Ahira's Hangar

Work tonight is a happy madhouse, as a snowstorm socks us...

There at least two groups heading around giving clothing gifts to the patients, an accordian group going around playing polkas, a beauty queen in evening gown and tiara with entourage, groups of darling tiny children caroling, and the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic going around playing old time fiddle music and Bluegrass.

The patients are all very happy tonight.

Would do all of your hearts good to see it all.

Sounds like the Christmas spirit is alive and well where you are, duchess!

Haven't been here lately due to other distractions. Like a headache that began on the weekend that has continued through today. I rarely get headaches, so this is quite an event for me. A cursory google search tells me that I seem to have the migraine kind, because it comes in sharp pulses, as opposed to a constant pain around the whole head. However, I have not (yet) experienced the "classic" migraine symptoms of acute sensitivity to light and sound. I really hope to be spared that joyful sensation. During a Saturday MSN chat with Menolly and Furls Fire, they suggested I try Tylenol or Ibuprofen. I normally avoid pills, but this headache was aggravating enough that I went out Sunday and got some Tylenol. Seemed to work at first, but the headache came back with a vengeance Monday night: I couldn't get to sleep until after 4:00 am! I still went in to work, because I figured it's better to be doing something productive than lying in bed over a stupid headache. A co-worker suggested I take Advil, so I bought some after work. Will try it before I head to bed.

If the ibuprofen does not work, try naproxen/naprosyn (brand name aleve). It is in the same family as ibuprofen, but is stronger. You can also take both tylenol and ibuprofen together - they are in different drug families and work synergistically (spelling?) together, and together they provide more pain relief than either working alone.

Some drug free remedies for headaches in general:
hot showers with the water running on your head
breathing in the steam of hot tea (this is better for a cold caused headache)
lying down in a dark and quiet room
applying cold or hot cloths to your forehead

there is some evidence that caffeine can help with some kinds of headaches

Good luck! bad headaches suck hard!

Hopefully your head is better now, MW.

Magickmaker had a headache for several weeks this fall. She's taking two incompletes this semester because she missed so much class time. Poor kid...

Duchess, thanks for the tip re taking ibuprofen and Tylenol together. I didn't know you could do that. I'll pass that along to Magickmaker.

Headaches can be a concern for health. For example, my husband kept getting killer headaches, and when I finally got him to go to the doctor, it turned out he had high blood pressure, and that was what was causing the headaches. I have known other people with persistant headaches who turned out to have untreated allergies or sinus infections! So if they persist, you might want to go in for a general physical. Hopefully, yours will not persist and you will feel better soon!

I used to sufer from the kind of migraines that sent you to bed for 3 days in paralysed agony...very unpleasant. If they were a regular occurrence for you, I'd suggest finding what triggered them, but since they're rare, I wouldn't worry too much, as long as they stay that way.

--A

I can't and don't want to imagine that level of agony, Av.

I've been mostly headache-free since yesterday. Yay! It's only if I make sudden head movements or bend too low that my temple still throbs a little.

I guess I may as well repeat here the question I asked on the Watch...

Does anyone know how one begins to be tested and volunteer to become a potential kidney donor for a family member? And how young one can volunteer to do such, with parental permission?

One of my friends donated a kidney to her cousin. The cousin's medical team arranged for the blood tests for the relatives to determine who could be a potential donor. I think they also tested her oldest daughter, who was in her teens, but not the two very young children. The recipient's insurance paid for all of my friend's medical expenses, and since she was donated an organ, work gave her three months off with pay without charging her leave bank.

It was great. The cousin was only in her thirties and would have died without the donation. She had been on dialysis for years. My friend's kidney was such a good match that the cousin started peeing while she was still on the OR table. The docs knew the transplant would be a success, and she would have a good long life right then and there.

Thanks Duchess.
I guess if her condition deteriorates further, Beorn and I will hear from my sister's medical team...

I will see my friend tomorrow and ask, but I am thinking you guys will hear from your sister's team at some point if donors are needed.

Here is some info that might be helpful:

look at the info for living donors