Today, I went to an essential appointment with my headache specialist. Not surprisingly, she acted like nothing ever happened via phone between us.

This month is my two year mark as one of her patients, and aside from a few appointments where she actually knew my name, and my medical reasons for seeing her, this time she changed my name entirely. Say hello to Mary, everyone. 😂 I’ve been called worse, really. 🙄

The waiting room was predominantly empty, and no one can hear you speak  clearly with a mask on, so I said, “I know you mean me, but that’s not my name.” I had to repeat myself three times. When she went into the system to double check, she wondered out loud, “How the hell did I come up with Mary?” Good question, but I was there for medical treatment, it was not a social call. She put a note in my chart to remember my name for when I go back in early August. 😒

I mostly said yes to her incessant questions. With strict Covid-19 precautions in place, “Yes.” seemed like a great answer to help speed up the 20-30 minute procedure. I was polite, I listened, but I was also astounded that she asked how my migraines have been these past few months, especially since we JUST had that conversation where I was basically begging for alternatives for when a treatment method fails and I’m left suffering. This plea was treated with disrespect and disdain. That sorry excuse for a conversation was not acceptable, but I learned from day one to discuss those matters during follow-up appointments only. Otherwise, she becomes mentally distracted. You do NOT want a doctor distracted when the treatment process requires one hundred and ten percent of someone’s concentration.

I already had a migraine going in to this appointment, so I immediately went to the only place open that serves coffee (I miss you, Starbucks. That’s sad, given the full weight of what’s going on in this world. But hey, I’m human. I love their Iced Green Tea Lemonade and their Passion Tango Lemonade Iced Tea. The former is caffeinated a bit, the latter is herbal. I have gift cards saved to their app. I wouldn’t normally go there, otherwise, but I digress.) for Cold Brew. I was craving it for four days straight. They were out of both versions, so I ordered iced coffee with a shot of vanilla instead. I then proceeded to try making it as light as possible, while adding the correct amount of sugar so it would be lightly sweet. Ordering coffee after noon on most days isn’t a good idea to begin with. I haven’t had coffee in almost a full two years. I gave it up cold turkey because my medication, at the time, required it. No problem. I can give up high dose caffeine. I know most people can’t, but it wasn’t a hardship. I was still drinking iced green tea on occasion once I got the hang of the medication, and when I was unable to find the decaffeinated version, I would still drink full strength Earl Grey on cold mornings (I use a huge mug and two tea bags. I take my tea pretty seriously.). Otherwise, I was drinking my usual water and iced herbal tea. Repetitive boredom, but we do what’s good for us. Or at least, I try my best to do so.

Turns out, I’m still finding coffee incredibly disgusting. Three sips and I was so nauseous, I contemplated whether or not I needed to take Promethazine. I wanted the caffeine to help my migraine, but right now, only ice cold Coke Zero or Pepsi does the trick. When either one tastes REALLY good to me, the caffeine will help considerably. Under normal circumstances, I don’t touch the stuff.

The artificial sweetener most widely used is a neurotoxin. It hasn’t been researched enough regarding the long-term effects on the human body. However, many people are often misdiagnosed with severe neurological or pain disorders when what they REALLY have is Aspartame poisoning. Too often, you aren’t asked about your diet or what you drink, other than alcohol, so I can only wonder how many people are drinking this stuff daily, in one form or another, and making their health worse. I’m pretty good about eliminating things and not looking back.

I cut all of these things out when I was first diagnosed with migraines. There’s a long list that you have to eliminate to see if they are triggers. You can slowly bring things back into your diet, providing they don’t make you sick. I have researched the fact that this sweetener causes insane amounts of inflammation in the body. Even twenty ounces can set you back if your body was trying to heal itself. Unfortunately, the sugar in the regular versions is way too much. I’m a purist; I will use real butter, heavy cream, real sugar, etc., when making specific things for myself, family, and friends. While my taste buds can easily tell good from bad, sometimes you’ll do anything for relief. That’s how bad my migraines have been.

Upon returning from my appointment, my head pain was moving into my neck and I was MISERABLE. I am used to this, sadly. I know it takes a few days or two weeks to start feeling better. Hopefully I can get there quickly because the pain turned into a full-blown flare up, and I can barely think straight. Sleep would be great, but isn’t likely to happen at the moment. 😔

I’ll be recovering from this treatment, but I’ll still be around to share bits and bobs. 😉

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