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My Chari Life: Just Another Allergy (and update)

As promised, here is a quick update on my brain.
Sorry- No pictures

 
I sill have Chiari Malformation Type 1.
 
A few weeks ago I met with a neurosurgeon to decide our next move. We talked about my symptoms and my tonsil, and the surgeon decided that the surgery's risk outweighs the rewards. So, we are still in the same spot. Pain, pain, and more pain.

 
I have been working on a headache journal, and at first, I documented every day. This lasted about 3 weeks, then I forgot about it. I then only documented the last 24 hours leading up to a headache where I rated the pain at a 7 or higher. When I document this I make sure to mention what I ate, how much water I am drinking (I try to drink  3 liters a day!), and what physical activity (if any) I have done.

 
Last Tuesday, my sister and I made a day out of my doctor's appointment in Salt Lake to see my neurologist. Nothing has changed, and my neurologist seems to be as frustrated as I am with the lack of urgency from other specialist. Especially because I STILL HAVE HICCUPS! We talked about exercise, and I was told again, "If it huts, don’t do it." Ummm…. I thought the point of exercise was for it to hurt! So, I don’t do any of it. :) Occasionally we do go for a walk, on days where my head pain is at a 3 of less. Those days are very rare.

 
I was also warned about trigger foods which can cause major headaches. including, but not limited to, chocolate, bananas, citrus fruit, and avocados. I don’t know about you, but those are my summer staples. A glass of orange juice and some chocolate for breakfast. A  bowl of strawberries and bananas with chocolate for lunch, and something with avocados for dinner. Another trigger is any processed meats. That one is easy for me being that I only eat chicken and am learning to like stake. We love the Heritage Farm brand that you can find here in town which has a grass fed organic option for about the same price as the other meats you can find at the grocery store. The cuts are always great and juicy and I just love it. I don’t really even like any other meats anymore unless it is that brand. Anyway, back to what I was saying. There are trigger foods that can cause headaches for some and so I am supposed to keep a log of when I eat them and the effects. I haven't noticed many foods having much effect on me other than if I eat too many avocados in a day I get a bit stronger of a headache. That was until last night.

 
Last night, we sent one cousin home a little early from Cousin University, COUSIN CAMPus (Blog to come) because he had a headache. Poor kid, he is only 7 and has been having terrible headaches lately. I gave his mom tips to help sooth the pain, like use PastTense oil, then went about my night. At around 4 am I woke up with excruciating pain. One of the worst migraines I have had in awhile. Pain at a 9!!! I took my headache saver and patiently waited for it to kick in so I could go back to sleep, then slept through the first half of CAMP today. When I looked at my log today to write down everything I did yesterday and document this 9 migraine I came to a huge realization! I CAN NO LONGER EAT HOTDOGS! I haven't decided if this is good news or bad news, but the last 3 major MIGRAINES I have had, I have had hotdogs the meal before. A major processed meat.

 
So, there it is. (For those of you who know all my weird allergies and intolerances, you will think this is funny) I already couldn’t eat basic hotdogs but had to have pure beef or turkey dogs, (because I am intolerant to porcine)  but now I am allergic to hotdogs all together.
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