Afternoon (well, almost here) all. To keep with the topic, it;'s 89F here (feels like 100F they say) and 50/50 chance of afternoon tunder-boomers. Went out to drop off some dry-cleaning (4 pairs of slacks…haven’t worn a shirt I can’t wash in many months) and the cops had blocked off a several block area on one of the major roads here (you could still get near it and my cleaners was in a strip mall on the closed section that I got to by back roads), so I have no idea what was going on. DIdn’t stick around, got my Moanday sub sammich and returned home.
I was raised in Florida ('51 - '65) before air conditioning and didn’t think much about it at the time. It was what it was. Nowadays I hate it.
Right now it’s 86F here and supposedly heading for 100F. I’ll go out and do things in it iffen I have to, but I won’t enjoy it. I always get annoyed when those chirpy little wimmens on the news shows start talking about how wunnerful 90F outside is. Idjits!
Ok, I need to know-which hockey team? Mine used to be the Bruins (heavens, those boys used to know how fling blood and loose teeth across the ice), now it is the Maple Leafs, cause that is what my Saskatoon-raised SIL lets me watch with him and the grandgirl.
Hello, Mumpers! Count me as firmly anti-heat. I spent my entire pre-retirement life in places with hot summers and haven’t had AC. It sucks. Lupus hates sunshine and heat. I literally get sick from being out on days like today, where it’s headed toward the 90’s. No AC. But thank heavens, it’s supposed to cool down tomorrow. Fall is my favorite season, and it’s coming next!
I was very upset last night. My son has had daily migraines for three years. He’s been on company disability, but that’s about to run out. And he HATES not working. He’s literally tried every migraine medication out there. Now with nerve blocks every 6 weeks, the headaches have very gradually shown slight improvement. He was so happy because when he gets down to migraines every other day, he’ll be able to go back to work.
But insurance companies refuse to cover nerve blocks for pain relief. At $400 a pop, it’s pricier than letting people get addicted to opioids. (I read an article about this.) He’s going to appeal. I’ve had to appeal many insurance decisions, as their attitude toward eye surgeries has been similarly calloused. After all, they’re a business. My hope is that when he gets to the level where a medical review committee (usually doctors) evaluates the case, they’ll rule in his favor.
If you’ve ever had a kid who’s been in chronic pain for years, you understand why I’m so upset.
Sorry for the long rant. And I know we’re not supposed to get political, but I wish daily migraines on everyone who thinks our health care system is fine as is. That’s mean, but maybe it’s the only way to get through.
Gentle, cool air hugs to all. I promise to be calmer and sweeter in my next post.
You don’t have to be calmer and nicer as far as I am concerned.
I agree/share the experience with everything you said. Late in life I developed frequent migraines because of multiple traumatic brain injuries, so I hear you.
Found a great Board certified neurologist with subspeciality certification in headaches who helped greatly and now am down to bearable level. Tried just about everything out there. Botox injections every 90 days and monthly self-injection of Amovig is what is working for me. My three kids have had lifelong migraines (yes, it is excruciating to watch your kids go through chronic pain daily) and what works for one of them is different from what works for the other one or me. All we can do is offer empathy and understanding. Plus I know to rush over to my daughter’s and take care of the 3yo grandchild when a migraine hits. So far neither of the adults has had a migraine at the same moment
I’m sorry that you can empathize. It sounds like your kids have been through the mill. It really is a rollercoaster ride when it comes to meds. My son did the Botox injections for about a year. Also was on Amvig. He’s really run out of Rx options. He started with his GP, got referred to a neurologist, and is now with a headache specialist.
The headache specialist calls my son’s headaches “Intransigent migraines.” It kills me that I can only offer him empathy and understanding, but it really infuriates me that he was finally on the right track, and health insurance snatched it away.
Born and raised in Alaska, so perhaps 'nuff said about my heat tolerance. Thought I was gonna die when I went to boot camp in San Diego, but I knew I was dead when I stepped off the plane into the hell that was Vietnam. Second worst was likely Guam. Others on my swelter list: Tunis, Cairo, Bamako and Washington, DC. All that said, it’s likely going to set a record here in Portland today at about 102F. We turned on the AC around 10 a.m. and won’t venture out until tomorrow morning.
I actually found a small freezer on Amazon for my basement . Can’t get a full-sized one down there because of the short doorway and a 90 degree turn that isn’t navigable with anything larger. So it’s a 7cf chest freezer which will handle some storage. It’s been a struggle to find one anywhere, as they got snapped up very quickly. Paid a premium for this one, but that’s okay. Yes, we are still laying in stocks of things, as I don’t believe this virus is going anywhere very soon, and in fact believe that there are going to be more shortages in food production. A bit of paranoia, I guess.
What kind of nerve blocks is the insurance refusing to pay for? There was a loud Damn Them! in that question. I’m lucky-Medicare is better about appeals than other insurance, they approved my Botox after just one appeal-and Botox ain’t cheap
The whole opioid situation is scary. If your sons needs them for pain relief so he could work he would soon need such a high dose he wouldn’t be able to work. Plus the potential for abuse or addiction is indeed something to worry about if they are needed for chronic conditions.
Actually, I think you are being quite reasonable. I would do the same if I could.
I have the same situation in my house-it was built in 1884, same narrow 90 degree turns. We can only have loveseats-can’t get a couch into the place. Even the loveseats, once we get them in we never want to replace them cause we don’t want to try to get them out.
They’re lidocaine. I don’t know the exact name, but I may start calling it “Lidocaine Damn Them!”
And you’re right: daily high doses of opioids would be what he’d need, and they’d knock him out. He’s not wild about them anyway. I hate the side effects, so I get it. I really think the law should require insurance companies to cover other treatment options for chronic pain.
The commercials on TV are showing two new pills. One of them will make you migraine-free for 48 hours.
I would have gladly killed off entire populations for that pill.
The Daughter is suffering the “Middle Age Siege” that I had: daily migraines. I thank God I did get to benefit from Imitrex. That is the gold standard. Back in the covered wagon days of my headache years, I took Cafergot. It got to the point where Cafergot made me sicker than the headache.
Only NOW is the medical community admitting that migraines can be daily. I kept secret my daily agony, because I didn’t want to be shipped off to the funny farm.
COTU#1 and COTU#2 are nine and eleven…and they have had occasional sick, throw-uppy headaches. I grieve for those babies!
~VOW
(COTU stands for “Center of the Universe” and those are my grandkids)
You’ll have to do it cause I don’t how to (and I’m not ready to try yet-still getting my SD sea legs under me-figure that will take me eons so don’t hold your breath-this Discourse be not intuitive).
I feel bad for diverting the thread. I promise I won’t keep yammering about this. My son’s last neurologist prescribed new meds before they were even advertised. I’d look them up and see they helped 80% or 90% of users in clinical trials and get excited. He was always in the minority that didn’t get helped.
Sounds like you’ve been through the mill, too. I was on an ergotamine, too. What works for me is gabapentin, which is actually an anti-seizure med that’s used off-label for migraines.
Imitrex was a lifesaver for my son, but he was using it every day to get through the workday, and that’s a very bad idea. It becomes less effective over time when used that heavily.
They understand migraines a lot better than they did, but they still don’t know much. Boggles what’s left of my mind.
So sorry about COTU#1 and #2. That’s way too young to have to deal with sick headaches.
I am so sorry for your COTU-that is hideous and unfair.
I have a 11 year old friend with frequent migraines. He finally got diagnosed with ‘abdominal migraines’ and parents were told that is quite common in children. And this was after years of this dear child going scolded and shamed by teachers saying he was faking it for attention.
BTW, I your COTU appellation! My granddaughter is hereafter going to be COMU #1-center of my universe.
I’ll go out and do things in it iffen I have to, but I won’t enjoy it. I always get annoyed when those chirpy little wimmens on the news shows start talking about how wunnerful 90F outside is. Idjits!
your COTU appellation! My granddaughter is hereafter going to be COMU