Living with Migraines

We’re heading to the mountains this weekend for two days of skiing.  Can’t wait!!  I only manage to go once a year now, but it is still a wonderful chance to get away and do something I love.  Aside from the headache I usually get the first day or two from being in high altitude, it’s a happy, happy time.

I see the physical therapist tomorrow that I used to see.  She works on my shoulders and neck, helping relieve the tension, as well as working on me with my posture and exercises I can do at home to relieve tension and increase the strength in those muscles.   She’s a wonderful person and I always enjoy chatting with her - it will be nice to see her again.

to me today. :)  Another birthday, and I am now closer to 40 than I am to 30. ;)   Dh and DD have been very sweet to me today, making pancakes for breakfast and planning a nice dinner for this evening, topped off with an ice cream cake.  I’ve been in a bit of a funk, though.  It will pass - might be ‘just’ PMS.
Got my prescriptions for Frova and Maxalt filled today.  It is so good to have them on hand again; I ran out long ago and don’t want to do that to myself again, no matter what happens with doctors leaving, medical groups changing hands, clinics shutting down.  But those things do tend to make getting medication a challenge.

In non-migraine but healthy-living news, I bought a salad spinner today.  I’ve wanted one fora  while now and couldn’t seem to fork over the $20-$25 for one.  But, my grandparents gave me a gift card for my birthday, so now I have a salad spinner, lol!

I had my appointment today at the headache clinic, and I’m glad to have gone back.  The nurse practitioner remembered me and had pulled up my file and her notes, so she was ready to pick up where we’d left off, see what was new in my life and migraines and go forward from there.  I’m happy to have put this all back in motion; I feel relieved.

I have my appointment tomorrow at the headache clinic.  This evening, I’ll go through my journal and make some notes about my migraine history over the past few months, so that I have some recent ‘data’ to discuss with them.

I need to schedule a visit to the eye doctor, speaking of appointments.  Trying to take ballet class without being able to see clearly is less than ideal, but wearing my glasses doesn’t always work well either.

The rain is pouring down right now, and I love sitting here just listening to it.  I wish it rain more often.  I don’t mind rain at all.  It’s the dreary, cloudy days where nothing seems to happen that wear down my spirit.  But rain is action, something to hear, smell, see and feel!  And hopefully, it also means SNOW for when we go skiing next month!

Today is Presidents’ Day, and the three of us are going roller skating today. We have some free passes, and we’re going to call some friends and see if they can join us. A couple of years ago, DD gave me roller skates for Christmas. They’re very similar to the skates I had growing up - white with pink wheels. I think we’ll have a good time today! I haven’t felt all that great this weekend, but today I feel pretty good and I intend to keep on feeling good!!

We got some rain last night which was a very pleasant change for the winds two days ago. I love rain and wish we had more of it, but So Cal just doesn’t get a lot of rain most years.

It is incredibly windy today - so windy that the sound of it woke me up early this morning! I could hear our patio furniture blowing over. I hate these hot East winds, and so does my head. I feel pretty good this morning, so I’ll take that as a good sign and do what I can to hold onto it.

Ballet was tough last night, and I felt rather flustered several (OK, more than just several) times during barre and center. But I’m learning to recognize those feelings creeping up and trying to place them out of the way, where they belong, so that I can continue to try and concentrate, and give the combinations my best effort. My classmates (the regulars) are starting to get to know me a bit better too, and I could see that at one point a couple of them were reaching out (figuratively) to me last night during one particularly confusing turning combination. It’s nice to feel a little bit “known” there now, after 5-6 months of lessons.

I am so glad to have a day off this Monday!  DH has the day off too, so all three of us can be home together, or go do something together.  Nice! :)  DD has a party to attend tomorrow, but other than that we are plan-free.

I’ve got twinges of a headache nipping at me right now.  I’ll take some advil and then head off to ballet in an hour or so.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

I called the headache clinic and have an appointment in a couple of weeks. It will be good to have medical support again. I can and will still do all I can to manage things on my end, but having access to Western medicine again will be a relief. Since it’s been quite a while since I’ve been there, I need to go through a mini-intake session of an hour, to update things and check in with them. From there, I’ll make an appointment with the neurologist who heads the clinic and discuss medication. I’ll be seeing the same nurse practitioner that I used to see; I’m hoping that she’ll remember me.

So yea for me for being proactive and getting on the phone!