“Aimovig.” A drug developed just for migraine disease, the very first preventative: “Aim.” “Vig” = Vigor, what we will have more of, even if improvement is only 10-20%. Generic name: erenumab. Drug company: Amgen / Novartis, who are not paying me. Side effects: possible injection site irritation and constipation. Have you looked at the side…
Category: CGRP Study
I am now a Patient Advocate and Contributor on Migraine.com
Sometimes, everything lines up in exactly the right way. My favorite headache blogger, Kerrie Smyres of The Daily Headache, had posted an article about several available CGRP studies and the pros and cons of getting involved. Since one of the studies was Amgen, I commented that I hadn’t had a hugely noticeable improvement on that…
My CGRP interview on Migraine.com
I always feel guilty when I return to the blog after a long absence, which seems silly. Like I need to explain myself. Life ebbs and flows and I often find myself unable to do everything I’d like to be doing. I just can’t fit it all in, which I think is a pretty universal…
Dear Emergency Room: A Story of Love, Despair, and a Life Less Ordinary
**Edited in 2018 to include the full name of the offending doctor: Dr. Nadia Sidiq, DO, Bowling Green Ohio Update #2: so it turns out I am not going to send this. While at first the purging of such strong, righteous emotion even just for the blog felt satisfying, I am now so…
But You Won’t.
I’ve been absent. I don’t really know what to say about it. While my participation in the CGRP Study has been amazing, and I have longer pain-free periods, somehow I end up in the ER more often. Everything in my life is changing. J had to resign from his job over unfair labor practices and…
The Magnificent Migraine Community
Searching for a meme or pertinent photo about #MHAM on Facebook a few minutes ago to use for this post, I happened upon my own status update from last year, sharing a link to the AMHA blog and stating “a little frustrating that more migraine sufferers aren’t participating in #MHAM.” Ironically, I am writing this…
Migraine365: The Sumatriptan Series
In Fall of 1992, I believe, or maybe Spring 93, I took an Intermediate Poetry class with an instructor and poet named Tom Andrews. He was bald, soft-spoken. I don’t know if he encouraged me, after a number of missed classes and my explanation, to use my illness as muse; but then, I already had,…
Migraine365: Text Update
J had me write what he called an “intro” to our migraine365 website, and it finally went live today. I was so so pleased with it. You should go check it out, but here is the text: Migraine365 is a graphic novel written and illustrated by John and Elizabeth Roberts-Zibbel to demonstrate the effects of…
general update.
I have had an unrelenting headache for three days. It isn’t too severe, but nevertheless pricks and pokes at me and brings accompanying aura, allodynia, and irritability. I’m not happy about it. For some reason, nothing I take is working. I had my last appointment in Ann Arbor yesterday for the double-blind phase of the…
Life
I’ve been away. I’ve been busy. I have been active and involved and in less pain. I am in a play, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I’ve begun volunteering at my local Historical Museum. I’ve been participating in a Chronic Migraine Study. I’ve been happy. I’ve been following the news. I’ve been angry and sad….
