Mary Poppins Bag

Today's topic is "Mary Poppins Carpet Bag. Write about what's in your bag / purse every day - and why!"

I have quite a few things in my purse... so much that my husband has actually referred to it as my Mary Poppins bag, or as my "bag of tricks." LOL.

I struggle with severe anxiety, if I'm not prepared. While some things are just nice to know that I have, other items have lead to panic attacks if I don't have them with me for some reason... even for short trips out. So, what are some of the things in my "bag of tricks"?

• Wallet - My wallet has all of my health insurance cards, as well as my ID, credit cards, and cash.

• Medications - I always carry my prescription migraine, anxiety, and nausea meds. I also carry a small container that has various non-prescription meds (namely, for allergies and gastrointestinal issues).

• Sunglasses - I always have my sunglasses because I use them so frequently. Without them, I don't know how I'd be able to even stand to keep my eyes open sometimes.

• List of medications - I keep a printed spreadsheet that contains my insurance information, contact information for my doctors, my medical history, family medical history, current medications, list of allergies (including medications), and a list of past medications I've tried (including dates, dosages, and side effects). This has proven helpful in the past, especially for visits to the emergency room... when you feel bad enough to go to the ER, the last thing you want to (or can) do is recall and communicate all of the information they continually request - it makes things easier for me, my husband (or whoever has to take me to the ER), and the staff.

• Cell phone - Of course, I always have my cell phone with me. It keeps me connected, and my health calendar is on my phone - easy access, all the time.

• Snacks - I always have some sort of snack in my purse. This has come in handy on many occasions. I don't know if I have a problem with my blood sugar level or what, but I can get very irritable and weak if I don't eat every couple of hours. I try not to let myself go too long without eating. I almost always have water with me, too - it helps me from getting dehydrated, and it helps with the dry mouth that I get from some of my medications.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.

Update on First Round of Botox

I want to share how my first round of Botox went. Let me start by linking to the process I in deciding to try Botox as a treatment for my chronic migraines:

• Considering Botox (Part 1)
• Considering Botox (Part 2)

I also wrote a post right after having the injections (in August 2013):  First Round of Botox.

So, back to how things have been the past (just under) 3 months. I feel pretty confident in saying that I didn't get any relief from Botox. Things are a little complicated because I was off one of my preventive supplements for a couple weeks, right when Botox would've been starting to help. I ran out of the supplement (due to a problem with automatic refills) and was off of it for a couple weeks. Just before I ran out, I talked to my doctor, and we decided to just discontinue because it didn't seem to be helping (after a few months). I think the increase in pain was because of stopping the supplement - not necessarily that the supplement was helping, but just the process of getting off of it. 

I've been back on the supplement for about six weeks, I believe. My pain levels have been better the last couple weeks. But, is it due to being back on the supplement? Botox wearing off? Or any number of other factors? It's so frustrating to not know, since there are so many factors at play all the time.

Will I have a second round? I'm not sure. Honestly, I have very mixed feelings about it. I don't think it helped at all (and may have actually worsened the pain for a while), but that's not to say that another round wouldn't. I don't have such negativity about it that I feel that it won't help at all, but I'm also not super hopeful that another round will provide relief. My doctor doesn't really think it'll help, but he's willing to try another round.

With that said, I'm in the interim right now. My doctor said that insurance may not cover another round because the first round didn't provide relief. I've had my doctor's office submit a request for another round to be approved by my insurance, so I'm waiting to hear back (I would need to do the second round in the next week or two).

I don't know that I really want to do another round, though.

I was blessed that our insurance covered my first round of Botox 100%. So, I think I may go ahead and do a second round if insurance will cover it. But, I'm not going to pay out-of-pocket for a second round. I've found myself hoping that God will put obstacles in place, if I'm not meant to... not that that indicates that I'll get relief if He doesn't put up obstacles, but yea.

For better or worse, that's my first round of Botox experience. I'll let y'all know, if I end up trying another round in the future.

*Update:  I just heard back from my doctor's office. My insurance has approved another round of Botox. Since my insurance hasn't changed since last time, we're assuming it'll be covered 100%. So, I'm going to pray on it, and talk to Jeremy about it today. I have November 18 temporarily scheduled, but I told them I'd let them know whether or not I'm going to go through with a second round. So, please keep me in your prayers - I need guidance and discernment for what I'm supposed to do.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.

Training Wheels

*Note: I meant to post this November 4th, so please consider this that day's post.

Today's topic is "Training Wheels. Write about a time your health condition forced you to grow up and take the training wheels off (so to speak)."

I've lived with chronic pain since (at least) my teens. It wasn't always debilitating (thankfully), like it often is now. Living with chronic illness can definitely force you to grow up more quickly.

Most people in their teens and twenties don't visit their doctor(s) frequently - usually just for physical exams, vaccines, and if they get sick with something along the lines of a cold / flu. Many don't give their health a second thought because it rarely even appears on their radar. They're free to live life without thinking about the health-related consequences of doing even the simplest of tasks. Life is lived without the concern of whether or not their health with hold up that day, week, month, year, etc... good health is considered a given, somehow.

I started seeing specialists in my teens to try to diagnose and treat my symptoms (that, except for an injury which had a clear diagnosis and treatment, were all invisible illnesses without clear diagnoses or treatments). Around the same time, I also started tracking my symptoms in a health calendar, which I've kept ever since (though it has transformed over the years). Not as much when I was in my teens, but I've increasingly had to consider whether participating in something would increase the pain. Since my migraines became chronic, I'm faced with actively weighing out how doing even simple tasks will affect my health. My health is not only on my radar, but it's plays a prominent role in my life and the decisions I make daily.

After living with some sort of chronic pain for so much of my life, it's hard to pinpoint a single situation that my "training wheels" were taken off. Chronic illness forces you to acknowledge your limitations and accept your life as it currently is.

Perhaps one situation that required my "training wheels" to be removed was my decision to move to Tulsa to start graduate school, less than a year after my car accident. I went from living with my parents to living on my own, several hundred miles away. I had to figure things out on my own, in ways that I hadn't before. I'd lived on my own before, but never with the level of chronic illness I've experienced following my accident. It was frustrating because I knew what needed done, but I physically and/or emotionally couldn't do it all myself. Learning to ask for and accept help was (and continually has been) an important lesson living with chronic illness has taught / is teaching me.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.

Our LayLee

I'm not really feeling today's topic / prompt, as I suspect may be the case as this blogging month progresses. But, that's okay because I'm really just wanting to get back into blogging / writing, so no requirement to follow the prompts. :-)

So, I'd like to take a moment to introduce the newest addition to our family, Miss LayLee!

© 2013 Jamie V.

I've previously written about the first dog we got, Our Honey Bee. Honey and LayLee were actually fostered together off and on for quite a while. In fact, we met (and fell in love with) them both at the same time. Unfortunately, we were living in an apartment at the time, so were restricted from having a pit (LayLee). We adopted Honey in July 2012, and were able to adopt LayLee in August 2013.

© 2013 Jamie V.

We now have two dogs, and it's been quite a change. Despite the challenges, it's been so awesome to see the dogs learn and grow. LayLee and Honey are best friends, and now sisters. Jeremy and I are enjoying the bonds we're building with the pups. And, we're now a happy family of four.

The Little Engine That Could

Today's topic is the little engine. I wrote a blog post, The Little Engine That Could, a couple years ago.

I think I can I can begin (and maintain) an exercise routing, starting with walking more.
I think I can feel less guilty when I choose to take care of myself, even if that means saying "no" or canceling plans with others.
I think I can read and write more frequently.
I think I can help end the stigma of Migraine disease and Invisible Illness.

I know I can be a loving a supportive wife (and mom to my dogs).
I know I can be there for loved ones (even if not always in the ways I'd prefer to).
I know I can continue making small changes to improve my quality of life, and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I know I can live a full and meaningful life, despite having chronic pain.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.

National Health Blog Post Month & My Pain Diary

I've been out of the blogging world for a while, but I was just reminded that November is National Health Blog Post Month. So, I'm going to see about getting back into the swing of things!

Today's topic is favorite health apps. I actually wrote about this last year:  My Favorite Health App.

My favorite health app is, by far, is still My Pain Diary. You can check out the app website and Facebook page. I've been using the app for 1.5 years now, and it has been incredibly useful in keeping track of how I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, as well as allowing me to see patterns that I otherwise might never have noticed. It's truly been one of the most useful tools in my toolbox.

This post was written as part of the National Health Blog Posting Month (NHBPM). Other bloggers will share their posts on this FB page.