Day 38: Young Parents

A series of deaths has been steaming through work.  Late last year, my friend Rita lost her Mom after a year and a half of bad health (Rita was dealing with a lot of stress).  In the past 4 weeks, I've had two employees lose parents and another lose a grandparent.  I am really thankful I have young(ish) parents still.  I don't know what I would do without my parents.  I talk to my mom often (every day or every other day...sometimes more) and my dad a couple times a week.  I enjoy hanging out with them when I visit (or they visit me) and I know I can talk to them about anything (good and bad).  The worst thing about living in California is knowing if something happened to either of them, I may not be able to fly to Texas in time to say good-bye (this is a huge fear of mine). 

My parents were born in 1956, so they just turned 55 last year.  To put it in perspective, I work with a number of people my parent's age or older.  My parents had Ashley and I when they were relatively young (they had me at 24 years old), so we haven't really dealt with any major health issues.  My mom has suffered through migraines for years (way too many to count), but Ashley and I have finally convinced her to try a new treatment.  Based on initial feedback from her, she does seem to be feeling better.  My dad has high blood pressure, but takes a prescription to help control it.  I'm really thankful my parentals are young, in good health and see doctors regularly, so I don't need to worry about death quite yet.

Day 25: Heating Pads

Heating Pads are a necessity at my house.  I've suffered from migraines since I was 8 years old.  My migraines trigger back and neck pain.  I take over-the-counter and prescription medicine to combat my headaches, but that medicine doesn't always help right away (if it helps at all...sleep is actually one of the best medicines for me).  Years ago, I learned heating pads ease the tension in my head and neck when I have a headache.  I think heat helps keep my mind on something other than the headache (plus I love being warm).  I usually use  herbal heating pads with rice or grains that heat up easily in the microwave (2-3 minutes).  I also have chemical heating pads (you pop a little disk and the liquid becomes a hard gel) that stay warm for about an hour, but you can't reheat them easily (they turn back into liquid by boiling them in hot water).  Every few years, I buy new heating pads at the San Diego County Fair (great deals). I also love massages using heating pads...it relaxes me so much.

Today was a really long day at work (11 hours, including a manager's meeting).  I was feeling good until I started driving home.  I decided to eat something and lay down, but my headache kept getting worse.  Around 8PM, I took some of my prescription medicine (I use Imitrex because it works for me, but I try not to take it often since it makes me really tired) and heated up a heating pad.  I felt really sick, but just having the heating pad on my head makes me feel like my headache is getting better. 

Apparently, I could also use my heating pad during Yoga...