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Septem … what do you mean it’s October?!

hells bells

How did that happen?! I swear I was still writing August on things when suddenly it was October! What even happened in September?!

::consults Facebook wall::

oh. right. September was full of crazy – good and bad – and it flew by. Everyone was back in school – here is photo proof:

2013schoolpics

Wow.

And then there was the headache week from hell that ended with me getting shots in my butt on Day 6. Day 6!! damn. But to spin a positive from all that pain, I did create a couple more pieces of ‘migraine’ art.

A Day 4 painting:

afistintheskull420

And a Day 6 photo became a drypoint that I’m still working on:

day6sm

Of course that was the end of my 29Faces run. That week really wiped me out!

The next weekend had me and Kyle in San Mateo for the 2-day tournament that starts the fall volleyball season. Always fun. And then Ericfish and John came to visit! And that was more fun! And then, just like that, is was October. so yeah. September was a blur and it’s already the 11th! The Halloween decorations have been up for over a week, and its time to think costumes. Someone wants to be a bat.*

 

 
* with over 2 weeks to go, this will most likely change.  I think she should goes as Pig-Pen. 1st grade Erin is the dirtiest Erin yet. And did you hear her snort?

 

 

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GoGoGadgetNewDrug

I thought today was the day I had my follow-up appointment with the neurologist. I was wrong. That appt is next Tuesday. Today was the pumpkin patch field-trip with Erin’s preschool. oh boy. If anything is going to put this new medication to the test, it is a day in the sun surrounded by a bunch of hopped up 4 year olds.

Now I don’t want to jinx myself, but so far this stuff seems to be working. Although this will be the week to watch, I have not had a migraine since I started taking it. And I must say it is strange. There have been days where I know that without the medicine I would have had a headache. It kinda feels like cheating death or something. I have not noticed any negative side effects either. So. I’m hopeful.

To celebrate surviving the day with my head intact, I published a bunch of pictures on flickr for your viewing enjoyment. That little girl was wiped out by the time I literally dragged her out of there. I think she had fun.

And she wants a goat.

And if I hit publish and wake up with a headache, I am going to be mightily pissed off.

Just sayin’.

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Head head go away

Hey look! I have a blog! Who knew? Maybe I should just dedicate this space as a place to write about my migraines. You know, like 500 words on trying to figure out the combination to the gun safe, or my waxing all lyrical about the ebony handled ice pick I found online. Maybe detailed descriptions of what it feels like to have an elephant step on your head. People would like that right? The rantings of a mad woman?! If reality TV has taught us anything it’s that crazy sells! My blog would become extremely popular, allowing me to use ads that would then generate enough income for me to finally purchase that guillotine I found on Ebay!

::sigh::

Maybe I need to write a little program that locks my computer down for 48 hours after I type any combination of the words: migraines suck, day #4, hey I have an idea.

Anyways, I went to see a neurologist this morning. He basically said that I am a walking 24/7/365 migraine waiting to happen. great. And guess what? I get to try another drug! Fun fun fun. And then I go back in a month.

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Commercial break

We interrupt this program to bring you a brief message from our sponsors:

Oh I'm nervy all right!

That’s right friends, more drug experiments! My favorite Dr. has made it his life mission to find a medication that will reduce the number of migraines I have each month. So again “we” are trying a new preventative drug and crossing our fingers. oh boy. This time it is Neurontin, a seizure medicine. The brief amount of reading I did on it mentioned its use to treat Restless Leg Syndrome and that was intriguing. Especially after all the twitching on those blasted planes. I’m started out on the lowest dose possible since we have determined that I am indeed a delicate flower. The pharmacist says it takes 3-4 to kick in. We’ll see what happens. ::sigh::

And now we return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
“Boston: Oh my aching feet!” will be up as soon as I finish editing the photos.

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human guinea pig

Oh joy. I am again playing human guinea pig with a new drug. I’ve already mentioned the routine doctors appointment last week to get a refill for my migraine medication. Well, my doc is still not happy about the number of headaches I have each month. “So, how about we try another preventative treatment?” I like how he says “we“. But since I am not happy with all these headaches either, I said yes. He scribbled something on his prescription pad, said somethings I didn’t catch (I had a fever remember!) including a warning about dizzy spells, and sent me on my merry way. I should have asked him to repeat all that. I had no idea what I was going to be taking until I actually picked up the pills and talked to the pharmacist.

Turns out I’m going to be taking the  calcium channel blocker Norvasc, which is used to treat high blood pressure and angina. Apparently it also help with migraines since it relaxes the blood vessels. So the warnings were about potential low blood pressure. oh boy. My blood pressure has always been on the low side of normal. This might get interesting. I’m not sure how my sessions with Evil Trainer Adam will be effected.

Hey, since I am not always the most observant person and (as Chris is oh so happy to point out) I have no self-preservation skills, if you notice that I start mentioning being tired, or dizzy, or anything out of the ordinary, let me know will ya?

And now, apropos of nothing, a picture of Erin! Enjoy.

Erin

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Where is Oliver Stone when you need him?!

2 weekends ago we went to Santa Cruz. I double checked my calendar to confirm this because it sure doesn’t feel like I’ve been to Santa Cruz recently. We drove down Friday night as usual, got up Sat morning and drove down to Monterey and went to the aquarium. I took a few pics but most were slightly out of focus because we cruised through the place at break-neck toddler speed! I think we may have seen a couple fish. And Sunday we were back home. The whole weekend was a blur.

And then came Monday. It started out so promising… until my computer wouldn’t power on. In case you missed that – My computer, it would not turn on. I nursed an Elevated Level (that would be a nice DHS yellow) panic all day telling myself that my hard-drives were probably ok and it was just a broken On button right? RIGHT?! Chris had to talk me down several times during the day and that evening I drove downtown to hang the new show at Vox. Before I even got out of the car I took a Maxalt for my looming migraine. And that was my world until Saturday afternoon. Dead computer and a migraine. I was even too sick to go to the Artist Reception Friday night. I was not happy. But, our personal IT guy,Victor, ran some tests on my computer and declared the mother-board dead. I think fried was the term he used. But more importantly, both of my hard-drives were ok! So, Saturday morning Chris and Victor went to Fry’s and bought me a new computer. And that afternoon, while Victor was transferring my data to the new machine, my headache finally went away.

Coincidence?  I’m not so sure…

So, I got dressed, grabbed Kyle, and we headed downtown for Second Saturday and the Urban Landscape show at VoxSac! And it was fantastic – so many great pieces. And I had a blast talking with Jill, Jill, Lawrence, Chuck, Curtis, and Amy, and anyone else who would listen. Apparently I also chatted with Eric and volunteered to re-do their website! I told Chris this afternoon that in the future it might be prudent to keep me in the house for an additional 24 hrs after a multi-day headache.

And of course I took some photos at the gallery, but since I am still trying to find my way around Windows 7 and installing programs everytime I want to do something, it might be awhile before I get them online. Check out the photos from everyone else at the VoxSac Flickr group site.