Here I go again....

Another television commercial inspired rant.

http://www.mychronicmigraine.com/about-chronic-migraine/

“By the time most patients come to their doctor with complaints of headache, they have likely been suffering for years. Chronic Migraine is a type of headache, but there are many different kinds of headaches – and there are different treatment options, depending on the type. If you think you are experiencing Chronic Migraine, it’s important to recognize it early, with a diagnosis from your doctor.”

I see this advertisement frequently. ‘Chronic Migraine’, never heard that term before!  Now I will give this site kudos for giving a minimalistic list of triggers and the difference between types of headaches but they seem to lack a lot by avoiding some easy things to do and listing questions to ask your doctor.

Being that I get migraine headaches I thought I'd check it out.

I thought maybe this site could be a good place for information so I signed up to see what else they offered. They have a migraine diary but nowhere on there is there a place to track your DIET or anything else that may trigger a migraine. The site does say that food/diet can trigger migraines but there is no list. Nothing to give you a place to start in checking the foods/products you use.

I know that MSG/preservatives and certain foods and colorings, as well as the barometric pressure in changing weather systems can, and often do, trigger mine.

The biggest thing I got from this site was that MEDICATION is the answer.  

Anyone who knows me already knows I don’t like to take meds unless the problem is life threatening… my incident with Blastocystis parasite in 2006 and a kidney infection in 2008 are the last times I took manmade (synthetic) medications.

I already know from past experiences (mine and GI Joe’s) that the doctors are more than happy to throw a prescription at your symptom and move on to the next patient on the list. IMO it would be far more productive, and cost effective in the end, to find the CAUSE and treat the actual problem. In GI Joe’s case they did scans but chose to use prescriptions to mask the symptoms and now he has faced the removal of his gallbladder and is facing major back surgery.

Now I understand that doctors went to school for a really long time and know stuff about a lot of medical things but unless SUPERMAN is my doctor they don’t have x-ray vision. Is this pain being caused by something potentially lethal and we’re wasting valuable time tossing meds at a symptom? IMO let’s do a full body scan and check for something there. At the least my doctor will have a baseline scan for future reference.

Think about it.

You get frequent ‘migraine headaches’, your head hurts, you feel like vomiting , light and sound make you retreat into a darkened room, but WHY, what is causing it? There is an actual reason WHY and your doctor just tossed some pills at you and dismissed you like a child rather than creating a plan to find the WHY behind your headaches.

If you fell and had pain in your arm they’d x-ray to check for a broken bone or tendon damage. Even car accident victims and potential stroke/heart attack victims get various scans and tests to rule things out.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/imitrex-side-effects.html

Side Effects of Imitrex - for the Consumer

Imitrex

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Imitrex:

Anxiety; burning, numbness, or tingling of the skin; dizziness; drowsiness; feeling of heaviness, pressure, or tightness; feeling strange; mild, temporary flushing; muscle aches or cramps; nausea; neck stiffness; pain, swelling, or redness at the injection site; sick feeling; stomach upset; throat or sinus discomfort; tight feeling in the head; tingling; tiredness; vomiting; warm/hot sensation; weakness.

Gosh, this list of side effects is pretty much what my migraines feel like minus the “redness at the injection site”. How would I know which is my pain and which is the drug?

What you have to search for is the long term effects and other problems associated with meds. Imitrex can affect the heart and liver, and other organs. If you don’t know you have a potential underlying medical condition this can be deadly. If you take other medications they CAN cause serious problems, even death. If your doctor isn’t READING your file and ASKING YOU questions you need to get a new doctor. 

My latest RANT

Sorry I haven't been around lately. LIFE seems to toss things in the path at the most inopportune times. Lately I've been in search of people with common sense and of the dozens of people I come across very few posses the ability to think or do things for themselves, or at least try to do things themselves before asking for help. Seriously people GOOGLE stuff before you whine because, if I don't readily have an answer, the first thing I will do when you ask for help is to GOOGLE that request!

I've been watching more of televisions advertisements and, WOW, society has gone downhill in the areas of acceptability and double standards. 

This one in particular is really stuck in my craw. 

I saw an ad with Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Vergara and... well, it pissed me off! Here we are teaching our children about tolerance and inner beauty, to love themselves and embrace their differences, and there is Ellen dissing on Sofia's accent in order to promote face goo that women will smear on in order to HIDE their natural outward beauty! In looking at previous ads I got even more riled up when Ellen said something to the effect of "Hey there wrinkle face". Seriously, I like Ellen and the things she does for communities but calling women names to get them to buy chemical filled UN-natural products is a line in the sand. Bad strategy by the company and Bad on Ellen for not thinking about it before agreeing to do it!

It seems to me that society insinuates that women should be rail thin, have voluptuous bosoms, flawless skin, straight brilliantly white teeth, an all over glowing tan, and oozing sexuality at every moment. Our children (female and male) see this EVERYWHERE and it is etched in their brains that if they are not THAT they are not desirable. Then a movement starts to teach our children to love themselves as they are, yet these ads are still being created and aired. Now the 'older generation' is being ridiculed in an attempt to sell wrinkle goo because for some reason NATURAL AGING is wrong? WTH? 

I laugh really hard at the Victoria's Secret commercials.

Number of overweight women: 46.9 million

Number of obese women: 23 million

This info was found on a quick GOOGLE search at:

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/fast-factsobesity-amp-overweight-statisticsmdashthe-supersizing-epidemic-of-america

Apparently V.S. is unaware of the weight issues facing MILLIONS of women, let alone the economic crisis going on, yet night after night my 9 year old gets to watch voluptuous scantily clad women strike seductive poses in an attempt to sell UNDERWEAR! Very few people ever see my undergarments... me, husband, the cashier at the store when I buy them, and maybe the dog or cat when I do laundry. Personally I want something comfortable that won't irritate my skin with lace and stuff, this is AZ and it's hot. I don't need my breasts shoved up under my chin and I seriously don't want to be picking $20 underwear outta my butt all day long. ß THAT is not comfortable nor sexy!

I recently saw a story on television where several actresses ‘Tweeted’ pictures of themselves without make-up and they were BEAUTIFUL! Not perfectly flawless beautiful but normal looking everyday beautiful. They looked like me, uneven skin tone and all! Apparently people liked this little event and IMO they should make a few movies and television shows where NOBODY is ‘all done up’. How about the local news just being natural while reporting on the daily occurrences of humans being their natural murderous & thieving, or caring & helping selves’?

Some made-up t.v. personality 'selling' me a story is not why I watch. I watch certain news shows for the INFORMATION, get me info that answers my questions and I'll watch more often. I watch television shows for the story & plot, not for the curvy blonde & the perfect abs guy, give me a good story line with a half believable plot and I will tune in week after week. 

Either people like you or they don’t. 

Not everyone is going to like you, nor will you like everyone else.

It's not my lot in life to make every single person like me.

It's not my job in life to make everyone happy.

I like myself and tend to my own happiness. 

For the record I do color my hair. 

As the seasons change so do my moods, so I color my hair.

I do not follow a trend or fashion. 

I judge my hair color purchases on price and ingredients not on t.v. ads.