Migraines are hormonal

Wow, so long since I have updated this and yet so much life that has happened. What I found out about my migraines was that there were a few things going on: my birth control pills were jacking my hormone levels to a dysfunctional level, the stress in my life was taking over my ability to cope with life and finally I was not living out my hearts desire. As soon as I took a step towards what I really wanted to do with my life, my migraines went away. Just like that. They went away. I get them only now when my life is out of sync which is mainly around my period but even then it is only ever so often. I am now able to rest for a few hours and be fine with a few Tylenol. No joke. Certainly this is not the cure for everyone, but this truly worked for me. I thought I was going to be  coping with these the rest of my life, so it is with great giddiness that I tell you I am doing really okay.

Monday, Monday .....it so lovely when you get to sleep in!

So, I am off from work today and tomorrow because Chris' mom is coming to stay with us tonight...and well, it was a great excuse to take a couple of days off. I am feeling quite relaxed. We had the house cleaners come on Friday and now I am just completing some touch ups: flowers in the bedroom, chocolate on the pillow, some magazines by the bed and of course a yummy smelling candle. She is only staying for one night but I like people to feel comfortable and welcome in our home.

I am feeling a lot better than I was in my last post. Work is still work and thus it is a constant stream of change. I had a slight melt down on Tuesday when some additional changes were made right after we settled into our move and I settled into my fish bowl that people call a place to sit. The melt down turned into a good thing. I clearly needed to shed some salty rivers because when I came home I slept for about 10 hours. I have felt a lot lighter since. I could have done without the puffy eyes and streaks of mascara shooting down the sides of my nose, but hey we can't all be beauty queens 100% of the time....although I don't know if I wear enough kabuki face paint to be considered one any of the time. It was a good release and it has enabled me to see opportunity again versus opposition.

So, on Saturday I went for a 2 hour bike ride. Something I am not supposed to do because of my neck and shoulder, but man it felt it good. I decided I would see if I could ride to work and how long it would take. Apparently riding at high noon with no hat in the sunshine is not really good for people like me who are prone to heat strokes. But, it felt really good! It took me 2 hours when it could have taken 1 hour but I felt better because I am so unhappy with my muffin top. I may even ride to work one day this week....we shall see.

Well, back to my touch ups! Hope everyone is having a Bobby McFerrin Don't Worry Be Happy Day ;)

No siento bien!

Man, this week...well, it sucked. I got a migraine on Monday night that lasted through this morning (it is now Friday) and I also have the flu. Not kewl! Not kewl! In fact, life seems oddly cruel right now. Excuse me whilst I lapse into a pity party for one:
Our office moving to another suite because we laid off 170 people and I am being placed into a cubicle that is about 1/4 of the size that I was in before. What the heck? No more windows so I can stare at the traffic on the freeway. No more seats for my staff to come into my office and vent about the customer they are having to manage. And, no place to put my personnel files. I am about as happy as dog with a flea on his butt. They are moving us to an area where they do not have enough supervisor cubes. My question is this: why not put me in an office then? There are plenty of those! UGH! Or put someone with more seniority in an office and put me in a supervisor cube. The politics of corporate America are just infuriating sometimes. Not to mention when my boss asked me if I was ok with my seating assignment and I said no, he walked away. Big WHATEVA! It's times like these when I would like to pull out my wand and give him a little Legilimency (for you non-Harry Potter fans this means magical skill of extracting feelings and memories from another person's mind) to see why he would ask me that question in the first place. It's much better than using the Darth Vader techniques for punishing admirals.

Ok, but I am more spiritually advanced than this petty squabbling that I am expressing...right? Well, not always. While I try to have a positive attitude and an Oprah "look for the meaning in all experiences" sometimes I have to pull out my kleenex (even when I do not have the flu) and just say WAAAAAAHHHHHH! I had a looooooong migraine this week with a sprinkle of the flu. I do not feel good.

p.s. speaking of Sprinkle...have you ever had a Sprinkles cupcake??? OH MY!!! It's good. best cupcake I have ever had! I highly recommend all of them.

I feel....BLAH

It is hot outside. We do not have air conditioning in our house. I had a rough week at work...again. The economy sucks. Chris is in a foul mood. I feel BLAH.

I think I am just emotionally exhausted. When I think about getting up off the couch to address my now consistent struggle with losing these 30 extra pounds that will not exit my body no matter how much yoga and walking I do...when I think about getting off the couch, I just keep thinking "but I don't wanna." All I want to do is sit here all day long and surf the mindless waves of the internet and yep you guessed it, not think about anything. Calgon take me away!!

When I do sit and think what comes to my mind is all of the stuff I should be doing with my life: I should have pursued my art, I should be working towards my masters in Clinical Psych, I should be reading a book, I should be finishing a book I already started, I should be writing my autobiography....should I continue this pity party for one? I can hear the tiny violins playing for my woes now. It's that little song called: Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

My life is blessed, so why do I get into these moods? Oh yeah, because I am human and humans have hormones and feelings. Stress causes the production of additional hormones which make humans feel tired. I am stressed, I am human and I am tired. I feel BLAH. And by the way....we are aloud to feel BLAH from time to time ;)

Protein strike

A couple of months ago I was talking to a coworker of mine who had a friend who suffered from migraines. He mentioned that his friend abstains from protein right when his symptoms start. Interesting. I researched a tad and did not find anyone really talking about it. I have read a lot about dietary issues with migraines (giving up chocolate or wheat bread seems cruel) but nothing related to protein specifically. 

So, my job is challenging right now. It has got me more stressed than I care to admit. I have been having nightmares and wondering when the migraine shoe was going to drop. Well, it started on Sunday. Our dog locked us out of my dad's condo in 100 degree weather. Yes, you read that correctly. Our dog locked us out. We got back in about 2 hours later but it was quite the ordeal and it was hot. Really hot. So, we are driving back home and we see 2 accidents. This stresses me out. We get home and I take a nap because I can feel the pinch in my shoulder and neck start. I opt not to take any meds, but I did remember the no protein conversation. For dinner I did not have any protein. 

The next day the headache was starting and it was starting bad. I decided to let myself sleep since my body was calling for it and again opted out of protein all day. I did go to work but only worked a half day. That night I felt the pinch again and took my meds. Today I woke up with the medicine head hangover so I slept in again, but I only needed to take ibuprofen. I again avoided protein all day and for dinner. 

As I write now, I know I need to take a muscle relaxer but it's not as bad as it usually is. I hope I am not speaking too soon, but I thought I would share nonetheless.