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Nerve Stimulation

This Time Last Year, April 9-14 & 2-8

April 9 to 14
Broadway Play Examines Issues of Illness
An insightful and moving New York Times article describes the blurred lines between wellness and illness shown in the play Well. An excerpt: “‘. . . [W]henever the cause of an illness is mysterious, it’s assumed to come from psychological problems or a moral weakness? And once [...]

This Time Last Year, March 25-31

Glued to the couch because the wires (aka leads) of my occipital nerve stimulator had moved is how I spent this week last year. I had to face answers to big questions I hated to ask.
Lead Migration 2006
The continuing movement of my leads and the associated pain became too much to ignore. This began my [...]

What Questions Do You Have?

What do you want to know about headaches and migraines, biology and physiology, or anything else health-related? The Daily Headache is a resource for you as much as it is a catharsis for me. So, what’s on your mind?
At the risk of sounding like every teacher you’ve ever had, there are no stupid questions. And [...]

This Time Last Year, March 3-10

Posts from The Daily Headache, March 3-10, 2006
Nerve Stimulator-Imposed Restrictions
According to Medtronic’s Living Well newsletter, these activities
might be harmful for people with nerve stimulators: using an electric blanket, skiing, sledding, golfing,
amusement park rides. Would I have still gotten the implant if I knew about all these limitiations?
Woman Heartbroken After Ending Love Affair
After years of agony, [...]

Nerve Stimulator Heartbreak

Being helpless in the face of illness is like window shopping. You’re looking through the glass at all the possibilities for an effective treatment. Every time you start to walk through the door, thinking you’ve found what will provide relief, the metal grate slams down at your feet.
You can stick your fingers through the holes, [...]

Nerve Stimulation in the New York Times

Nerve stimulation, a treatment that’s tough to find information on, is the focus of It May Come as a Shock, an article from today’s New York Times. The article examines two main types of nerve stimulation for headache (occipital nerve stimulation and transcranial nerve stimulation) — what they are, the theories behind how they work [...]

Stimulator Photos

Hart took photos of the stimulator before my surgery. Thought you’d be interested in seeing what it looked like. Click on the images to see a bigger photo.
If you’re thinking about getting one, don’t let these pictures dissuade you. My stimulator was
considerably larger than those used now. Also, the current trend is to implant them [...]

Ups & Downs

Monday turned out to be a good day, but yesterday brought bad head, arm/chest and neck pain. Today has started out well. I even simmered oatmeal with Honeycrisp apples and walnuts for breakfast (yum). Two birds have flown into closed windows today and it’s only 9:45 a.m., which may be a bad omen.

Back Home

Thanks for all your kind words. I feel so loved, which really helped me through the week.
I’m still shaky (literally and figuratively) — not sure why I’m trembling, but at least it doesn’t interfere with reading. I stopped taking Vicodin on Friday night because I was worried about being nauseated on the trip back to [...]

Thanks So Much

First, I want to say thanks again for all the supportive comments and emails. It’s been great for both of us to know that so many people are thinking about Kerrie and her recovery.
I just wanted to post a quick update that she’s still doing well but now that the anesthesia has worn off she’s [...]