Relief ... Slowly

Today was a turning point.  Twenty months after I recall my near black-outs and fainting spells starting, I may be getting answers.  After a clear CT scan a couple of months ago, I was referred to a specialty headache clinic. At first I found it odd for I never got headaches growing up.  I'm not affected by the weather and I wouldn't be able to tell you what a migraine is.  And yet, after two hours and a presentation by a neurologist, I do seem to have a specific kind of chronic migraine, one that can make me feel nauseaous, black out, and experience this immense pressure focused around one spot in my head behind my left ear.  The key: to determine the triggers that can cause these migraines which, for me, last up to two months, then disappear for just as long, only to repeat the pattern. 

This clinic takes a multi-discciplinary approach, which means you don't see a doctor for medication, but have access to a whole team - everything from a kinesiologist who asseses your posture and ergonomics, to a nutritionist who works with you to figure out what substances one may be have adverse reactions to, to occupational therapists, and of course neurologists.  One thing that the neurologist said and which seems to make everything come together is this:

Treatment for this requires a multi-faceted approach.  If each of these items gives an improvement of 5%, together that will be a whole lot.  And what are these items?  None other than things that have been staring me in the face:

• Improved sleep quality: This means getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Sounds like a luxury!
• Good postural habits: Could probably see this make sense too. After I had a fall last winter and briefly saw a chiropractor, I was told that my body is more dominant to one side.
• Healthy well-balanced diet: This could be a biggie for me. I don't enjoy cooking, and coming home late usually means I'll take the quick approach over the healthy approach.
• Relaxation practice: Take time to do something for yourself every day. I actually can't even remember when I last did that.
• Stress management: Apparently this is an issue for people who are natural caretakers and who have management roles. Double whammy for me. They said something about our bodies being designed to have short episodes of stress. I'm apparently in a two-year chronic phase.
• Trigger management: I could never pinpoint what triggers those month-long episodes of immense pressure in my head, but when the occupational therapist started listing off items, together they made sense: this can be a sensitivity to MSG (a common food additive), nitrites in food (more challenging as this includes drinking water, vegetables, and the obvious - deli meat), stressm overexertion (again, the career thing), and my vice - diet Coke (due to the aspartame). I started cutting down on the diet Coke a while ago and would say that that alone has definitely given more than 5% relief. So, together this could work.

The nest steps: A lifestyle assessment session.  This all sounds good in theory, but I don't know how my responsibilities will get less ... I guess that's what they'll teach me. 

As luck would have it, this jsut came to my nbox for a daily horoscope :

The moment has come to affirm your individuality and life choices, Virgo. The planetary energy will make you work hard to rethink the number of obligations you undertake. Admit it - they've been weighing you down. You can exist comfortably without them, and you can accomplish all that you do with much more effectiveness and enthusiasm if you lighten your load. By all means, liberate yourself!

Something to strive for perhaps.

In the meantime, I've been dreaming of the west coast.  Post on that to follow.