Last couple of days

02/13/10 - Woke up with a migraine behind the eyes this morning. Went away within half hour of getting up

02/14/10 - Woke with a slight headache, got worse as the afternoon went on. Used neti pot in early afternoon and took Aleve about an hour later (for headache and sore finger). Headache mostly gone by around 8pm

02/15 - 02/16 Had no headaches at all.. been very nice!!

Yet another one

Yesterday was not a bad day. I had a relatively mild sinus headache. Today, I woke up feeling pretty good, but my around noon, I started getting a headache. I thought it was another sinus headache, but after taking 3 sinus tylenol, I took some Aleve around 2. There was still no improvement, it remained around a 3 or 4 on the annoyance scale. Finally, around 5, I had to break down and take an Imitrex that finally cleared up the migraine by around 9 or 10pm.

No Rebound

I stayed home from work today as I was pretty tired this morning, which often happens they day after I have a bad migraine. Luckily, there was no rebound headache today! Always a good thing! Was able to do an hour of yoga too!

Headache at Work

Had a good day on Monday with no problems. I had a few handfuls of M&Ms Monday night and it must have been too much. I felt good when I woke up, but by 8:30am Tuesday morning, I had a pretty bad migraine setting in. By 9, in addition to the headache, I was having nausea and my vision was getting messed up. I took an Imitrex and 3 Aleve and by around noon, I felt much better. By afternoon, I felt all better. I will limit myself to one small handful of about 7 or 8 M&Ms from now on and not have them on back to back nights. If I continue to get the migraines every time, or even occasionally, I will cut them out all together.

Weekend report

Woke up Saturday with a headache that I would put at around a 3. It was pretty irritating and as the morning went on, it got gradually worse until I would put it at around a 4. At noon, I was fighting off taking anything for it, so I used the neti pot. It seemed to work and by around 4:00, the headache had pretty much disappeared.

On Sunday, I felt much better. Even after having a handful of M&Ms on Saturday evening. Today I had some more of them, so hopefully I will feel ok in the morning. Went to Barry's Super Bowl party and had 2 gluten free hot dogs that I have never had before, so hoping that does not affect me either

Great day today!

Great day today, short entry, no headache!

Another good day, even went out with friends after work

Thursday was a good day! No headache whatsoever all day long! Does not happen often, but when it does I am very thankful. I even felt well enough to go out for some drinks after work with some friends! Another rarity. Had 4 drinks and feel a bit tipsy. I generally do not do well the day after I have any drinks, so we will see how I feel in the morning.. here's hopin!

Another decent day Wed

Felt pretty good for the most part today. Woke up with a slight headache, but it really did not bother me much all day. Worked from home and read a book and still had no additional problems causing a headache.

Tuesday pain

Woke up this morning with a bit of a headache and very tired. Went back to bed until about 9 and then worked from home. Started getting a headache around 11am while working on my computer sitting on the couch. I would put the headache at a 4. By 1, it still had not gotten any better so I took an Imitrex. Felt a little better by 2 and just had an annoying pain the rest of the day (about a 1).

Good start!

This morning was very good for me. I woke up with no headache, on a Monday none the less! Felt pretty good until around 2pm when I started to get a severe stomach ache and nausea. Once I got home, I started to get a slight, slight headache, but nothing that I had to take anything for. Eliminate the stomach issues and I will take days like this!

A good day!

Well, today was a very good day for me headache-wise. I woke up with a slight, slight headache.. I would not even count it as one if I were not keeping close track of them. Within around 30 minutes, it was gone! YAY! I have gone the rest of the day with no pain at all! I am very happy about that. Plus, I got to watch last year's season finale of Lost, so I am ready for the season premiere on Tuesday. I am very happy that I am actually able to write about some activities instead of just "headache watch". Hopefully there will be many more days like this ahead. Tomorrow will be a good test as I head back to work after 4 days out.. what awaits? Hopefully nothing that is too stressful! Here's to no pain!

Better day, but still some issues

Well, today was a pretty typical day as of late. I woke up with a headache that seemed to originate behind the right eye and as I lay in bed, it spread to the right temple. It was not a severe pain in that I would rate it as about a 3. As the day went on, it got slightly worse and by 12:45 I decided to take a couple Aleve. When it still did not improve by 2, I broke down and took an Imitrex. It never progressed beyond about a 4, but was very annoying. By around 4, I felt better. Now, it is around 8 and it is starting to come back a bit. I have been reading for about an hour and the print has gotten a tad blurry.

I decided not to do any saline sprays today, but I did use a neti pot to rinse the sinuses. Did not seem to make much difference as the headache did not improve until the Imitrex was taken. Talked to Mom today about the potential surgery and she seemed slightly concerned, asking if it was a major surgery, overnight stay, etc. I tried to calm her fears, but truth be told, not sure how extensive any surgery would be.

A tough start

Well, yesterday was a tough way to start after the doctor appointment. On Wednesday evening, I had a box of cookies (admittedly not a smart move to eat an entire box of around 30 cookies) that are made with soy lecithin(which I knew was in there). Thursday morning I woke up with a headache that I would rate as a 4 on the pain scale but as the day went on, things just got progressively worse. My headaches in the past have rarely include nausea, but for the past 2 weeks, including yesterday, the nausea was pretty severe. I took 2 Imitrex pills, one in the am and one in the afternoon, and neither gave me much relief. By the end of the evening, after doing nothing but laying around the entire evening after dinner, I headed to bed still not feeling well. I took some tablets (10) called Nauzene which seemed to help a bit with the nausea, but did not get rid of it.

This morning, Friday, Jan 29, I woke up and felt "fuzzy" most of the morning and early afternoon. It was as if I was on the fence and felt as though I could go either way - migraine or headache free. As of now, early evening, I am still feeling slightly "fuzzy", but quite a bit better. I took nothing today to help sway it either way.

I also did yoga for the the first time today. It was not bad and am hoping to use it in the future as a way of relaxing. One thing I did notice while doing the yoga was that I do struggle to breathe through my nose.. surgery fix?

My Reasons for this Blog

I have suffered from migraines for years. I grew up being told that all of my headaches were being caused by my sinuses. In 2006, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a disease that makes it so that my body cannot tolerate gluten (a wheat protein). The Celiac Disease was determined to have been "set off" by a stressful event in 2001. It was around that time that my headaches worsened. In 2008, it was determined that I had several food allergies on top of the Celiac. The one that appears to be having major affects is soy. I have gotten to the point that during the winter, I get headaches approximately 10-15 times a month. That is a brief background on me and my migraines.

Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010, I went to a plastic surgeon who reviewed a CAT scan that I had done last week. The CAT scan revealed that there were several issues with my sinus area. The shape of the nasal cavity is supposed to be straight, but mine is curved, there is a spur that could be causing many of the migraines and a couple of air pockets (called concha bullosa).

I have 6 weeks to determine if the Flonase that I have just begun to use and saline spray is helping and then determine if I want the doctor to go in and "roto rooter" my sinuses and get it all straightened out. He is not sure if this will cure the headaches, so it is not going to be an easy choice. I am going to document my next 6 weeks as a way of forcing me to do everything I am supposed to as well as a way to remember when and how severe the headaches are.