Thank god, she's sleeping.

[Bertha Venation]

Mrs. V. has frequent migraines, and today she had a sleep-deprived EEG. She could've slept for four hours last night, but she stayed up all night. The test was at 1:00; we were home by 4:00, and she was asleep by 4:30. I asked if she wanted me to wake her up for dinner. She thought a minute, then said, "Try." I think that means, "see you in the morning."

My beloved has had little quality of life for over a year. I can't help her. I am miserably fucking powerless.

It's not all unrelieved grimness. Our cats make her laugh daily; she has her enthusiasms (the newspaper, books, crossword puzzles, message boards, etc.). But she can't work, it's hard to socialize (no fun) . . . .

Anyway, thanks for listening.

[LynneSin]

1. Warm kitty karma from me and my acne-prone Abbie

:D

[Bertha Venation]

9. Harry has acne, too.

Ain't it a bitch?

Thanks, Lynne.

[LynneSin]

28. Who would have thought

:shrug:

Cats get Acne

:eyes:

[davsand]

42. Don't feed cats on or in plastic!

Use only a ceramic or metal (less desirable) bowl. Plastic bowls can and will give them acne.

Tillie (You Bitch) developed acne, and as soon as I got done giving her the pink stuff (antibiotic) I started using a ceramic food bowl and everything cleared up and stayed that way for the rest of her 17 incredibly bitchy years.

Some article in Cat Fancy magazine about 15 years ago talked about Feline Acne--and that is where that tidbit of info came from.

Laura


PS:

Hope the Mrs. feels better soon--Migraines are awful.

[southerngirlwriter]

2. I pray this leads to some relief.

May the doctors have wisdom and may Mrs. V have sweet dreams!! :grouphug:

[Bertha Venation]

10. Thanks, my friend.

:hug: back atcha

[catzies]

3. I hope you get to the cause of them and that they stop.

I found my migraine triggers and if I stay away from them, and keep my nutritional requirements met, I don't get them anymore.

Hope Mrs. V's will soon go away and stay away.

[Bertha Venation]

8. Ironically, one of her triggers is sleep deprivation.

Another -- a biggie -- is stress. We're working on that one.

May I ask what your triggers are?

[catzies]

38. I found my triggers were chocolate, red wine, and progesterone dips

The reading I did led me to the hormonal causes of my headaches. In a word: PMS.

At the risk of inaccurately remembering what I read, in a woman's menstrual cycle, if the hormone switches between estrogen and progesterone don't occur smoothly, it causes a hiccup in brain chemistry. When my brain hiccups, the migraines are awful.

I found that with nutritional supplements and staying away from my triggers I only get a bad one maybe once a year. What's worked for me includes essential fatty acids and fish oil, plus calcium and magnesium.

I can guarantee that if I eat chocolate, I'll get raging PMS and a welcome-to-your-period migraine.

How old is your wife, and wht does she eat?

[geniph]

41. My main migraine triggers

include glare, MSG (I'm convinced it stands for Migraine Soon Guaranteed), red wines, some cheeses (mostly blue cheese and such), and stress. The one most likely to cause a migraine is glare, so I'm hardcore about always having polarized sunglasses with me, I have glare filters on any computers that don't have LCD screens, and I have all the fluorescent lights above my desk removed.

[CO Liberal]

4. We're All Here For Each Other, Bertha

Mrs. CO Liberal also sufers from migraines, so I know where you're coming from.

Any time you want to vent, there will be people here to listen.

[Bertha Venation]

11. DU is a great place.

The best online community I've found to date.

Thanks, CO Lib. I appreciate your wishes & will keep you & Mrs. CO Lib in my prayers.

[Padraig18]

5. Sending good karm your way, Kim!

:hug:

[Bertha Venation]

12. TY, Paddy.

You're a doll. :hug: for you & Tony.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

6. I hope you guys figure out what's causing it.

:hug: Give her one of these from all of us. And good luck to you. I know what it's like to be powerless while someone else suffers. Here :hug: you could use one of these yourself.
Duckie

[Bertha Venation]

14. Duckie,

Thanks. Thanks a whole big lot.

Damn... all these hugs. So nice.

[Richardo]

7. Our best to you and Mrs V.

My mother had enormous migranes while I was growing up and I always hate to hear someone is suffering like she did. Thankfully she has not had them for awhile.

I hope Mrs. V gets some relief, soon, too. :hug: to you both.

[Bertha Venation]

13. So glad your mother's had some relief!

Thanks, Richardo. Be well.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. ~sending healing cybervibes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you can figure out what's causing them, and that Mrs. V is soon on the mend. Mine have gotten better since I started treating my perimenopause symptoms with vitamins and supplements. I'll occasionally get them as a reaction to perfumes. Not fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bertha Venation]

17. hmm... re: perimenopause

She's into menopause now, for a couple of years already. Her neurologist had her taking B-6 and magnesium-something for the migs, but he quit that when she got hit w/ some intestinal problems (probably unrelated, but :shrug:).

Now he's (obviously) at the point of re-testing and re-evaluating everything.

Thanks for your thoughts of healing, Goddess.

[bubblesby2002]

16. I feel for you both

I used to get horrible migraines and had to stay away from yellow cheese, red wine, chocolate and many other foods. I'm okay now, but sometimes the bright sunlight still triggers them. I am wishing you quick relief and sending positive vibes your way.:hug:

[Bertha Venation]

18. grin

I always get a silly grin when I see your name.

Thanks, bubblesby. :hug:

PS: what's your def. of yellow cheese? Are cheddar & gouda "yellow" and havarti & swiss "white?" Some people see the latter as "yellow," that's why I ask.

[bubblesby2002]

19. Yeah it was cheddar.

I could eat white cheddar though. It had something to do with the color that was added. It was the red wine thing that really got to me - thank God I can drink it again because I looooove red wine.
:hug:

ps - the doctors told me to stay away from caffeine too - and I did for a couple of years. n Drank some god-awful stuff called Dandelion. eeeeewwwww.

[Bertha Venation]

22. She's totally off caffiene.

Dandelion?

[bubblesby2002]

23. The Dandelion stuff

was a health food substitute for coffee. It kind of tasted like coffee but not really. It's been so long, I don't even know if they make it anymore. Next time I go to Lifestyles (my friendly neighbourhood health store)I will ask about it.

[Bertha Venation]

30. Thanks for offering, but it's not necessary.

She's happy w/ decaf coffee... I hope even that can't be a trigger.

[VOX]

20. My wife has had true migraines, so I know what you two are going through..

I'm so sorry that your beloved (and you) are going through this. I have seen first-hand what true migraines can do, and it's frightening.

In my wife's case, as fierce and debilitating as the episodes were, they just seemed to fade over time. Of course, there's always that lingering fear that stress or sleeplessness will trigger another one.

Glad to hear that Mrs. V can get some pleasure, and having animals around the house is a great thing. Hope that you're able to find something that help mitigate the pain and disability that comes with it.

Hang in there -- big :hug: to you both.

P.S. Like your avatar! Those were the Nolan Ryan years. I've been an Angels fan since I was 12 -- my dad used to get tickets for the games at (long gone) Wrigley Field in L.A. back in 1961!

[Bertha Venation]

21. Nolie's my # 1 all-time favorite ball player.

I caught a ball he pitched (fouled off by Chili Davis) in 1989 -- one of the biggest thrills of my life. I'm a lifetime Angels' fan, too (they're 2 years older than me) -- native Orange Countian. This is going to be a great year for them.

Thanks for your hug & good wishes, rezmutt.

[VOX]

26. Trading Nolan was the dumbest thing that the Angels ever did!

And they've made some dumb trades over the years, lord knows! At the time, Angels GM Buzzie Bavasi indicated he could replace Ryan with two 8-7 pitchers. Hah!

That's so cool that you have a Ryan game ball. If you want, you could send it to his foundation and have him sign it (he'd probably date it, too, if you have your stub or remember when the game was played). But -- and here's the catch -- you have to contribute $50 to the foundation. Info at http://www.nolanryanfoundation.org/

I'm betting this is a swell year for the Angels, too -- the new owner, Artur Moreno, has taken the right direction and spent some $$$ on pitching.

Cheers, BV -- :toast:

[Bertha Venation]

31. You might not believe this, but . . .

without knowing exactly what the Nolan Ryan Foundation does, I think I'll wait until I can meet the guy myself to ask for an autograph. Much as I dig him, I won't support any organization unless I know they don't support things I despise. :shrug:

Moreno is the toast of my family right now. He's making all the right moves. And don't get me started on Bavasi or the old Angels' front office -- any of the old front offices!

:toast:

[ploppy]

24. Headaches = Bad

I am sorry Mrs. V is suffering from migraines - they are no fun. After 10 years of headaches a wonderful doctor was able to help me when she ordered and MRI of my neck. My neck is a mess and headaches are nearly gone after physical therapy and a very strong anti inflammatory when I feel one coming on. I share my story in case it will help another!

I wish you both well.

[Bertha Venation]

32. MRI & PT have been prescribed . . .

the doc is trying lots of things right now. I will pass on your success story when she wakes up -- tomorrow!

Thanks, ploppy. (Great name, btw. :))

[Interrobang]

25. Argh, I'm very sorry to hear that.

Both my fiance and myself get migraines; me as a side effect of cerebral palsy (what's a vascular headache but a muscle spasm in a blood vessel, after all?), and him because there's been documentably six generations (!!) of migraine sufferers in his family. I deal with mine using caffeine (a smooth muscle relaxant, but *not* good for some kinds of migraines) and muscle relaxants of all sorts, and he takes Klonopin, which has anti-seizure properties and also helps reduce stress and anxiety. (Unfortunately, Klonopin withdrawl -- because his one doctor decided he was on "too many medications" -- got him where he is today, broken back and all; it's very addictive, be warned before asking a medical professional!) He had a two-year-long migraine before he managed to get it all under control using diet and medication.

Good luck, and I hope you pin down the cause quickly and everything goes well from here on in. Don't give up on allopathic medicine, though, even though it might seem useless; oftentimes it takes a lot of experimentation and hypothesizing before a solution presents itself, and it should. Take care!

[Bertha Venation]

33. had to look up allopathic

but even before I did, I was saying to myself, "don't worry, we're not giving up on anything." We won't give up until we get her life back.

When I "woke" her for dinner, I found her awake -- she was just about to call for me; she needed a Maxalt. :cry:

Damn -- you & your fiance have been through it, haven't you. I'm sorry. :hug: for you both.

[fudge stripe cookays]

27. So sorry, Bert!

I feel terrible for Mrs. V.

I've had the barfy kind of migraines before, so I can definitely empathize! Always remember a few of the main triggers:

red wine, nuts, chocolate, and very sharp cheddar

Hugs for you and Mrs. V!

[Bertha Venation]

34. I can't get her to give up chocolate

but the next time we're at the neurologist's together I'm going to bring it up and see what he says about it.

Thanks for the :hug:.

heh heh . . . Bert. :)

[catzies]

45. Mrs. V could try "guinea-pigging" herself with chocolate.

If she gives it up and headaches cease or lessen, voila!

It took me a year to be certain.

Did she have any chocolate for Valentine's Day? You may be on to something with that as a clue.

[MuseRider]

29. Nasty!

I had horrible migraines for a while. Mine were menstrual. Has she tried biofeedback? I learned it and it really helped. Pretty soon I noticed that my body would just do it without thinking when I would get the auras. Now I occasionally get an inkling of one but they never get bad. My last one came as I was on my way to a Rolling Stones concert, BIG drag. :hug: I hope she is feeling better soon.

[Bertha Venation]

36. I will suggest biofeedback.

Thanks for your good thoughts, MuseRider. Sorry you missed the Stones. :(

This has been a great thread; lots of good suggestions and I appreciate them all.

Mostly I appreciate the hugs. Needed 'em.

[SeanQuinn]

35. Aww... that's gotta to be mighty sucky for her.

:( My thoughts are with her.

[Bertha Venation]

37. Thank you, Sean. And --

did I already do this?

Welcome to DU :hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

39. How very lucky she is to have found you

:yourock:

[grannylib]

40. From a fellow migraine sufferer, she (and you) has my heartfelt sympathy

Mine are largely hormone=related and are getting better;
I have read that honey (2 tbls) with meals can be a natural and effective preventive measure; anyone out there tried that??

[radwriter0555]

43. Botox and chiropractic relieved 2 decades of relentless headaches

and mind blowing migraines.

Haven't had one since I started the botox a year + ago and started keeping my hips (???) aligned, (chiropractic, isometrics) which were knocking out the alignment in my neck.

I don't have debilitating, crawl in the corner, cry and whimper in pain anymore! Life can indeed change.

Go figure.

[PrestoChango]

44. I am so sorry...

I have been having migraines for 15 years. Mostly hormonal, but also related to a neck alignment thing and food triggers as well (MSG, Red Wine and Cheddar Cheese mostly). BTW, MSG is a very common migraine trigger and it is in more foods than people are aware of.

Tried many years of different treatments. The most effective preventive thing for me is honestly regular exercise. I have recently started seeing an accupuncturist who is also an herbalist and his approach seems to be reducing the frequency of the headaches.

Anyway, best of luck to you and Mrs. V. Keep on keeping on, something will work.

[Skittles]

46. is she on the DU, Bertha?

MAKE HER JOIN US !

[Rhiannon12866]

47. That's a great idea!

There's nothing more distracting than DU! And she could also compare notes with others who are also suffering with migraines. DU is a great resource, as well. I am always amazed that just the right person seems to come along to answer anybody's quest for information!:-)