Elimination Article

Here's a link to a very interesting Huffington Post article about elimination diets and migraine:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/how-to-eliminate-migraine_b_451311.html

Eliminate This (and that..and this...and this, and that...)

Well, I failed at my dairy-free diet I mentioned a month or so ago. I did really well for a week or two, then, I just gave up. I figured it was not really working, so, I said, "eh," shrugged my shoulders and reached for the ice cream. Not my most shining moment... In any event, I have come to the conclusion that I need to, seriously this time, look to my diet for any insight into what is causing these daily migraines. So, I have decided on an elimination diet, where I will eliminate ALL common migraine triggers (including caffeine and chocolate--yikes!) for a full two months. During those months, I will continue to keep a food diary and, of course, a headache calendar/diary. After the two months are up, I will slowly add foods back in, giving each food a one-week trial to see if it is a trigger or not. Eventually, I should be able to identify some triggers and, then, I can avoid them in the future. This will take a long time, but, I'm desperate, I have to be willing to go the distance, right?  This is going to be difficult. No, not difficult. This is going to be friggin' Hell. But, I cannot take the pain any more. I have to do something...

If you would like to take this turbulent journey with me, here is a link to a list of the foods that I will be eliminating (including, gulp...coffee! Lord, help me!): http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/migrainediet.htm

Also, if you have done or are doing an elimination diet, I'd love to hear about it....please feel free to comment here or e-mail me at: chelle8178@gmail.com or on Facebook at Migraine Awareness.

In Patient

My hospital stay this time was 5 days. During that time I was mostly comfortable, though not pain-free. The first night was hell-I had a killer migraine and could not stop throwing up! To add insult to injury, the nurse was not at all pleasant, sympathetic or accommodating! I had to practically beg her to bring me something to throw up in because I was getting to weak to run to the bathroom every five minutes! She finally did bring me a container and emptied it angrily throughout the night. Very late in the night (or very early in the morning), I asked her to give me IV fluids, since, at this point I was throwing up bile or dry-heaving as I had not eaten in several hours and couldn't even keep the tiniest sip of water down.  She snickered and informed me that I did not need the fluids. I insisted; she begrudgingly obliged. And, ya know what?  I stop throwing up when I was about half way through the bag of fluids! As Dr. Phil would say, "This ain't my first rodeo!" I have been here many, many times, I knew the fluids would stop the vomiting. The migraine was still there, but, at least, I could now rest. After that first night, things got better. I skipped the classes that I had attended during my last two stays, and, instead, got a lot of rest. The sleep, even in that uncomfortable hospital bed, was blissful. I needed it. I did attend some of the more interesting classes and activities. The arts and crafts class was fun and relaxing, and I enjoyed Biofeedback, as well. I received three nerve blocks in the left side of my neck, and, at this point, I cannot say that I have noticed an impact on my migraines; however, my neck does feel a tad less stiff. The best thing is that I left there with the contact information of three new friends! I also left with a brand-new list of meds, both preventative and abortive. So far, I don't think they are working all that great. I am back to daily migraines, though, I have had less throwing up and nausea, in general. So, we shall see.

Facebook Lashing

For those of you who may not know, I have a migraine page on Facebook, Migraine Awareness. It is basically an extension of this page with more of a conversational tone to it and some informational content thrown in. If you haven't checked it out, you should...(I had to throw that in--no more plugging, I promise..).  I have been so delighted with the page--it's growth is steady, many regulars comment and connect with me and with each other, valuable and interesting information is shared, stories exchanged, moral and emotional support is being given and so forth...I figured everyone who visited or who has been a part of the page was happy with it, too. Little did I know that there was a hater is the wings!  A woman and a migraine sufferer to boot basically ripped me a new one, to put it bluntly! She criticized me for not having enough information on the page. She called me narcissistic and a whiner! I could not believe it! I have been criticized by non-migraine sufferers who do not understand what having a migraine or living with chronic pain is like, so when this happens, it does not surprise me. But, I have never, until now, been so thoroughly insulted and dismissed by a fellow migraineur. My first thought was to tell her off...how dare she treat me like that?  Who the hell did she think she was?! But, then, I thought about it for a bit, and I realized that maybe she just needed to be steered in the right direction. So, I kindly pointed out that the page was not intended to be wholly (or even mostly) informational, that it was designed to be a page where migraine sufferers could share their stories, struggles, experiences and support one another, and, if that was not what she was looking for, then, she did not have to return to the page---seemed pretty innocuous and quite obvious to me. She did, in fact, return to the page after several of my regular posters defended me and my page (thank you, my friends!), still accusing, not only me now, but others on my site of being whiners! I guess one cannot assume that just because another is engaged in a similar struggle that she is automatically an ally. I have learned my lesson.