Well, hello there strangers!
I took an unexpected blogging hiatus for almost the entire month of July. At first it was because I wasn't feeling all too well. I had (and still sometimes do) a headache/migraine every day for nearly 24 days. That was fun! It would go away with sleep, and return around noon, sometimes even earlier, the next day. I didn't feel like doing anything and it made me really depressed. I wanted to die, which made it hard to take care of Lachlan. Brian had to leave work early a few times to come help me take care of him. I went into desperation mode when I went to urgent care to try and break it with a "migraine cocktail" and that didn't work. I took a steroid taper twice (Medrol then 2 weeks later, Prednisone), which has worked successfully in the past for me 3 times before, but for whatever reason, neither worked this time. But the Prednisone did succeed in making me feel like I was having a 24/7 panic attack on top of the head pain. So I ended up seeing a neurologist who got me back on nortriptyline as a preventative treatment. It's also an antidepressant which will help my anxiety. I think it was the right time to get back on it and I'm glad I'm taking it. I was on it for 5 years before, but stopped when I tried to get pregnant and was hoping I wouldn't need to go back on it again. But here we are! So far I've had 3 days in a row headache free, but it could just be a coincidence. The meds take weeks to kick in so...
Anyway, on a lighter note, if you follow me on Instagram, you saw that we spent last week in Wildwood and Cape May NJ for our first family vacation and Lachlan got to meet all his cousins and his Mima and Poppy (Brian's parents) and his great grandma. It was lots of fun. Chaotic and overwhelming trying to coordinate 8 adults and 4 kids in a hotel at times, but fun. And I got some really great photos that I can't wait to edit. While we were there, Lachlan turned 8 months old and I swear, coming back home these 10 days later, he seems like a different baby doing different things. He is SO close to crawling, got another tooth, is babbling more. I'm working on getting a post together about our trip.
It's been hotter than hell lately. I really hate the summer, guys. I can not wait for the fall already. The heat makes me feel sick and headache-y, I don't wanna go outside and take walks (to *ahem* find Pokemon) because I feel like I'm dying. So in the meantime, I'm dreaming up ideas for fall crochet projects I want to tackle.
That's it for now. I hope to get back on schedule and I have a few posts I plan to share over the next week or so now that I'm back and as long as the headaches stay under control. Even one from the fourth of July that I never got around to sharing. Stay tuned!
Alycia, I'm sure you have gotten all sorts of "oh you should try this, or this or thats" for remedies to migraine. I am the 5th generation l, that we know, my son the 6th. Mine went from 3-4 a year to one lasting 18 months 2 weeks & 6 days as the longest so far when my kidneys failed. Trust me when I say I have searched for every treatment ever heard of, tried or imagined. What has helped me the most, (outside of meds, which is SO difficult and still be the mama you want and need to be) is to ice the back of your neck, brain stem, to cool the flow of blood going into the brain, constricting those vessels relieving some pressure. At the same time hearing your feet drawing more blood down there away from your brain/head. I continued working in pharmacy using handwarmers in my shoes and those icy patches on my neck. Another very effective tool is what is called an eye pillow. It is about 4x10" filled with flax seed which have the perfect weight balance for the eyes; just enough pressure and also to block all light while you lay on an ice pack. If nausea occurs, very strange trick but effective, is to apply Vicks vapor rub inside your belly button. I have several other alternative methods for treatment if you are interested. My kidneys failed causing my son to be born 6 weeks preemie. THAT was that 18 month migraine on top of all the other. I was terrified of not being enough for my Scott. He's about to turn 26, so he did survive! Haha! My miracle in so many ways! I prayed so hard he would be spared the genetics of this horrible ailment!! God bless you and you honeys! Contact if you'd like!! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I still cannot believe you had migraines for that long. Mine really tend to come and go - I won't have one for months and all of a sudden they'll come back with a vengeance for what seems like forever...then they go away again. I hope this preventative medicine continues to work for you!
ReplyDeleteI cannot stand summer either. It's disgusting and makes me a complete homebody. I hate sweating. Yuck.
I didn't even realize you'd take a blog break since I follow you on IG, lol! Your beach vacation looked lovely.
thanks!
ReplyDeleteyea instagram is just so easy haha. it was a nice blog break though. most people aren't interacting here anyway because they're outside doing things....or just hanging out on instagram anyway :)
thanks for the tips Valoria! i heard about that ice and heat thing. i'm willing to try it and see if it works next time.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are have a respite from the migraines...I hope it lasts for you for sure! I too am ready for fall weather...I think this is the first realized I could never live in the south. It hit 90 here today and I'm dying...and that is nothing compared to some temps down south. Yuck. I love following along with your IG - Lachlan is such a little cutie pie!
ReplyDeletethanks kay :)
ReplyDeletei seriously don't even go out side if it's above 90. there's no humidity in colorado, but back east it was awful! i felt like i was suffocating. so coming back here actually made it not seem so bad. just had to me reminded ;)