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.