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Articles from Megan Oltman | Selfgrowth.com
- How much Pain? - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2009 from Megan OltmanMy daughter had her wisdom teeth out yesterday. Once the anesthesia wore off she started feeling pretty serious pain. She took her first Lorcet and called me on the intercom about half an hour later, sounding panicked - she needed more pain meds, right now! We got her some ibuprofen, but tried ...
Views: 1123(2 votes) - We Can't Avoid Every Migraine - by Submitted on Dec 02, 2009 from Megan OltmanThis may seem obvious, but it's something I need to remind myself of from time to time. We can't avoid every Migraine. The job before us in managing life with Migraine disease is to avoid as many as we can, through avoiding triggers, getting rest, exercise, nourishment, drinking enough water, ...
Views: 1049(3 votes) - Creating a Migraine-Friendly Home Environment - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2009 from Megan OltmanWhen I was a kid one of the games my brother and sister and I used to love to play on a Saturday was the Farm Game. It involved the Encyclopedia, and a pad and pen. We designed an imaginary farm for the three of us to live on and run, and we would draw it and plan it, and use the Encyclopedia to ...
Views: 1437(4 votes) - Move a Muscle, Change a Thought - by Submitted on Oct 13, 2009 from Megan OltmanMove a Muscle, Change a Thought. I first heard that in a self-help program many years ago. It's easy to stay stuck in a certain way of thinking, to stay down and confused and immobilized when we stay in the same place, looking at the same things. Get up, move, do something different, move a ...
Views: 5620(3 votes) - Clean up, or Rest and Recover, How Do we Choose? - by Submitted on Sep 22, 2009 from Megan OltmanDiana Lee wrote a compelling post recently about the felt need to keep her house clean when she is home on total disability - called “I’m So Lazy: Ways We Trick & Abuse Ourselves“. I could really identify with those undermining tapes that play in our heads, telling us that whatever we are ...
Views: 954(2 votes) - No, You're not Crazy, You just Have Migraines - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Megan OltmanOn last month's Managing Life with Migraines Teleconference with Dr. Roger Cady one of the things we discussed was living with the hyper-sensitive nervous system we have as Migraineurs. Dr. Cady helped us recognize that in caring for ourselves and our emotional helath, we need to nurture the ...
Views: 1195(3 votes) - How Am I? As Well As Possible, Thank You! - by Submitted on Aug 04, 2009 from Megan OltmanAWAP has been making the rounds on some of the Migraine forums lately - so I googled it and got many choices: Abused Women’s Advocacy Project Any Word Any Page Aftermarket Wholesale Autobody Parts Animal Welfare Audit Program All worthy choices, I’m sure, but… I’m talking about As Well ...
Views: 1138(1 vote) - God Grant me the Serenity to Accept the Migraines I Cannot Change - by Submitted on Jul 27, 2009 from Megan OltmanI try to live by the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. This simple prayer has seen me through family issues, recovery from major illness, life crisis and ...
Views: 2188(1 vote) - It’s a Migraine, My Friends - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2009 from Megan OltmanDoes Migraine negatively impact friendships? You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I’ve certainly changed more plans due to Migraine than anything else. On the other hand, life, getting married, being an adult, being out of school, having a job, and having a family, can all impact friendships. Add ...
Views: 1115 - Coping with Migraine: Claims of a “Cure” - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2009 from Megan OltmanI was recently presented with a dilemma here on Free my Brain. I want to encourage dialog and exchange of ideas, but I don’t intend to provide an open marketplace for sale of migraine “cures.” (Though I will gladly support and even promote helpful products and services.) Migraine is a complex, ...
Views: 1100(1 vote) - Your Migraine Support System - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2009 from Megan OltmanThere is no doubt that Migraine is a very isolating disease. For most of us when we have a Migraine attack, we seek our cave – a dark, quiet place where we can limit the stimulation and lie down until the pain passes. We often miss social opportunities with family and friends; we often have to ...
Views: 1543(1 vote) - How Do You Relax? Are You Triggering the Relaxation Response, or More Migraines? - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2009 from Megan OltmanRecently I was in the waiting room at my physical therapist’s office, reading The Relaxation Response, by Herbert Benson, M.D. The receptionist asked me about the book and I told her how Dr. Benson discovered that our nervous systems need both some stress, building the tone of the nervous ...
Views: 1129(2 votes) - Take Charge of Your Health – Keep Track of Everything - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2009 from Megan OltmanOne of the simplest and most powerful ways to take charge of your health is to keep track of everything related to your Migraines. A good headache specialist will want to see a Migraine diary, which should include dates and duration of your Migraines, severity of pain, other symptoms, triggers ...
Views: 1009 - Caffeine Withdrawal and Weekend Migraines - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2009 from Megan OltmanAnother piece of the puzzle fell in place for me yesterday, as I watched a podcast of Dr. Richard Lipton, professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, explaining the difference between Migraine & headache. Thanks to Marijke Durning, R.N. of Help My Hurt for posting the podcast ...
Views: 1998 - Alternatives to Compact Fluorescents for Migraineurs and the Rest of You! - by Submitted on May 26, 2009 from Megan OltmanI posted last week about compact fluorescents and their impact on some migraineurs, epileptics, people with lupus and possibly other conditions. While we work on getting Congress to amend the law which would phase out sales of incandescent bulbs by 2012, here are some thoughts about energy ...
Views: 950 - More Time Management for Migraineurs: Managing the Time We Have - by Submitted on May 14, 2009 from Megan OltmanI read an intriguing post on How to Cope with Pain earlier this month, called Time Management and Pain. What intrigued me was that rather than laying out any nitty-gritty on scheduling and managing time, the article focused on “pacing ourselves and keeping stress to a minimum.” In other words, ...
Views: 1035 - Coming Out of the Migraine Closet - by Submitted on May 06, 2009 from Megan OltmanWhen someone comes out of the closet, they take a stand, and they take a risk. For centuries, gay and lesbian people hid their identities in order to survive. Then a few people said “no more.” Decided to risk public censure, job loss, jail, so that things could change. And things have changed. ...
Views: 1041 - What Are You Complaining For? - by Submitted on Apr 27, 2009 from Megan OltmanI am up and walking around on a beautiful, chilly, early spring day, with bulbs poking their green noses out of the dirt (and a few, their bright flowers.) I am headache free for the first time in 5 days and enjoying a lovely family visit. I really don’t feel in the least like complaining. But I ...
Views: 926 - As Good As It Gets - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2009 from Megan Oltman“What if this is as good as it gets?” In the movie of that name, Jack Nicholson plays Melvin, an insulting, anti-social author with obsessive compulsive disorder. Melvin falls for Carol, played by Helen Hunt, the only waitress who will put up with him, at his favorite restaurant. Carol is ...
Views: 1129 - Balance Through the Storm - Maintaining our Health in Hard Times - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2009 from Megan OltmanBalance is a precarious thing. Living a life in balance is a challenge for most of us in the 21st century, with the demands of careers, family, a fast-changing world, information overload. Add chronic illness into that mix and living a life in balance becomes both more crucial and more ...
Views: 921 - A Woman’s work is Never Done - So Stop Doing It - Take Care of You - by Submitted on Apr 06, 2009 from Megan OltmanWe talked recently about telling the truth about our disease. When we do that, we need to come face to face with others’ expectations of us, and whether we’re going to try to meet them or not. In the face of our diseases, one of the things we must deal with is that we cannot be all things to all ...
Views: 1063 - Do What You Can to Make a Difference – It will Make a Difference for You - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2009 from Megan OltmanWhen we suffer from Migraine disease, we often feel helpless and like there is nothing we can do to make our lives better. I try to live by the serenity prayer, which asks for the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the ...
Views: 797(1 vote) - Set Up your Migraine Support System - Talk to the People Who Matter - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2009 from Megan OltmanThere are several kinds of support you need to live with Migraine disease; one is what I'll call structural support (like toolkits, systems, schedules, routines, diaries), another is people support. I'm going to talk about people support today. It's lonely dealing with a disease that eats away ...
Views: 968 - What Are You Getting Well For? Living Inside a Goal - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2009 from Megan OltmanWhat are we getting better for? What are we here for? I realize these are big questions and challenging even for minds that aren't screaming with pain, let alone those that cope with frequent Migraines. They are central questions to creating and sustaining the will and optimism to keep ...
Views: 916 - Migraine Early Warning System - by Submitted on Feb 17, 2009 from Megan OltmanOne of the first things you learn when you started dealing with your migraines is to identify and avoid triggers. I learned this shortly after a murderous 5 day migraine I had in Arizona – I was at higher altitudes than I was used to, and there were forest fires all week, exposing me to lots ...
Views: 1093 - Relaxation for Migraineurs - A Cool Breeze Blowing Through your Brain - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2009 from Megan OltmanBREESE - Breathe RElax Easy SmilE (Yes, I know that’s not the right way to spell breeze.) I use the analogy of a breeze to learn to relax and disengage mental and emotional energy. In his book Breaking the Headache Cycle, neurologist Ian Livingstone, M.D. explains how our nervous systems need ...
Views: 884 - Is the Economy Hurting Your Head? - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2008 from Megan OltmanAs you know from my recent posts, the costs of health care and our national tragedy of a broken health insurance system have been hitting me where I live lately. Of course I’m far from alone in this. In the current economic crisis, people are finding it harder than ever to afford the medications ...
Views: 825 - Holidays don't have to Hurt your Head - by Submitted on Dec 10, 2008 from Megan OltmanI am very thankful at Thanksgiving time, for the loving and accepting, funny, intelligent and interesting family I have, the fun times and wonderful food we share. I have many blessings to count. I have never managed to travel to this particular fest, however, without at least a little pang of ...
Views: 753 - Holidays Don't Have to Hurt Your Head - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2008 from Megan OltmanI am very thankful at Thanksgiving time, for the loving and accepting, funny, intelligent and interesting family I have, the fun times and wonderful food we share. I have many blessings to count. I have never managed to travel to this particular fest, however, without at least a little pang of ...
Views: 773 - Living Healthy to End the Brain Drain - by Submitted on Dec 03, 2008 from Megan OltmanI did all the things I should this morning, stretched, meditated, ate a light healthy breakfast, took my supplements and meds, stayed calm. Planned my day, did some work, took a walk. A morning of living healthy. (Go ahead, give me a gold star!) I’ll do that a few times and then I’ll think I ...
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