Tuesday, April 16, 2013

"Oh, the Weather Outside Is Frightful"




Spring is never easy for someone with Meniere’s disease. Why? Because many of us have Meniere’s headaches, which are like migraines in intensity but without the sensitivity to light. Many foods, such as chocolate, tomatoes, strawberries, and dairy, can trigger these headaches. But most often the trigger, at least for me, is a precipitous barometric change.
         I live in a part of Missouri that is known as tornado alley and so the weather here is volatile, especially in spring and the bar graph on my barometer bops up and down like a roller coaster. Then come the headaches and I toddle off to bed, chant a mantra, and try to distract myself so that I don’t think about the ache in my brain! Medication can help if I take it soon enough to nip the ache in the bud. But sometimes the headache wins the race and just assumes a life of its own within my brain.
         These headaches keep me from thinking clearly and so reading and responding to blogs become somewhat difficult. Even writing my own postings takes a number of hours just to make some sense out of what is swirling around in my mind. This posting is taking much longer than you would think.
         I haven’t visited your blogs to read and comment in a week. Moreover, the forecasters are predicting many days of rain.
         So once again I’m going to drop out of sight for a few more days. I hope to post on this blog next Wednesday, the 24th. If all goes well, I will. I won’t be posting on my word-crafting blog this coming Sunday, but hope to return to it on the 28th.
         I do miss reading your blogs as I find so interesting your lives and stories and this A to Z Challenge with which many of you are engaged.
         I hope all of you are enjoying spring and that those of you who have these headaches, for whatever reason, are able to take some time off and simply rest.
         Peace to you and thank you for all the empathy I know you are feeling for me right now. Blogging has surely opened up my world. Please believe me when I say that I cherish the friendship so many of you extend to me.  

31 comments:

  1. Oh my, Dee! I am truly sorry to hear that the weather is another reason you are brought low! Headaches are awful, and chronic headaches are hard for me to even imagine. I'm sorry, my friend. Take care of yourself as much as possible, and you have my prayers for the rest your body needs in times like this. I'm glad you let us know. I have "checked on you" a couple of times to be sure I hadn't just missed a post. Now I know where you've been.
    Blessings. Debra

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  2. I'm wondering how you ended up living in a place that seems so inhospitable to you. I hope the weather & your head both clear up soon!!

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  3. I hope you are feeling better soon, Dee. Debilitating headaches must be so hard to work through.

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  4. I do hope the headaches and the conditions that cause them disappear soon, Dee. I can take pain anywhere in my body but my head. I'm praying for you, my friend. Please take care of yourself!

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  5. I cannot begin to imagine how you are feeling but I hope that the headaches go away and that you are able to deal with them with medication. Lorna

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  6. May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, and grant you peace.

    Love,
    Janie

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  7. Ooh my...I'm so sorry to hear of your headaches. Gotta be just awful. I thinkin we must live pretty near each other, only I live on the Kansas side. Yes...the weather has been flopping around and cooler, stormier weather is on the way. I'm so ready for a real spring...like cleaning up my yard and planting some flowers type of spring///Not the tornado type. Take care!!! I'll be thinking of you!

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  8. Oh, Dee! With my migraines, I truly understand what the barometric pressure changes do to my head. I lost the past 4 days with a migraine, trying to read some blogs, but not doing much.

    Best hopes for the weather to settle, and along with it, your migraine-like brain storms.

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  9. Dee, Hope this weather is kind to you. The only time I have headaches is when I am detoxing and they are no fun.
    Take care of yourself and return chipper.

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  10. So sorry the weather is making life miserably painful for you, Dee. Don't worry about blogging until you feel better. Right now you need to rest and be kind to yourself until the pain goes. I'll be praying for comfort and healing for you and hoping for better weather.

    PS You'll be pleased to know that the ear syringing worked and I can hear properly well again at last. :-)

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  11. Oh, Dee, I'm so sorry to hear that you're under the weather because of the weather! Please rest and recuperate and know that we'll be here, looking forward to your next postings on the 24th and 28th or thereabouts. I hope you feel better soon -- and that the weatherman is wrong!

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  12. Dear Dee,

    I also had to take over a week off. I had migraines and terrible vertigo so I can sympathize with your illness. Just trying to read a few posts made me very ill. I am feeling better and I hope that you will be well soon.

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  13. Sending healing wishes your way. I get migraines, often brought on by fatigue and sometimes they seem to come from nowhere. And while they hold my brain hostage there is nothing I can do.
    Thank you for this post - I do appreciate the effort it would have taken.
    When you can get to our blogs is quite soon enough.
    For the moment, you need to be not only your first, but your only priority.

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  14. Maybe you should live here in the Pacific Northwest. I don't think our barometric pressure has changed in six months. And rain is so soothing. Be well.

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  15. It's never easy to live with chronic pain, Dee. I am so glad you are posting this so I can know that you are taking care of yourself and not trying to push through it. Know that I am thinking of you and sending you my prayers for you to feel better soon.

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  16. Bless your heart. Hope you are feeling better now. I've heard of all kinds of diseases and physical problems being enhanced by the weather.. NOT FUN --and nothing we have control of for sure... Just hope that your weather clears up soon and that you can enjoy this spring.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  17. Bless you, Dee. Headaches can be so debilitating -- I suffered terribly when I was in my late teens and early twenties. As you know, we all love your posts and look forward to reading them -- but it will be great to know that when we see them again it will be because you are feeling much better.

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  18. I really do feel you pain. I had Migraines for 10 years the blissfully out grew them. They do consume your life when they occur. Mine lasted for exactly 4 days and were hormone related as they went away with menopause. Please feel better soon.

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  19. I am sorry you are having a setback. I wish you quick healing. Better to take the time when you need it than not to & then step on a land mine later. Conserve your energy for Living. ~Mary

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  20. Oh, Dee, so sorry to hear that the weather is causing you so much pain. Rest as you can and here's to whatever distractions you can muster to take help ease your pain. You will be in my thoughts and in my prayers.

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  21. Take care, my dear. I hope that the quiet you seek is easily found and it offers you many wonderful things to contemplate.

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  22. I'm so sorry you are going through this. All the horrible and sad events of late have made me very tired. I have now reached the point in the A to Z where I have no more pre-written posts. I had one for tomorrow, but didn't think it appropriate under the circumstance. I hope you will feel better soon, and please don't worry about blogging. We will all be here when you feel well enough to come back.

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  23. Weather conditions with associated barometric pressure changes have and are surely disruptive for more of us than we may realize though not to the extreme degree you describe. My best friend here experiences migraines she has associated with barometric pressure changes.

    I've had similar headache and vertigo experiences through the years but gained the most relief when years ago my children's doctor diagnosed issues associated with the Eustachian tube function necessary for equalizing the external pressures with those inside the head -- such as we experience with altitude changes for which we "pop" our ears. In some instances swelling which could be triggered by allergy reactions, sinus, or middle ear infections was impairing the proper functioning of the normal tube/valve functioning.

    I was diagnosed as having migraines for many years until that doctor easily recognized the problem based on some unique medical experiences he had with military personnel whose assignment was to watch radar all day during the Cuban Missile Crisis years ago. Subsequent doctors I've had seem not to have a full effective appreciation of my situation despite my explanations, so I pretty much have to watch for early problem indicators, taking the lead and pressing for the treatments I know are needed -- managing the situation myself.

    Your earlier "weak bladder" accounts and experience with molesting neighbors is far more common than some might think. I know of instances of the former in my family, though not to the extreme you describe and personally encountered several of the latter type "neighbors" you met including one who later raped a girl he entrapped after luring her with his own daughter. I have little doubt that could have been my fate had I not been acutely aware of his unorthodox grooming techniques that even my own parents did not recognize.

    Hope you're up and about soon.

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  24. Maybe you should buy a barometer and start paying attention to the barometric readings. That plays a larger part in Meniere's than the rain itself.

    For sixty years, I lived in tornado alley too. And my home was 1/4 of a mile from the Ohio River. Everything seemed long. Long winters. Long periods of rain. Long summers. I believe a year lasted 14 months.

    When I became published, I was so happy for about two minutes. My book hit the top 100 for weeks, then sales slowed down, along with my energy. I wrote because I enjoyed writing. Publishing puts it in an entirely different arena.

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  25. Sending prayers for your healing and comfort. Take good care of yourself. One of the things I'm noticing about physical impairment is that it forces one to prioritize - what's really important becomes so very clear, really quickly. Love to you.

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  26. My deepest sympathies Dee. Debilitating headaches like that sound like torture. At least you understand what triggers them ...

    blogspot won't let me sign in with my dearrosie name. So I'm Rosie now. :-)

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  27. Oh, Dee! I hope you are getting relief and feeling better soon!
    So sorry you have to go through this at all. :(
    Prayers and hugs,
    Love, Rita

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  28. Thais awful. Rest well, my feeling are with you, there us nothing worse than that sick feeling, with your head-aching and dizziness. Love sent and a hug for comfort.

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  29. welll, i finally found you again with my new blog reader, called findly. I really enjoy reading your stories about your youth. My goodness, you had a great teacher in 7th grade! I don't know how you did it.

    I am sorry the weather is affecting you so badly. My daughter in law instead of loving spring has allergies so bad that she hides inside. And she's a gal that loves to be outdoors. IT's strange how nature is so hard on us.
    take care and I am glad i found your blog again. Keep telling stories; so get well soon!

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  30. I'm sorry the weather is so hard on your body!

    : (

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