Tag Archives: migraine relief

Oh CRAP! And Other Signs of Age Progression

7 Nov

It has been a while since my last post.  And though I had given a slight clue, in my last writing, as to what I would be writing in this current (or next) post, I have, “Rivka style”, changed direction.  I say, Rivka style, because I have found that the one constant about my direction is that it is always changing.  For instance, my good friend and I travel to Santa Catalina Island once a year for a girls getaway.  This past weekend marked our 14th or 15th year of wreaking havoc on the sleepy town of Avalon.  And as has been our custom, every year prior, we share a barbeque chicken pizza along with a dinner salad for one of our meals together.  However, this year as she excitedly sat at our familiar table ready to order our “specialty”, I spilled the truth.  “Uhm, Candice, I have a confession to make…I don’t like barbecue sauce anymore.”  Now in years past she would give me a good ribbing about it, but this year she resigned to what she has come to know to be true, “Rivka is always changing her mind!”

Yes, folks, I am.  And though I would like to write about the adventure of finding the San Diego Velodrome, it will have to wait; because I have changed my mind.  I have changed partially due to the fact I have been dealing with migraine headaches again.  And the headaches affect my ability to work at the computer because I am a slow writer, as well as, a slow reader.  And the pain is quite intense, and the intensity grows the longer I stare at the screen.

Though I previously had connected gluten as the cause of my head irritation, I have since discovered it is not the case.  Yeast and sugar, perhaps, though I am not wholly convinced (due to my own elimination diets of the past) that the cause is of MY doing.  Truth be told, I have recently shared with Brian that while I am under the ‘spell’ of pain, I am feeling as if G-d is punishing me for something.  I will tell you, confessions aside, that the only real connection I have found is a change in the weather.  It is true, when the seasons change I tend to have the darned things more often.  Yet I have enough insight into the ‘facts of life’ to know that the weather in and of itself cannot be the sole reason for my infliction.  I have considered that my maternal grandmother suffered, occasionally, from migraines and my daughter does as well.  Did I hear the call of “Genetics”?  Blah Blah Blah…what a boring subject!  I have been having migraines so long now that I am absolutely tired of them as a subject matter!

So let me leave you with the instance of how I came to my title.  For some reason I received, in the mail, a holiday toy catalog.  I do believe it was either for Toys R Us, or Target.  Anyway, as I was perusing through the high gloss, and vibrantly colored pages, I couldn’t help but wonder at the types of toys offered to the wee ones of today.  Monster dolls called, Bratzillas and some other name I have now forgot.  Fairies called, “Good vs. Evil Fairies”.  Party Girls dolls, or in other words (mine in fact), super skinny dolls with multicolored hair and loads of makeup on the face.  A family game which involved handcuffs, and a game which seemed to award the art of lying.  And as I sat there, jaw dropped open and mind in wonderment at why these types of toys are sought after, it hit me, “Oh Crap, I am getting old!”  No it isn’t so much my age in number that is showing signs of the natural progression (according my family lineage I will hit middle age in another 15 to 20 years), it is the sign that I am losing touch with that which sparks the fire of the, younger-than-me, young.  Oiy Vay!

Yes folks, I have been away from the computer for a couple of weeks now and with my quick appearance I leave you this tidbit morsel of nothing…sweet as it may be, it is still nothing.  But tomorrow brings a new attempt at fighting the beast of my head (and eyes) and with my new approach, I am hopeful to have the physical ability, once again, to write in a manner more connected to that which I wish to say…without the pressure of pain sitting in the director’s seat.  Crossing my fingers and such.

Adieu

Tags: , , , ,

Chronic Plague

14 Feb

Did you know that another word for chronic is ‘inveterate’?  Yet just as twins share many of the same distinguishing marks, they invariably are two separate individuals.  And while you might entice me to conjecture that the three words, ‘chronic, inveterate, and invariable’ are synonymous to each other, I will hold firm in my opposed view.  True, each word pays reference to a continuum, however, inveterate leans more heavily in the negative connotation of its definition than that of chronic, and invariably shows itself more like a cousin to the other two adjectives and less like the triplet I suggested it to be.

Why even allow myself this inconsequential diatribe?  Because, words are important.  And choosing them wisely is a tricky practice.  Right now I am hung up on ‘chronic’.  Let me explain…

I have not written a new post since last Monday.  It was titled, “Telegrafico, Western Union”, and it was very short.  Yes I put up a link to a song on Wednesday but I couldn’t write.  I was plagued.  I have been suffering with a horrendous headache since January.  Now granted I am given a day or two or maybe even three of a reprieve, but I can tell it is the same headache holding its place in my physique because even on the days of rest, its presence winks at me.  My worst day of suffering was on January 27th, the day before hosting an open house birthday party for my son, Cole.  Thankfully I have amazing friends who pinch-hit for me and who stepped in to take on the pre-party chores, being I was rendered useless and connected to my icepack.  And unfortunately for me, the acupuncture treatment I received on that Friday the 27th offered me not one ounce of relief from the migraine.  Hither there to (sounds better than “needless to say”, though completely lacks sense), I have been on sporadic computer function for quite some time.

So last Thursday evening I played out the, all too familiar, scenario…me prone on the living room couch, an icepack wrapped around my eyes and forehead, the lights out, and all noise makers off–with the exception of one.  A knock at the front door.  A knock that aroused the instinctual sirens of alert which presently live in my home…the dogs lying on the floor next to me.  It was our dear friend from England.  He was in town for the weekend and had hoped to see Cole and offer him his good wishes in person.  Now isn’t that a good dose of irony…he from out of the country, now in the country to see Cole only to find Cole out of the country…too situationally funny for words, though I try!  Even funnier is that Cole happened to call right before the spontaneous arrival of our guest, so I was on the line with Cole when he came through our door.  And the mere fact that Cole was finding respite outside our USA walls was encouraging news to our concerned Brit.

At any rate, I had no idea he was coming by, but as is customary with our ‘open door policy’, he knew he would be welcome.  What he didn’t know is that he would be welcomed to me lying down in the dark with two very suspicious dogs at his ankles (well one really as the Piper dog wouldn’t get that close).  Thankfully (for the both of us) Brian came home shortly after, allowing my return to the migraine regimen.  However, upon his departure to the land of “Brian Bent” (aka the garage), he offered his condolences to me as he felt very sorry I had to suffer a “chronic condition”.  There it is, the word…chronic.  Up until he said that particular word, I merely dealt with the many headaches as a plague.  You know, something that hits and then subsides.  But chronic I hadn’t considered and the reality of that word being applied to my situation really stinks.  Which is why I carry on and write nonsensical verbiage about word synonyms.  I mean who wants to carry the label of “chronic illness”?  Certainly not me, though sadly it is appearing to be more of the truth.

Alas, I have had to pull out of the acupuncture adventure due to an insurance loss, though I honestly feel I have pulled out too soon to render an opinion of its effectiveness (for my case).  I remain sold on the effectiveness for my son, it has been miraculous in his recovery.  And I had hoped, a little too much, that it would as quickly resolve my own inveterate condition.

Chronic, inveterate, invariable.  Choose whichever one you want, for they are all riding my tail.  It’s the eleventh plague.  Perhaps I look Egyptian!

P.s. An addendum will come to this subject regarding methods of solving the migraine issue, for I have applied many.  I don’t write them just yet as I am hoping to hear back from you, the reader, in the case a new possibility remains available.  …a heart full of hope and a head full of pain, that’s me! 🙂

Tags: , ,

Pinterest

20 Jan

For those of you who are aware of the website “Pinterest.com”, I alert you to the fact I only utlitized its name for my title because of its homophonic characterists.  This posting is an update for those intersted in how our acupuncture treatments are going (or pinnings).

Regarding my personal migraine relief, I can tell you that in the past, I have been like clockwork when it comes to getting a headache with a new rain.  So when we had two days of rain this past weekend and pain in my head was not mine, I was pretty excited.  Of course I cannot tell you that the change is directly related to the acupuncture treatments.  But what else am I doing differently to encourage such a change?  Absolutely nothing.  And yesterday when I had a treatment, I fell into such a deep and relaxed state that it unnerved me somewhat because while in it, I found myself writing lyrics to a song.  I woke myself up quickly and reminded myself to mellow out and just relax!  Besides, I don’t write songs…that’s Brian’s arena and it’s not one I’m interested in stepping into.  It just felt wierd, but good at the same time.

I tell you, I am still amazed I can relax when laying in one position with needles positioned in various locations on my body (from head to toe).

Well tomorrow, as promised, my son is going to have surgery to lift his lower eyelids so as to cover more surface area of the eye ball.  I’m imagining him to come out of surgery looking something like Kenny Rodgers (now-a-days) meets Jackie Chan.  If I new how to use Photoshop I would present a photo for us all to gawk at.  But alas, I don’t know how to make it happen.  And besides, Cole just might karate chop me or sing me Islands In the Stream as punishment should I dare conjure up a rendition.

Whew, I’m getting out of control, I had better get going…….”know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em”.  HIIIIII-YA!!

 

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries

%d bloggers like this: