20080115 :: Day 15



20080115 :: Day 15, originally uploaded by punquin.

This is my little iPod Touch. I love it! If I just had wireless access everywhere I went, it would be perfect. But, I’m not going to switch from Verizon to ATT just for the iPhone. Anyway, Apple announced a software upgrade available for the Touch, and I got it all installed (after upgrading my iTunes for the iMillionth time.) Mail! Google Maps! And more… Very cool!

On the not-so-cool front, I’ve been having migraines. I’ve had them all my life, but normally only about 6 per year. I’ve had 6 in the past week. They are almost constant. If they were just pain, I’d probably ignore them, but I get “auras” as well. I found a webpage that described what I “see” before migraines so closely it was spooky. Get out of my brain!

Positive visual problems, the most common of which consists of an absent arc or band of vision with a shimmering or glittering zigzag border: This is often combined with photopsias (a sensation of lights, sparks, or colors due to electrical or mechanical stimulation of the ocular [eye] system) or visual hallucinations that may take various shapes. This is a highly characteristic syndrome that always occurs before the headache phase of an attack and is specific to a diagnosis of classic migraine. It is called a “fortification spectrum” because the jagged edges of the hallucinated arc resemble a fortified town with bastions around it.

Here is how mine start: My vision suddenly feels “off” and I have a little “spot” just off-center (like I stared at a bright light). The patch of vision that I can’t see in starts to grow, and a border appears (in an arc-shape) about 3/4 of the way around it. The border is in the colors you’d see in a puddle of oil in the street and is zig-zaggy little lines that almost look like crystals would under a microscope. The border flashes and sparkles and makes me dizzy. Gradually, the whole mess gets larger and larger as it fills my vision. Eventually, it is so big I can’t see the border anymore and my vision slowly refocuses, though it stays “off” (like I’m wearing someone else’s glasses) for up to a day.

Fun times, right? Well, 6 in a week or so is scary, so I am going to the eye doctor tonight. I am overdue for a check-up anyway. I am hoping that the migraines are being triggered by in incorrect prescription, but if not, my next stop will be the doctor. Wish me luck!

Unrelated, I’d like to learn Spanish (Latin America dialect). Being a visual learner, I’ve looked into Rosetta Stone. Has anyone used it? Is it worth the crazy amount of money?

I still have a headache from last night’s migraine attack. 🙁

3 thoughts on “20080115 :: Day 15

  1. I love the iPod Touch! I wish I had one of my very own.

    I hope you can get the migraine thing figured out. My husband suffers from them a lot, but 6 in one week really sounds bad. Hopefully it’s just a prescription thing.

  2. I get those auras too, but not too often – maybe a few times a year. They are really dangerous because they come on pretty fast, and I’ve gotten them twice while driving, and had to pull over and wait it out cause I couldn’t see! Mine usually only last for an hour, and then I usually get a headache.

    I went to the eye doctor about 10 years ago, but I don’t remember what he said about it. Hopefully your doctor will have some advice.

    This book – http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1572243759/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200546846&sr=8-1 has helped me figure out all sorts of ailments, and it has some info about migraines in it.

  3. Your migraine aura/scotoma sounds identical to mine, which I had with far greater frequency when I was in college, but still see infrequently. Six in a week is way over the top, though I probably did see that many occasionally at school! For me, the trigger for migraines/scotoma was mostly stress-related, so you might think in those directions — any changes there?

    I also eschewed the iPhone due to it being good at everything BUT being a phone (due to AT&T), and got a Motorola Q instead; smaller screen and no touch screen, but real buttons and with downloads I get Google Maps and Internet access everywhere, so it serves the purpose even if it doesn’t have the cachet that the iPhone carries.

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