lights the way they were! She has a very good relationship with the people in the room and they were more than willing to accommodate her. Wooohooo!!! I wanted to dance on the tables, but that wouldn't have been very professional of me.

This whole meeting was held in a conference room with the most soothing lighting I have ever had in a business meeting. I couldn't believe it! It was exactly what my head needed especially considering I was going to have a couple of hours drive home in rush hour traffic with headlights to contend with. I want those lights in every meeting room!

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Migraine Research is in Danger: Take Action Now

I just took action on this issue and thought you might find it interesting too.

The House of Representatives is considering an immediate and unparalleled $1.6 billion cut to the budget of the National Institute of Health (NIH). These proposed reductions are a serious threat to our nation's health and the prospects for improved therapies for migraine and other disabling headache disorders. Please act now to protect Migraine research!

After all of the publicity around Serene Branson lately, I believe more people can see how different Migraine attacks are than they ever expected they could be; that Migraines are not just headaches. We are hearing how unusual it was to catch an episode, such as Serene's, on camera and how they want to use that footage for research purposes. How can they research the tape if there is not enough research money? You can read more about the action alert on the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA) website.

It is so easy to take action. It can take less than 10 minutes to send emails to your Congresspeople. All you need to do is to go to the AHDA website and follow the easy instructions. You can elect to add in your own comments, but it is not necessary. Please help and take action now by sending your email to stop these proposed cuts to the NIH today.

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