Coping, Mental Health, Triggers

Hey There

Reading is back to being a ginormous trigger. Ideas for posts are constantly percolating so it is particularly frustrating. Hart is looking into dictation software and I hope to get back to writing soon.

The migraines are still bad, though my pain level topped out at 4 two days last week. I’m seeing a therapist and taking huge steps toward understanding myself, depression and the influence of illness on my life. She recently directed me to information on the “highly sensitive person.” The framework fits me well and the potential connections to migraine are immense. I’m looking forward to telling you more!

I hope you’re doing well as well as possible.

17 thoughts on “Hey There”

  1. It’s all karma. Your pain will go away the minute you stop using this site to advertise products that callously prey on suffering, ignorance, and desperation.

  2. Hi Kerrie,

    Sorry you are having so hard a time with your migraines. I have been a silent follower of yours for a year or two. I’ve had chronic headaches for about 7 years now.
    I know everyone is different but ideas can sometimes help. I found a couple of triggers recently and also that I have celiac disease. Avoiding vinegar, sulphites and gluten have helped me cut my headache occurances by half.

    Thanks for offering so much great information over the last while…miss your updates.

    Shelley

  3. Yikes – reading as a trigger reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where the guy’s glasses break in the postapocalyptic library full of books.

  4. This “Highly sensitive person” seems right on to me…I’ve even been told by my neurologist that people who suffer from migraines are super sensitive. When he gives me a medication he says “don’t EVEN read all those side effects because then you WILL get them!”…because how sensitive we are to the power of suggestion! Everyone I meet who gets headaches like me definitely are super sensitive, and usually very good-hearted, and vert smart people! A blessing and oh such curse…hopefully we can learn to use our powers for good. Please keep us posted on your journey of self-discovery, I am already learning more about HSP. Thx! 🙂

  5. I stumbled across your blog while googling “rebound headaches”. It took me to a post you did clear back in 2008.

    I hope you’re still blogging here! I sure would love to dive right in…..

  6. I lived with migraines and a daily headache for just about 8 years. The doctors tried so many different kinds of meds and combinations of meds to no avail. In order for me to get the pain to go away, I was left with daily meds and injecting myself when needed. Well the injecting became more and more frequent. Finally my neurologist sent me to a neurosurgeon. He explained a neurostimulator to me, and told me to take a couple of days to think it over. By the following week, I was setting up my surgery to have the trial stimulator. That worked so well that in February of this year, 2010, I had a permanent stimulator implanted. I have had a few headaches, but nothing at all close to what I had before. The migraines have even backed off. If you have not looked into a neurostimulator, I highly recommend it, if you can get one.

  7. I find your blog very interesting as a person who has suffered from chronic daily headaches for the last year and a half. I have narrowed down triggers for increasing the severity of my headaches which generally involve music and moving lights. So TV and any computer animated programs are problematic. My pain level on the typical day ranges between 6 to 8 out of 10, from when I get up till bed. Good days for me are when the pain level is 5 or less, needless to say I avoid watching TV or listening anything but quiet music. Oddly computer monitors generally do not bother me too much.

  8. I also find it helpful to turn down the monitor when I’m using a computer, but my Samsung M50 laptop still causes trigger problems.

    I’ve found that wearing a pair of sunglasses while using my computer really helps. Bizarre I know. But it seems to work.

    Just found the blog. Very interesting. Hope you begin posting soon.

  9. How is it I’ve never seen this blog before?

    I’ve recently found the “highly sensitive person” thing too and I think I’m in the same boat you are. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

    I hope the reading gets to be less painful for you. I’ll hang in there if you will.

  10. Have you thought about recording your interviews and then having someone else type them up?
    Maybe a student “volunteer” for work experience credit or something.
    I have a new CD on highly sensitive people.
    Hope you feel better soon!
    Kris

  11. Kerrie,
    I’ve been reading your blog for a while now.
    My 17 yr.old son has had a CDH plus migraines for years and we’re always searching for something to help him.
    We too have tried it all but last week we were brain storming with a doctor friend and she mentioned CORN,
    Humm? We’ve tried all the diets I thought. We’ve done the no gluten, no dairy, no eggs, no aged meats, no sugar, etc. but still he had pain.
    But not just cutting out CORN – All corn and all it’s sneaky by products.
    So far it’s working!!!
    WOW!!
    He hasn’t had a migraine for 5 days and his CDH is down to a 4 and 5 from it’s usual 9 and 10.
    We’re still a little leery to get too excited, maybe next week.
    But it’s the best he’s felt in 3 years.
    Thought I’d pass the info on to you.
    Just in case it could help and it’s the 1 thing that you haven’t tried.
    Thank you for your writings.

  12. I’m envious that you found a therapist familiar with Elaine Aron’s HSP! I discovered this information eight years ago through my own research, and found it pretty eye-opening.

    I’ve wanted to work with a therapist knowledgeable in these ideas, but haven’t ever been able to find one. Any suggestions?

    BTW, there are many more resources that can be tapped around being a highly sensitive person, from online (http://www.lifeworkshelp.com/newsletter/Winter-10/ and http://www.thehighlysensitiveperson.com/) to Tribe magazine to in-person HSP Gatherings.

    Would love to hear more about your experience!

  13. Hey. I just discovered your blog by typing into google a new theory I just had. It feels kind of weird because I would never have thought there would be people to write about …this. Anyway, you can find anything in America, right ? (yes, I’m European, still a teenager and english is so not my first language)
    Long story short, for some obvious reasons I can’t read your blog as thoroughly as I would have wanted (I mean, now I’m just so curious if you see what I mean) but I’m keeping the adress in my favorites. But beforehand, I wanted to ask you whether you have ever tried riboflavin (I think they are vitamins B). I did actually read at least one of your posts and some titles of others and I assume you do have a lot of experience with all of this. I just need to know.
    Maybe I will have read your other articles by the time you answer me (your last post is quite old init ?) and thus found the answer by myself, but in case it doesn’t happen that way, would you please send me an answer (I put my email) ?
    Thanks a lot in advance,
    and “courage” like we say in french, we’re on the same boat.

  14. Hi Kerrie,

    I just found your blog today and have read all the entries. I must say it really touched me deeply as you are able to put into words how awful life with migraine can be. I do want to tell you though that there can be hope. I am 28 year old male and two years ago while driving started getting an aura, at the time I had no idea what was going on, thankfully my wife was with me, and took over driving. It got bad, I was throwing up non stop, couldn’t see, lost movement in my right side, kept calling her weird names, had no idea where I was. Ended up in the emergency room of the hospital. Stayed there 2 days, they thought I had a stroke or something along those lines as there was no previous history of headache. Finally got diagnosed with migraine a week later when I started having another one and could describe the aura. My doctor prescribed triptans, tried them all, none work for me. So he gave up and gave me a prescription for T-3’s and told me to take these when you have one. I didn’t get migraines every day, rather I would typically be fine for 2-3 months, and then wham I would get a migraine, but it would go on and on, usually lasting 7 days. Several times I was in the hospital, it was the only thing that could stop the intense pain, so bad I couldn’t walk. As you very well know it was having a devastating effect on my life, I was engaged and getting married, my wife was very supportive but at times thought I was dying, it was tough to work etc etc. I refused to believe though that this was to be my life forever, in my case I didn’t believe it was a illness rather that it was being caused by something else. 7 months ago I went behind my doctors back to a private clinic and had a sleep test done, noticed that often times my sleep quality was poor before I had a migraine. Well turns out I had a borderline severe case of sleep apnea. I’ve since been on a CPAP machine for the last 5 months and been nearly migraine free. I actually found this site this morning as I woke up with a migraine. This time however 1 advil was enough to get rid of it. Now none of this happened quick it took over 2 years to discover. I as well am seeing a therapist, as the anxiety I’ve developed over migraine is almost worse than the migraine it’s self. Thought I’d write to tell you there can be hope, you just never never know where or what it might be, but don’t stop looking.
    Mike

  15. I found your blog one day, post-migraine, when I was feeling no pain anymore but all the distraction, sensitivity, and lack of focus–migraine hangover! I’m sorry to hear you’re doing badly but hoping that the help you’re finding will be fruitful.

    As for dictation software–I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 (the newest one), and it works pretty well. It’s great for writing, not as great for editing your writing, less great for using it to replace the use of the mouse and keyboard in navigating the whole computer. I use it because I have repetitive stress injuries in my arms and wrists, and I’m an editor. I highly recommend getting a high-quality microphone headset to use with it–I love my Andrea ANC-750. It really improves dictation accuracy and makes everything move faster.

    I haven’t tried this feature of Dragon, but I know you can dictate separately from the computer, load the digital files of your dictation onto your computer, and let Dragon translate it into text. I’m pretty sure that’s what doctors use, with Dragon Medical. That might help get around the reading trigger. Dictated text does always need editing, though–even with high accuracy, things are translated incorrectly.

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