Tag Archives: Migraine

Mirena Detox: Days 4 Through… I Lost Track

“At least I don’t have typhoid — yet.” Dr. Schreiber of San Augustine giving a typhoid innoculation at a rural school, San Augustine County, Texas.Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first three days of my detox “diet” went well enough, but on Day 4 I managed to contract severe gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, which demanded all my time and attention through Day 11. I wasn’t able to eat real food, much less do a body flushing detox. Hell, I was barely able to get any liquids down for most of those days! Apparently stomach flu is going around along with bronchitis, which I also now have. Great way to start the summer! So I don’t really know what detox day this is supposed to be. I consulted with my nutritionist and he encouraged me to get back on the detox horse, but half strength, until I feel fully recovered enough to go full throttle.

I visited my regular physician (again) because I had to get a doctor’s note to go back to work. I was pretty cranky about having to drive an hour out of my way for permission to go back to work (and, more likely, proof that I was actually sick) when all I really needed was some rest and Pedialyte. Ah, the bureaucracy of being employed! I explained to my physician as much, and we had a good laugh. He was interested to find out how my detox helps in treating and preventing future migraines, so I promised to keep in touch. If I have to go back in for my bronchitis, it may be some kind of record. I have visited this guy about five times in as many weeks!

Since I don’t have day to day notes on my detox, I can share a few noticeable changes. While I am considerably weaker from being sick, I do feel better just from the initial few days of detoxing. I am not trying to lose weight, but have lost about five pounds. My hormones seem to be stabilizing and I’m not nearly as, well let’s just say it, bitchy as I was a couple of weeks ago. My head is clearer, with sharper focus. One notable disappointment is that I still feel as though I have no energy, even after a great night of sleep. However, I am hopeful that with the return of my strength, my energy will also return.

The only changes made: starting the detox (clean food based, no chemicals or drugs) and stopping most if not all consumption of OTC drugs for my migraines. I do still take daily prescriptions and vitamins, but nothing else if at all possible. While I am not yet ready to sing the praises of this detox program, it would appear that using food to heal my body is beginning to work. Hopefully I can get back on track with better notes in the weeks to come. I am supposed to be doing a 21 day detox after all!

—G

Mirena Detox: Days 1 – 4

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Whether or not this ends up helping anyone else going through the same nightmare known as the Mirena Crash, I wanted to document my detoxing experience. If nothing else, it should prove highly entertaining.

Day 0

Starting weight is 156. My nutritionist advised me to stop eating corn and any foods containing corn, because it is a sneaky migraine trigger. He suspects that I have a corn sensitivity. He also encouraged me to start eating as much cabbage as I can stand, since that is a ‘known’ treatment for migraines. Huh, I didn’t know that. Bye bye cornbread I love so much; hello cabbage in my salad.

Ross The Dog photo bombing my attempted close up of my smoothie powder.

Ross The Dog photo bombing an attempted close up of my smoothie powder.

Day 1

The Smoothies taste terrible, but between them and the dozens of highly concentrated food based pills, I feel full. I lost about 5 pounds of water weight, cried all day, and was terribly cranky. I wasn’t very nice to my children, but to be fair, they were kind of acting like assholes too. We had to get groceries at the commissary. It was a death march up and down each aisle, and I required a long nap after all the food was “put away”. Some of the non-perishables are still on the kitchen floor. I don’t care. Although the detox specifies that protein shouldn’t be consumed, I could not make it past 10:00 a.m. without withdrawal hysteria. I also realized by late afternoon that I’d neglected to consume enough calories to support a shih tzu puppy, much less a medium-sized human. Oops! It is hard to keep eating when those pills make me feel so full. I will have to try harder tomorrow.

Ending weight 151

Day 2

I still struggled to eat enough calories. Fighting a nasty head cold and especially cranky, I cried while making coffee, while fixing lunch, and while angrily cleaning my house. I say angrily because while cleaning, I was stewing over my husband’s ‘insensitivity’. The bastard didn’t even have the decency to call me last night and check up on his poor, sick wife. Who ACTS that way?! He was probably bar hopping with his brother all over the California coast, not giving me a second thought. About twenty minutes later I felt guilty for thinking such mean thoughts about him, because he probably will bring back all sorts of gifts from California and present them as a gesture of his undying love and support. Probably? He BETTER. Another twenty minutes passed and I was crying into my green tea while panicking over my phone logs, which indicated that it was I who had to call him two nights ago, PROVING that he didn’t care about my illness or my crazed hormonal state at all. Ah Ha! Is it any wonder he has been avoiding me?

And, hot flashes, cold flashes, sob, sob, sob. My husband did call (and apologized for not calling the night before) and I was mildly icy to him, then I cried after we got off the phone because I miss him. And, hot flashes, cold flashes, sob, sob, sob.

Ending weight 149

Day 3

The girls goofing around in the exam room during another visit to see my physician about my headaches and illness.

My weight is 149 again today, so I think I leveled off a bit after the initial toxin dump. I feel tremendously better today. In fact, I feel so much better that I harbor a feeling of goodwill towards the general public — a huge change! I don’t feel like crying, I don’t have hot or cold flashes, and my stomach doesn’t hurt. Hey, neither does my head (aside from a mild protein withdrawal headache)! I feel…like myself for the first time in months! And do you know what I want to do, folks? Change the batteries in my weather radio and do a supply inventory in the tornado shelter. It’s that time of year! Yep, I am starting to feel much better. The girls went with me to another follow-up for my migraines, and I got a referral to see an endocrinologist. My physician is interested in the results of the detox and asked me to keep him posted.

Day 4

Sick, sick as a dog! I have some kind of virus running rampant through my body. I had to halt the detox for a day of chills, thrills, and frequent visits to the porcelain throne. It was uneventful other than a very sweet card made by my youngest child, wishing me speedy recovery. My ending weight is 148, mostly from dehydration and lack of food. I can’t even think about food right now, much less the detox…maybe tomorrow.

—G

A Get Well card from my daughter — so sweet!

Oh, How I’ve Missed You!

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I took a short break from blogging — and life — due to severe illness (and panic attacks/hysteria). During that time I thought about what has been missed, and what is important in life. This is the story.

At the end of February a friend from my childhood approached asked if I would be interested in joining a fitness group on Facebook. Over the last six months I had lost around twenty pounds, but I am not what you would call “in shape” unless that shape is defined as “floppy”. So, thinking this might be a great way to reevaluate some old habits and improve myself, I said “Sure!”. The rules were simple: since we are all geographically scattered and have various weight loss and fitness goals, we could check in throughout March with ideas, thoughts, milestones, and even complaints. I liked the concept because I needed a reason to start taking better care of myself.

At the beginning of the month, we were encouraged to take a “before picture” to motivate ourselves to firm up those muscles and shed those extra pounds. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but I figured what the hell, why not be honest about myself? So I took a selfie showing my abs, or lack thereof. Ironically, this is one of my better selfies.

So after my “before” pic was out of the way, it was time to get the ball rolling on other fitness goals. I started making homemade smoothies chock full of spinach, kale, frozen fruits, ground flax and chia seeds, and almond milk. I planned meals for the family so we were all eating better, and I made sure I was sleeping exactly eight hours each night. I started to think about an exercise plan — maybe Insanity again…I was feeling motivated and ready to roll!

And then, the unthinkable happened. My migraines started to take over my life. Before I knew it, March whizzed by in a blur of ice packs, Ibuprofen bottles, and fragmented memories that may not have actually happened. My brain became so poisoned from the kindling (a term for repeated attacks of migraine that are not adequately controlled or treated) that I started to lose cognitive function. After several weeks of torture, the migraines broke me. On Tuesday, crumpled up on a chair and in tears, I voiced to my husband my resentment and fear that my migraines were shutting down my life. I would have to quit my job (the one I just started) and live out the rest of my days on the couch, in my bathrobe. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I fumed that I didn’t understand why a disease so brutal could exist, why so much time had been robbed from my life for no good reason. As I cried, I felt better for releasing guilt and anguish, but worse wasting what little energy I had left.

Exhausted and dejected, I cried all the way to the clinic, absolutely certain there was nothing that could be done. My husband had warned me that there wouldn’t be a magic pill waiting there to fix everything. But I have got to stop doubting my physician! After all, the man cut a skin tag off of my armpit so that I could shave it, he entertained my food sensitivity ideas (when they seemed to be keeping the migraines at bay) and he has never dismissed my concerns with condescending remarks about “women’s issues” like some male specialists I’ve dealt with. So when I showed up in his office with smeared makeup and a bitchy/dopey expression on my face, he said “Those are some nice shoes. Let’s talk about the headaches.”

Okay, I still made a point to photograph my fabulous Zara shoes while hanging out in the doctor’s office.

I will spare you all the gory details because you don’t need to know everything, but: hormonal imbalance was (mostly) blamed, so we implemented a simple solution without a trip to the Army hospital (why I love my physician). Also, a shot of high potency anti-inflammatory in my right butt cheek killed most of the pain in my head, once the drug traveled through my system. I did squeal like a five year old getting immunizations, just for the record. By the time I left the clinic, I was still a bit loopy, but feeling better, and so grateful to have been taken seriously and offered a solution that was not invasive to my body or degrading to my sense of self respect.

I stopped at the mailbox on the way home and that turned out to be a brilliant decision. Van had ordered a special device for me from the Canadian company Cefaly, and it had finally arrived. I couldn’t wait to try it out before picking up the kids from school! I read the instructions and carefully placed the electrode on my forehead. Yes, you read that correctly. The Cefaly uses an electrode to send electric impulses into nerves that transmit pain sensation, particularly during a migraine. While using the device I thought about things. What had I been missing in life? What was important? What had I moved away from and traded for thing that weren’t as important? What did I want back? And what was I willing to work for, and even fight to regain?

Using my Cefaly for the first time! This picture is ridiculously huge, sorry! Seriously, WordPress…

Having chronic migraines is infuriating. When I get sick from them, I get really sick, and I feel like I become a super paranoid, slightly psychotic version of me. For the last few weeks the headaches were so bad that I couldn’t turn on my computer and type, or even read another blogger’s post. I missed you Jamie Ray, and can’t wait to read about Gracie’s adventures (got the e-mail and saved it)! I struggled to get dinner on the table for my very patient and loving family. You guys are awesome for caring and being kind to me while I was a basket case, and I owe you strawberry rhubarb pie. The Facebook fitness group really didn’t know about my struggle, but was just there as a motivating and supportive force of nature, so thank you! I wish you all the best and hope to see you all accomplish your goals. And a big hug to Ross the Dog, who never left my side the whole time I felt ill; love that furry buddy!

Ross the Dog, snuggling against my legs when I didn’t feel well.

Because of how my illness has affected my life just recently, I have had time to think (and do little else) about what I want out of life. If my migraines have taught me anything, it is to never take for granted the time I am given. I must take advantage of the life that I have and live it as best I can! Oh, how I have missed so many things, but there is still so much to do!

— G