Dealing With Headaches

Computer headaches can happen to anyone who has to stare at some sort of print for at least eight hours a day. You can get computer headaches working as a cashier or a college student cramming for an exam. These kinds of headaches are usually triggered by a combination of tension and eyestrain. The bad news is that they hurt. The good news is that they can be prevented, or at least not hit your head so often. Here is a checklist you can do before your shift starts for reducing computer headaches.

Clean Your Glasses

When you wear glasses, you get so used to them that you don’t realise how dirty they can get. You can’t at first see a speck of dirt on your lens because it is so close to your eye that it becomes invisible. However, this speck can cause light glare on your tired eyes, which leads to eyestrain and computer headaches. Make a habit of cleaning your glasses before you get to work and this will help reduce your frequency of computer headaches.

Check For Glare Where You Stare

Ever watch television when the sun is setting, throwing a glaring patch of light that crawls across your screen? Perhaps you want to try and save money by keeping the window shades open instead of turning on a light, but be careful. That glare off of screens, books or terminals can trigger computer headaches. Notice where the light is coming from and see if you can adjust your computer screen or whatever to avoid the light spots.

Take A Deep Breath

Whenever you can, take a deep breath. When you get tense, your breathing tends to become shallow and your body hurts from lack of oxygen. You may also feel panicky or have trouble concentrating. Taking a deep breath not only helps get oxygen to your body, but helps to relax tense muscles. Relaxing tense muscles can lead to less of the tension that causes computer headaches.

Go When You Can

It’s not always possible to get to the bathroom once your shift starts. Make sure your bladder is empty before shift. This saves on stress that causes the tension that triggers computer headaches. If this means getting to work five minutes early, try and do so, if possible.

Carry Medicines With You

There are very discreet pillboxes which can esily slip into your purse or pocket. Put any kind of portable medicine — pill or alternative treatment — in there. Just touch the pill box before shift, even if you’ve forgotten to restock it. Over time, this becomes a reasurring feeling to the subconscious. And even if you have forgotten to bring your meds, the chanes are good that co-workers have remembered theirs. Some businesses keep bottles of over the counter painkillers with their first aid kits.

Rolling A Golf Ball In Your Hand

I’ve never personally tried this out, but many people have claimed this is a great way to ease computer headaches or tension headaches. The golf ball triggers accupressure points that help realx the muscles in your body. This is what you do:

*Get a golf ball
*Place on the palm of one hand (doesn’t matter which)
*Clasp both hands together, interlocking the fingers
*Move your hands so the golf ball massages your palms and below your thumbs

You don’t have to do this entire checklist before every shift (obviously, if you don’t wear glasses!) Do what you can and feel free to adjust thise sugestions to suit your unique working or studying enviornment. Hope this helps.

Now, chances are the thought of mixing Prozac and Percoset for migraine pain has never crossed your mind. First off, you need a perscription for both. Secondly, neither Prozac nor Percoset has been made to treat migraine pain. Prozac is the medicine of the Gods, in my opinion. I have had terrible depression all of this life and probably in my past lives, too , and if it wasn’t for Prozac I’d probably be in the loony bin, jail or the morgue by now. Percoset is for severe pain, such as for those with spinal arthritis.

Secondly, mixing perscription medicines is just plain BAD. It could kill you. It can even do WORSE things to you than kill you. I mean, looked what happened to Tammy Faye Bakker. Not only has that scared me off most perscription medications, but off of mascara and Protestantism, as well. So, normally, I would never seriously think of mixing Prozac and Percoset.

However, life’s circumstances never seem to fit into predictable categories. And even the risk of winding up like Tammy Faye Bakker can pale in comparison to migraine pain.

Yes, I Was Tempted

I had a really bad migraine today and no way to get out of the freelance writing assignments that were due. So, I had to just bite the bullet and go to work. I’m not entirely sure why I got this particular mnigraine, since I have had them long enough to try and avoid my triggers (caffeine withdrawal, 48 hours to my period, lack of sleep…or, forgetting to take my Prozac. However, I had taken my Prozac today).

Now, my Mom has a bottle of Percoset (legally. She had spinal surgery last year and is still recovering). Since I live with my Mom (ALL HAIL SAINT MOM) and have to pick up her perscriptions, I couldn’t help but notice that she’s on Percoset.

Percoset…the pain killer…what one comedian once described as, “doesn’t get you high, but makes the furniture really comfortable.”

And I was in pain.

And I knew where the Persoset was.

And Mom was having a good day and was out of the house visiting friends.

While I was in pain.

And Mom is getting to that age where she can’t remember how many pills she has left in a bottle.

While I was having blinding migraine pain.

Ooohhh, yeah — I was tempted.

What Did You Do, Rena?

I wound up resisting mixing Prozac and Percoset. Sorry if that disappoints all of you who wanted to read about my brain going loop-de-loop while this mixture coursed through my bloodstream. But I resisted.

How? Partially by complaining to myself, partially by taking an Excedrin, partially by deciding to take an hour out to rest, no matter how behind I was with work, and partially by being absolutley terrified of being haunted by Tammy Faye Bakker.

So, when the pain eased off a bit, I got back to work and decided to share this bit of personal insight with you about not mixing Prozac and Percoset. Sometimes it does help to write things down in order to distract you from chronic pain. But mostly, it helps to know what you are most afraid of. In my case, Tammy Faye Bakker is far more frightening than migraine pain.

Well, before Christmas, I posted about a product that might appeal to my Mom, who (like me and you) gets headsaches and migraines. A think I did a good promotion for the little bear, too. But now that the Christmas high has definately worn off, Mom and I have had a chance to try and actually use the Gelly Belly Grizzly Bear instead of just “ooooo” and “ahh” over it.

The Verdict

Either we did something very wrong or something wrong happened at Amazon.com. We could not fit the cold/hot pack into the back of the bear. That’s kind of the whole pint of the bear –to be a cute and tough applicator for cold packs or heating pads. The cold/hot pack that was included actually exploded while we were trying to insert it into the bear’s back pouch.

The insides of the pack looked like little tiny round ice balls, but weren’t cold. Ome to think of it, it kind of looked like 3-D confetti. Although it was definately entertaining to do a gross necropsy on the cold/heat pack, it still didn’t do much for my Mom’s actual pain, which needed a cold pack quickly.

So, I found one of those little blue cold packs that you put in picninc baskets or lunch boxes to help make a temporary mini-refrigerator. That fit easily inside the back of the bear.

However, after five minutes, Mom said, “I can’t feel the cold at all. This bear must be too thick.”

No, Mom, I think I was the one that was too thick when I bought the darn thing.

At least Mom likes Teddy bears, anyway. This one looks a lot differnt from the other Teddies she has. It now sits with the prize teddy bear from Build-A-Bear in a teddy capacity rather than in the medicine cabinet. In other words — I managed to buy a nice Teddy bear for my Mom’s Teddy bear when I was suppossed to get her something to ease her aches and pains. It sits there and stares at me, both haunting and taunting me.

Verdict : PPHHHTTTT!!!!! (Both for my Christmas shopping abilities and the Gelly Belly Grizzly Bear).

Just when you thought you could escape news about global warming by coming to a blog on headaches — not a chance. Let’s face it — the planet is at it’s last gasps, but there are many things you can do to help prolong it’s life. One of these things is switching from a normal looking light bulb to those soft ice cream cone lookin’ compact flourescent bulbs.

But a report by the UK’s Daily Mail states that these grren light bulbs cause migraines.

Nothing’s ever easy, is it?

How Reliable Is Anything In The Daily Mail?

I lived in England for over five years. The Daily Mail is not known for its accuraccy of investigative journalism. It’s a cross between The New York Post and National Enquirer. They are of the “if it’s on telly AND it bleeds, it leads” school of psuedo-journalism. More reliable sources of news from the UK are BBC News, The Guardian and The Times.

Hey, BBC News Is Putting Up The Same Story

Slightly toned down, but yes, they are reporting mostly the same story. Normal light bulbs are expected to be banned in England come 2012, and there is a good reason why medical groups are aksing for the ban to be lifted or postponed.

Green light bulbs can cause migraines and eplieptic seizures when they start flickering. It is the flickering that seems to be of the most concern. The bulbs aren’t SUPPOSSED to flicker, but often they do. This can lead to a mild strobe effect, which can trigger migraines. This flickering effect is completely unnoticeable in those who aren’t prone to migraines or headaches.

Yes, green light bulbs cause migraines in certain conditions, but the answer is not to scrap green light bulbs and go back to traditional light bulbs.

There is also thought that some eyes have trouble adjusting to the lower levels of light the green light bulbs put out. If you’ve ever had to work in low light when you are used to bright light, that will give you a killer headache.

Say Hello To LED Lighting

Currently, LED lighting is the only lighting safe enough for eplieptics and apparantly those with migraines.

But what can you do in the meantime? Some tips:

• Talk to your doctor before taking any herbal supplements. I have found that bilberry capsules help the eyes in low-light conditions. Bilberry was given to English World War II bomber pilots when they had to do night flights.
• Make sure there isn’t any glare from any lighting or window on your television, computer screen or anything that you look at a lot (like a framed photo that causes a big bright spot you can’t avoid seeing.) This will give your eyes a break.
• The technology for green lighting is rapidly developing. If you are wary about green light bulbs causing migraines or seizures, you can probably wait to change the bulbs in the rooms you are most often in. The flickering might be taken care of by then. In the meantime, change the bulbs in places you spend less time in, like the back porch or a guest room. Every little helps!

A few months ago, I did a post on panic attacks that can happen during a migraine. Those are the kind I get, and foolish me was not aware that you can get migraines after a panic attack. Well, in doing research on panic attacks for another client, I discovered that getting migraines after panic attacks happens a lot more frequently than the other way around. (I guess I’m just special. Oh, whee.)

Why Is This?

Panic attacks spring upon you for many reasons — seemingly almost as many reasons as there are people who suffer from migraine attacks. If you get panic attacks, please see your doctor. They will not get better on their own. And be a patient patient. It might be a while of trial and error to determine the exact cause of your panic attacks and what medications are of best help for you.

After the stress of a panic attack, your body will usually feel as if it’s just run a marathon. As you recover and your body begins to relax, this is when the migraine hits. This is thought to be a kind of “letdown migraine“, or “Friday night migraine“, where your body has to hold it together for so long it can finally fall apart when it feels it is in a safe enough area to do so.

The bad news is that panic attacks are tricky to diagnose and treat, the migraines after panic attacks usually aren’t. Getting control of the panic attacks can help with the frequency and intensity of the migraines. Both migraines and panic attacks seem to occurr more often in women, according to this study which came out in 2003.

Write It Down

You know I keep telling you to keep a migraine journal with almost every post? It is also recommended to keep a panic attack journal. Of course, if you get migraines after panic attacks and already keep a headache journal, then you are already keeping a panic attack journal. However, life is rarely so simple. People who get headaches or migraines for one reason also tend to get them for other reasons. So, even if you suffer from panic attacks, not every head pain you get will be as a result of panic attacks. ( I know — I’m getting a headache just trying to follow this last paragraph, too.)

One of the benefits of writing during a panic attack is that it tends to distract you from the actual panic attack and helps you calm down. Some people with panic attacks help themselves with aromatherapy, meditation, and deep breathing excercises. I was taught to look at what is around me, smell what is around me, and ask “Is anything trying to hurt me NOW?”

Let me again repeat to go see a doctor if you get panic attacks — especially if this is your first panic attack. Sometimes panic attacks are signs of a different medical problem like thyroid problems or mitral valve prolapse (a frightening sounding but treatable heart condition which usually affects people with thyroid problems).

Hope this helps. And take a deep breath. There is hope.

Well, it looks like 2008 going to be a good year for Noven Pharmaceuticals of Miami, Florida…and hopefully, those with migraines that can’t get relief from any current medication on the market. Remember back in October when Stavzor was crossing the final T’s and dotting the final i’s for FDA approval? Well, they got it. The official “okie -dokie” came through a couple of days after Christmas.

What Is Stavzor, Again?

For those of you with short memories (like me!) Stavzor is going to be the brand name of delayed release valporic acid. This drug is aimed for helping ease episodes of manic episodes. These fun epsiodes tend to come hand-in-hand with bipolar disorder. However, it is also been approved for treating epilepsy and as a preventative for migraines.

Stavzor for migraines would be used as a preventative medication only. It won’t do any good once a migraine is under way. It is hoped that a daily dosage (or whatever dosage your doctor recommends) will help keep migraines at bay. If you want to really impress your friends and eavesdroppers, the technical name for a preventative medicine is “prophylaxis.” Can you say “prophylaxis”, boys and girls? I know you can!

Stavzor for migraines is being aimed for adult migraineurs, as there is some question of it being too strong for children, especially those under the age of 2. It may cause liver damage in those so young.

The main delay in the release of Stavzor for migraines is that it also contains a drug called Depakote, made by Abbot Laboratories. Depokote also is a medication for migraines, epilespy, bipolar disorder and manic states. Apparantly, Depakote is under a copyright which doesn’t expire until this July. The earliest doctors can start perscribing Stavzor for migraines is in August. This is expected to be an expensive medication, but the exact prices are unknown at this time.

Stavzor is expected to come out in a quick dissolve capsule in various strengths.

Knock on wood that this works, eh?