For Those of You Who Have Your Health
 

By which I mean your physical health...appreciate it. If you can get up
every day and do a job, if you aren't bogged down with meds and frequent
visits to a myriad of specialists, if your mysterious body hasn't reduced you
to wondering where the hell your life is taking you...you're lucky. Bitch
about everything else, but appreciate that. Because some people would
change places with you in a second.

i do, i do! i even put up with the random annoyances that often occur!

you ok jenn? any progress?

I just have kidney stones, which are a bitch. For the most part though, yeah I'm perfectly healthy.

I'm not sure if you're ill or something Jenn, but I hope you're doing okay ;)

awww feel better jenn

I've been diagnosed with migraines but that's one part of it. It seems like
all the minor annoyances I've had with muscle problems, weakness, and
fatigue are clustering up on me. Have been for about a month now, actually.
The neurologist doesn't seem too horribly concerned, but I'd be lying if I
told you I weren't petrified. That's me, though. Ask Pantophobia.

The one good thing is it's made me kick my writing into overdrive. I'm more
focused on that than ever.

be grateful you dont have a cobain stomach

It could always be worse, for sure.

Watch as I post in this thread more than I have in the past month!

Migraines are fucking awful. I had to go through MRIs and ultrasounds and shit when I was younger for them. Still get them maybe 3-5 times a year, but it's much better now. I know sometimes, especially when I have them, it seems like people can't understand how truly horrible they can get. Do you know what causes them?

by cobain stomach i mean - undiagnosable incurable constant stomach pain which ive had for years. not as bad as his tho.

Ooohhh, migraines are crap :(

Yours are probably worse, but I used to get bad ones where I'd feel nauseous and anything that I was looking directly at was a big white dot.

Did they give you anything to take for them?

I hope those migraines don't keep up, and that you start feeling like your normal self Jenn.

he had a pinched nerve.

Migraines have many triggers. Genetics ( I have 3 sisters who suffer them,
with varying intensity), certain foods, lights (I am incredibly thrown by
flourescent lights, which fucks with my ability to work these days), weather,
all those can trigger migraines.

Oh yeah, I meant have you found your specific trigger? I only get them from specific food, and rarely from stress. But people have very different causes.

The lights are really affecting me lately, but the infuriating thing is not
always. But I tell you I can wake up and within an hour know if I'm up for
it or not.

I gave up sodas cold turkey about a month ago, and I really wonder how
connected that is with my condition.

That sounds really horrible - I do hope that you get it sorted out soonish. Much love to ya xxx

Actually, soda was the first thing I gave up. It didn't help, but I wouldn't count it out based on my experience. Mine is MSG, and it's a very common trigger. Try isolating things that are common, one at a time.

Also, if you can tell before they blow up, that's helpful. Most medicine that actually works only prevents it from getting worse. Nothing I've tried will actually get rid of it once it starts.

holy shit jenn sorry to hear about the migraines

had a friend at work who was a frequent migrant sufferer and i'd go in the storeroom to find him in the dark bent with pain.

not sure what to think of all the symptoms popping up at the same time...

ever tried acupuncture? i positively hated it, but it works for some people...

Yeah my girlfriend (er...ex...) swears by it. Freaks the shit out of me, though.

i know people who've used acupuncture to quit smoking and they swear it works

i've had it done and it's not painful at all but i don't know. my conditions didn't really improve, but i was just curious anyway.

please (this goes to everyone here) take this test:

http://nutrition.about.com/library/b..._diet_quiz.htm

i may have a small amount of inflammation.

i have had eczema and allergies since birth.
i'm frequently fatigued because i stay up for 24+ hours frequently.
fools.

I "probably don't need" it. Naturally healthy, but terrible eating/excersizing/sleeping patterns. I think any non-fast food diet would help me tremendously, but college kinda limits that.

Actually it doesn't. I just never go to the supermarket.

I also have a "small amount".

Fibromyalgia was ruled out for me by a rheumatologist recently, for a while
I was almost convinced I had it.

get better, jenn!!!

i had a migraine once and it was fucking hellish, wouldn't want to have another one in my life.

---

i know i constantly bitch about my recent cold, but i think it has more to do with other shit happening in my life than the actual cold. my ex made me feel like an idiot a few days ago, yet i needed that to get better, she told "for fuck's sake, it's just a cold; get up and start doing something".

the one thing i hate about my health is the i constantly don't have a lot of energy for tons of things, that has to do with stress and my chronical sleeping disorder but it's taken care of.

I have a small amount of inflammation and an anti-inflammatory diet may help.

have they put you on anything that blocks them (ie amitriptyline or verapamil etc) rather than just treatment for when you actually have one?

I have always had headaches and migraines. My migraines seem to be better (much less frequent) than they used to be. I took so much ibuprofen for years that I had a reaction and doubled my spinal fluid resulting in 2 spinal taps to remove spinal fluid.

I assume the rheumatologist ran blood work looking for other collagen vascular disorders? How is your sleep?

I'm getting the blood work done tomorrow morning. I sleep fine, thankfully.
This Butal is the only med I'm on...so far.

My regular doc ordered earlier blood work with specific testing for ANA
detection, and nothing out of the ordinary, so fibro and lupus unlikely.
Which...whew! I mean, I'm relatively lucky and I have to keep that in mind when I get discouraged. My heart is superb...blood pressure and cholesterol awesome. Chest Xrays...fine. Lungs? Lookin' good. So I should stop crying. Literally.

crying never helps a migraine :) I'm so sorry. Please feel better.

Thanks, to you and everyone with the good wishes. I've also been real
lucky with physicians who are intelligent and diligent.

My brother used to have debilitating migraines in his teens. I still remember days when he would lie on the couch the whole day in agony. Fortunately "biofeedback" helped him to overcome them.

I've seen biofeedback as a treatment for many problems. Intrigues me.
But hell, any treatment that doesn't involve pumping yourself fulla pills
intrigues me.

Pills are given for just about anything and everything, it's freaking stupid.

Finding something natural to cure your migraines would probably be really neat.

No wonder people think I'm hippy like, but come on...

No it's true, You're not a hippy. I wish I could have gone the natural route earlier in life. I've been on pills since I was in 2nd grade for "a.d.d." and been an insomniac since around then, plus allergies...taking pills my whole life..

I remember the first time my parents asked me if I was on drugs...

"I've always been on drugs". was my answer haha

As your attorney I advise you not to watch the Nats;)


I hope you feel better, Jenn!!

hey jenn, best of wishes from the commish. write your ass off. focus drives healing,

my good friend got migranes bad in high school so the doctor told him to quit drinking soda and they didn't stop but he didn't get them so much. i get them when i'm on the computer too much or if i'm around really bright lights.

aw jenn - i'm so sorry to hear about all of this :/ i really hope everything works out

I don't like taking medicine without good cause, but migraines are one thing with which I've never thought twice about it. The pills I take are an all or nothing thing (you never take more than one, even if it doesn't work), and they have no addictive qualities. I don't even think they have any pain-relieving effects or anything, they just address whatever the source of the migraine is. I only end up needing it about 4 times a year, but I've had absolutely no problems with it, and I've had it for a good 8-10 years.

Still, a natural solution would be better, I'm sure, if it works.

I could only work for one hour today...I may have to take extended leave.
Which is a horrible prospect. But I have new symptoms of increased
pressure in my right ear and cheekbones as well. If they persist, I'm going
to see about scans. This is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I'm sick of just
living and rarely feeling alive.