Since I am now officially useless...

Thought I would share with you. I made this little layout about my sanity in a pill. If you don't know (which probably most of you dont), I have chronic daily migraines. I have had a few many years back, then about a year and a half ago, I started having frequent migraines. Then after about 6 months, they became a daily occurrence. Many people CLAIM to have migraines. They think that any bad headache is a migraine. That's just not the case. If you are one of these people, STOP! You make our affliction seem less.

Migraines are a very specific type of headache. They are vascular in nature. Basically, what happens is that the vessels in your brain dialate and as the blood rushes, it causes a throbbing pain. Many people have what's called "aura". Some people get halos or spots or a metallic taste in their mouths. I get light, sound, and smell sensitivity. I also get some odd aura. It's verbal. I have a hard time finding words or completing thoughts. Speaking is a task. I cannot read, I have a hard time following other people's speech too. And nausea and vomitting is pretty common too. I get it. The headaches are hemispherical. That means that you typically only get them on one side of your head or the other. Mine are almost always directly above my left ear. And specific things trigger them. When i have breakthrough headaches (meaning that while I am on my preventative meds, I still get occassional headaches) they are usually caused by something like alcohol (more than one or two beverages and I get one. that SUCKS!), certain medications, lack of sleep, etc...

OK, mini lesson over. So this page is about Effexor XR, my saviour. This is an SNRI that I take every day and it controls the seratonin levels in my brain. Research points to seratonin level issues as a cause of migraines, so controlling that seems to help. I went from being on my emergency meds daily and still non-functional many days to having one or two breakthrough headaches a week with maybe one or two significant headaches a month. That is a miracle. As a bonus, this particular med is also used to treat anxiety disorder, which I have! So it helps control my panic attacks as well and makes my little quirks less intrusive! Win Win situation!

I used Sassafrass Marmalade papers which I really didn't think I liked. Kelly sent them to me so I used them. And LOVE them! Thanks Kelly, you're my favorite! Also a Maya Road bird, Pink Paisley Pixie Stix, Prima flowers and lined paper, and Thickers. Cause what is a layout without thickers!