Girls Write Out
Sunday, January 28, 2007

If I could cut my head off, I would not only lose ten pounds of dead weight (if you tell my husband I said that, I’ll deny it), I’m certain I would feel better.

Lots of writers suffer with migraines, and I happen to be among them. There are many different things that can trigger them, and everyone is different, but I’ve found two of my triggers are changes in barometric pressure and hormones. Being 51 and living in the Midwest, well, that just puts me in a bad place, that’s all.

I handed my husband my new prescription for Zomig and said, “If you want to get rid of my dark side, you might want to fill this.” He kicked up dust so fast, a small tornado formed in his wake.

I’m beginning to understand that whole hibernating bear thing. Ever noticed the disposition of a bear? Exactly. That’s why they hibernate. It’s God’s way of separating the good, bad and the ugly. Now I’m not going to tell you which category I fall into right now, but let me just say, it’s not the first one. Please tell me you’re surprised.

I should be caged—or at the very least strait-jacketed. My husband, bless his heart, feels my pain (literally) and wants to make life easier for me. His current plans are to stuff me in a sandwich board that reads: “Give me chocolate. I won't hurt you. Your choice," and then dump at the nearest street corner. Cold, I know, but honestly, it works for me.

So what do you do for your headaches?
Diann Hunt  
posted at 8:25 PM  
  Comments (20)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
20 Comments:
At 5:19 PM, Blogger Jenny B. Jones said...

Are you totally off things like Diet Coke and artificial sweetners? HARD habit to kick, but it changed my life. I've been reading on Meg Cabot's blog where she recently traced her migraines to Tab. Just a thought in case you drink aspartame (sp?) too. Hope you get to feeling better!

 
At 5:47 PM, Blogger Sabrina L. Fox said...

Diann, this last summer I asked my doctor if the barometric pressure could be bothering me. I noticed more headaches when the pressure was up. My eyes even hurt. I feel for you!!!

And, Jenny, I agree with you...I can't handle anything with aspartame. Everyone says "Oh you have to acquire a taste for it." But they don't realize some people are very sensitive to it. It gives me headaches and makes me nauseous. Soo not worth it.

 
At 5:57 PM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Thanks for the tips, Jenny and Sabrina. Colleen's been telling me for a long time to get rid of the diet pop. I've cut back but I haven't been able to totally give it up yet. Maybe one day . . . .

Barometric pressure definitely bothers me. Before taking a day trip, my daughter calls me to see how my head is before planning her trip. LOL!

 
At 8:14 PM, Blogger allen etter said...

I've had to drive my wife to the emergency room more times than I can count due to Migraines...I have had only three in my life time and probably only five headaches my entire life. When the migraine hit me I took large doses of tylanol. My wife, who is plagued by migraines found that having a large pan of ice cold water and a tub full of piping hot water and then moving her feet from one to the other, somehow relieves the headache. It has something to do with the hot and cold temps affecting the blood vessels that have constricted due to stress...all I know is that it works.

And for writers and headaches, I read once where Stephan King pops advil like m&m's

 
At 11:20 PM, Blogger Bethanie said...

well i finally signed up to blogger so i can continue to comment!

anyhow, the headaches... well i know tht chocolate gives me migraines and so does orange juice.

so diann get rid of the chocolate. just kidding, but maybe try cutting down? because if i eat too much chocolate or drink too much juice, it does affect me.

and i can drink as MUCH diet coke as i like... doesn't bother me.

but i do try to sleep off the headaches, or just take lots of ibuprofen :) they do the trick waayyy better than tylenol! as long as i nip it in the bud and don't let it get so bad i'm screaming in agony.

 
At 7:46 AM, Blogger Jenny said...

Diann,
I recently had a rough day headache-wise. I have to take so much Aleve for my arthritis that I can't take any more Ibuprofen or aspirin products and this one was a killer--more sinuses though. I found an essential oil that I used--rubbed it on my feet, back of my neck, my temples, my sinus areas and jaw. The pain didn't go completely away but I got to tell you, it sure made a difference. I was able to function which wouldn't have happened without the oil. Of course, I smelled like I'd stepped out of the 60's. :-)

Abundant blessings,
Jenny Cary

 
At 7:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I get a headache it's most often from tension. I carry it in my shoulders and neck. If it gets bad I take prescribed muscle relaxants. Of course, if I skip my morning coffee or tea I get a raging caffeine deprivation headache.

Another great remedy for tension is laughter. I always take notice when you post on this blog, because I know I'm in for a good laugh! Thanks!

 
At 8:14 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Give up, CHOCOLATE, Bethanie???? Say it isn't so!!!!!

Great ideas, Allen, thanks! I'll have to give that a try.

I knew we were kindred spirits, Katy!

I laughed out loud on your "stepping out of the '60s" thing, Jenny! Good idea about the oil!

Glad you enjoy the blogs, Reese! We sure have a lot of fun!

Thanks for all the tips, you guys. It appears many people have headaches--especially in our line of work.

And just for the record, I'm sorry, Bethanie, but I have to say, the idea of giving up chocolate, well, gives me a headache . . . . *g*

 
At 8:30 AM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

I'm the migraine queen. I know more about migraines than most doctors. LOL I went through a period in my thirties and forties when I often thought of suicide to escape them. Then the triptan drugs were invented. HEAVEN! LOL

Jenny, I've been telling her about diet coke. LOL She's a diehard diet Pepsi fan.

 
At 8:41 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Now see what you've done, Jenny. You've gone and got Colleen stirred up with that diet pop thing again. There will be no end to this. If I go to my eternal reward before her, she'll be shaking her head and saying, "I told you not to drink that stuff."
LOL!

 
At 9:22 AM, Blogger Suzanne said...

I get awful headaches that I think are weather related. I had one last week that was so bad that I couldn't think clearly enough to remember that I could actually take Tylenol to help it go away. When I get one like that it helps to rub ben-gay or icy hot into my shoulders and neck (up into my hairline) and then I have another type of tension-relieving-gel that I use on my temples.
I hate headaches, you just can't function when you have one. And I too cannot drink diet pop, I get an instant funny clouded head feeling when I drink it.

 
At 9:51 AM, Blogger Rachel Hauck said...

Okay, I'll jump in here. I drink Diet Coke and do not have headaches.

Praise God. Diann, I'll pray for you.

I know how frustrating migraines can be and so many people suffer from them.

Love, Rachel

 
At 10:09 AM, Blogger Winter Peck said...

I've had only two migrains in my life and I never want to have them again, both were due to stress.

My chiropractor suggested this and I've avoided more than a handful of potential migrains--works well for headaches too. When you feel the onset of either one wrap a cold compress around the back of your neck, leave it there for 15 minutes, then let your neck warm up and then use a hot compress. I usually pop a few Advil before doing this and it works wonders. That whole constriction of veins and all.

 
At 11:36 AM, Blogger Kayla said...

I just try to go to sleep whenever I have a bad headache. I've only had a couple migraines, but I get headaches often due to stress, hunger, and caffeine deprivation.

Funny story though...when I had my last migraine I was forced to drive home and wasn't in shape at all to do so. I was in a squint the entire time and trying to pray but not really succeeding. I was ALMOST home and I got pulled over. He turned on that big bright light and came over and thought I was drunk because apparently I had been weaving all over the road.

Argh.

Cops around here are so mean, anyway. It was not a good time, but it's humorous in retrospect.

Side note: I hate the word verification thing. It always makes me type it in twice even when I type it exact. Grr!

 
At 11:42 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

LOL, Kayla! I thought you were going to say that when the cop pulled you over, you asked if he could tone down the lights. LOL!

 
At 6:47 PM, Blogger Rhonda Gibson said...

Hey Diann, I get them too. Mine are brought on by stress and too much sugar. I usually curl up in the fetal position and beg for darkness. I sleep them off but deal with the dull roar for a few days. I hope you get all better soon! Hugs, Rhonda

 
At 8:59 PM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

Man, we were definitely separated at birth! I told you my allergies give me migraine intensity headaches ... triggered by, you guessed it. Barometric pressure changes. Hormones - I don't know. Those little traitors messed up my eyesight, though. Had my ophthalmologist scratching his head. First time he'd ever seen that. Now why was I not surprised?

 
At 10:41 AM, Blogger Becky said...

Are you dehydrated? I've been reading that water is so important that the lack can trigger those bad headaches. We need 2 quarts on an average day.

I've had those bad headaches, which tend to hit me when I travel. I also agree with the hormone and weather comments, as well as the excesses in sugar and any chemical sweetners (aspartame, Splenda).

I can look back and tell when I was relying on diet soda, ice tea, and coffee for my water intake. Those can't replace the real thing.

Becky (who is reading The Great Physician's Rx for Women's Healthy by the Rubins)

 
At 2:26 AM, Blogger Bethanie said...

diann... i know that giving up chocolate isn't really an option for you... i go thru stages when i eat it daily for a week and then i won't touch it for a month or two... but then i get the cravings... hehe. usually at around that time of the month too. but i digress.

water is a very important factor too, as a couple people mentioned. if i don't have enough, i do get headaches.

headaches though, i can handle, it's the migraines when i'm curled up in a ball crying my eyes out in agony that i can't handle. especially knowing that if i make myself throw up it will probably get better (done it a couple times) but i just can't!!!! i hate that.


and PS i hate the word verification too... always says i typed it wrong!

 
At 12:42 PM, Blogger Heather said...

ARGH . . .migraines. Without meds, I have 3-4 a week! Barametric pressure, hormones, not eating enough, just a migraine for migraine's sake. . . everything triggers mine. I'm on a preventative (have been on topamax and lamictal), plus I have 3 different kinds of blockers for when one starts (along the lines of zomig. . . if zomig doesn't work, have them switch to something else. There are so many different types of drugs for this, and they definitely do not all work the same). Then there's the hydrocodiene. {sigh}

Some people say acupuncture works great. . .I can't stand the thought of all those pins in my skin!

I've been to a dentist who thinks my problem could be in part to bite issues and a malocclusion. My neuro said it was possible that correcting them would at least cut down on the number of migraines, and might get me off of daily meds. I'm now trying the invisalign approach . . .see if that decreases them at all. I figure, if nothing else, my teeth will be straighter (and apparently brighter . . .I can use my invisalign as bleaching trays).

I've also been using these www.aqualizer.com to help stop migraines in the early stages.

Good luck finding something that works for you. . . .they're definitely not fun!

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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