So Far Ketosis and Me!

Okay so the strangest thing is happening.  I have gone a week without a headache.  Well sort of anyways.  I took two Advil for a headache that was coming today and it went away.  This was very cool.  Now the key will be if I can get through the weekend.  Sunday's have always seemed like headache day so we will see how the rest of the weekend goes. 

I also started my second dose of the Sandomigran so we will see how that works now too. 

I haven't lost anymore weight but since I was never too concerned with that I am okay with it.  I have also been eating like a pig lately because I have been starving and PMSy so bad combination. 

I tried a low carb pizza crust made with milled flax seed that I got from SaskMade Marketplace in Saskatoon.  It's local and organic so a really good choice.  It was good.  Not real pizza of course but still really good.  And really easy.  You could easily make it on a work night as the crust doesn't really have to rise, just rest for 5 min. 

I did have some wicked cravings this week.  Two evenings actually.  And I caved and had a couple of cups of popcorn on night but other than that a pretty good week. 

But this is by far and away the best thing that happened this week.  I am an Auntie again.  Meet Choochie, I mean Brooke.  She is perfect and I can't wait to actually meet her. 

It don't get any better than this!

Thanks all!

New Diet sort of? Ketosis and Me!

Well everyone I am trying to do something for myself now to make my head aches better.  The doctor put me on Nortriptyline that didn't do very much at all.  I had to go back to the neurologist this last week.  I was very full of hope the last time I left his office but was very quickly knocked back down. 
I got a head ache three days later. 

For the record, when I say headache, I mean a migraine.  I don't mean a headache that you can take two Advil for and have it go away.  When I see the Advil commercials that claim that Advil can fix a headache "Often with one dose"  (I hope that is the right quote.)  I always roll my eyes.  (Sorry Advil).  I mean, really, who calls that a headache. 

When I get a headache I start by taking two Advil.  This is my hoping stage.  Sometimes this does actually take a headache away for me.  But it never stays gone.  When I realize the hoping stage isn't going to last long, I take two Tylenol.  All of this is extra strength by the way.  About an hour later, the pressure begins.  The pressure I think is a lot of the pain.  The pressure feels like my brain is going to swell and push my teeth out.  It feels like if I could pull out my back teeth, that I would have relief.  I know that isn't true but that's the best description I have.    

Now to begin to combat that, I begin taking pills.  Usually two X strength Tylenol and three migraine Advil every two hours for as long as the headache persists.  Usually about  three days.  I have Maxolt now so they work better and I don't have to take so much by the way of drugs.

So with all that being said, I have been given a new pill to take everyday but I am also very interested in how my diet affects my headaches.  I have spent most of my adult life trying to figure out what causes my headaches.  I have always approached it in the way that one specific food triggers a headache.  That's what everyone always says anyways.  So when I looked up migranes it always had a list of trigger foods.  However, when I took them all away I still had headaches.  Not exactly what I had in mind. 

So I have embarked on a new adventure.  It is called the ketogenic diet or ketosis diet.   Basically no carbs.  So I started it last Friday and have already lost four pounds which is pretty cool but not why I am doing this.  So I invite you along for the ride.  I will explain more of my new plan and if anyone wants to try along with me, post along and let me know how you are doing too.  I would love to have company for my adventure. 

Thanks for the reads.  You all amaze me every time!

Twenty Years!

(This is actually a reprint from another blog I write.  I republished it on this blog to help everyone that may want to follow me with my new journey.)

Twenty Years

I do a lot of volunteer work but sometimes the one who needs help is me. I realised this today when I was sitting in the doctors office crying because someone finally listened to me.

It started with a nurse practitioner in town who listened to my complaints about my chronic head aches and took steps to actually help me a few months ago.

Over the years I have suffered with head aches. I remember my first head and stomach ache in grade three. I remember the doctor telling my mom that I probably just didn't like my teacher.

After my kids were born a doctor told me "You have kids, what do you expect?" After a few years another doctor told me "You're a woman, that's what happens." A few years after that one said "As long as you're working sixty hours a week don't come back to see me about this." (And for the record, after I sold my business and didn't work at all for six months and the head aches were just as bad.)

Throughout the years I envied people with what I considered low grade headaches. You know the people. The ones who can take one or two Advil and the headache goes away. I couldn't even imagine it. To put it in perspective, when I get a head ache I take three extra strength Advil and two extra strength Tylenol about every two hours for three to five days. I do this so I can function. My headaches wake me in the night. I was given Demerol, however that was kind of a joke. (That by the doctor that told me I was a woman.) I was also given a type of Aleve that was apparently quite strong. These were not helpful unfortunately. These all dealt with pain.

My headaches peak in the evening usually in the third or fourth day. And by peak I mean they get so bad that I will lay on the bathroom floor. I have, in those dark moments, contemplated banging my head against the door frame. The thought is that if I hit my head hard enough I would pass out and it wouldn't hurt anymore. Even typing it sounds crazy. But I know I'm not.

Because I was lead to believe that my head aches were normal, it never occurred to me to go to the hospital. (Which apparently does help you get noticed by the medical types.)

In all this craziness of Demerol, Advil, Tylenol, Maxolt and anything else I could try, I would wake my husband in the middle of the night to tell him what I was taking. I wanted him to be able to tell the EMS if anything happened. It became a running joke in our household because what could we do but laugh.

So with my last really bad headache prompted my husband to tell me to go to the doctor again. And he supported me/ badgered me until I went. And this is when Angela came in. She listened. She ran some tests and tried me on some stronger pills. (Maxolt is the spelling I think) My pharmacist came into play here too. She warned me about the pills, watched my refills and when I came back for the third refill in less than three months on a prescription that should have lasted a year, told me to go back to the doctor. She told me the drugs weren't doing what they were supposed to. Took the time to explain what they were supposed to do. The best thing about a small town is that these people are your neighbours. They care about you.

The new pills reduce the size of the blood vessels therefore taking the pressure off in my brain. They would take my pain away for a few hours but it would always return. I know nothing about pills. What I just told you is a dumbed down version of what they told me. Most of what they told me I don't really remember. I do remember Kelly telling me not to accidentally kill myself.

But I understand how it happens. How much you want the pain to just stop. In March I had nine migraines. With Maxolt they lasted two to three days. Mathematically I had about nine or ten days without a migraine. After every headache I have a half a day of a "brain bruise" so what does that leave six or seven days in a month with no pain.

When I type it its seems awful. But my life is good. Just this one area is tough.

Today I went to a neurologist. I got referred by Angela. Again he listened to me. Validated my pain and gave me something to try to prevent the headaches instead of treating the pain. He told me that in three months my life will be better. I believe him. I cried. I told him how much I appreciated him helping me.

So here's to me and getting my life back.

And because this blog is supposed to be about Forever Friends here's the tie in. Some of the people in the medical field are fantastic. Some aren't but in Canada we get health care so we can have a second opinion. If you are in doubt about any aspect of your health go to a doctor until you get what you know you need. I am a huge believer in intuition. I have heard lots of stories with women that know something is wrong but get brushed off. If you KNOW then trust yourself. Go until you find someone that will listen to you.

This is not to dog on doctors that have missed something. To err is human. This is to hold up the people that listen, to the members of the profession that are fantastic. If you know them, tell them. They deserve to hear it.

Thanks to you all for the read today.