Wakey Wakey.

[swestrup]

Had a fun time playing Catan last night, but others have already posted about how much fun it was.

After racing out the door from denizsarikaya's at midnight last night, I managed to get to Cote Vertu about 10 minutes before the last bus left. A long and boring ride later, I got off the bus (which had transformed from a 215 to a 207 en route) at the 207 stop closest my house, which is a Dickens Twist. From there is was a somewhat chilly 2 block walk home and I arrived around
1:30 am.  After taking out the trash I sat down for a couple of minutes with a hot cup of tea to warm me up, and a cat sucha promptly decided she wanted to sleep in my lap. She does this so seldom that I didn't want to disturb her. She finally got up and left around 3:30 am. I then headed upstairs, checked my e-mail and collapsed into bed.

Seeing as it was getting close to 3:30am by then, I set my alarm for 12:00 so I would get at least 8 hours. I vaguely remember dragging myself out of sleep at 12:45 to a still buzzing alarm clock, and turned it off, thinking "I need to get up now, but I feel soooo tired!". Next thing I knew it was 2:00 pm and I was still feeling very tired, but I could also feel a migraine trying to put in an appearance.  I got up, took some AC&C, had two triple-strength coffees and wen't upstairs to my office where I can make it as dim and quiet as I need.

Now, a couple of hours later the headache has been reduced to a dull throb and I think I can face having my morning shower now.

Comments

[designergirl.livejournal.com]

Dude! What's with the migraines? Have you seen a doctor about them?

Please make sure you do an update on your job interview! I'd like to know how you went. =)

Hope you're feeling better now.

Sarah

[swestrup]

Yes, I've seen my doctor about them. She says that the only medical advice she can give is to 1) learn my triggers and 2) figure out what works best to stop them once triggered.

I already know that the trigger is sleep deprivation followed by deep sleep and that the best medicine I've yet found is strong caffeine. I've even done the medical research to find out WHY.

(In a nutshell I get migraines due to over-dilated blood vessels in the brain. They seem to be triggered by my body trying to 'catch-up' on lost sleep and flooding my brain with natural relaxation chemicals. The problem is, this constitutes a minor overdose and my cranial blood vessesl over-dilate. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor and helps to put things back the way they should be.)

Under normal circumstances my sleep is regular enough that I only get a migraine once per 3 or 4 months, and almost always on the weekend, so it seldom interferes with work. Lately though I've had acute insomnia caused by money worries and that has severely exacerbated the situation. Once I can sleep worry-free at night again, I expect them to diminish.

I'm also seriously thinking about going on Atkins, because I'm overweight and because my habitual sleep problems are one of the symptoms he gives for having a diet higher in sugar than one's metabolism can handle. If he's right, I should see a change in sleep patterns within 2 weeks. That sounds short enought that its worth a try.

Good for you.

[designergirl.livejournal.com]

I think that's great that you can educate yourself about your migraines and learn why they occur. So few people bother to find out the trigger of their problems and want a quick-fix.

Perhaps I am of a different opinion because I am in Australia and Atkins isn't as huge over here as it is in the USA, but why not use common sense with healthy/balanced eating along with daily exercise to lose weight? Why go for the Atkins?

I'm sure I have said this before, but I will say again that I can sympathize with your money worries. Being out of work is hard!

Sarah

Re: Good for you.

[swestrup]

No offense, but that sounds like its coming from someone who's never had to struggle with a life-long weight problem. If it was as simple as you make it out, I'd never have been fat. The only method I've ever used to try and lose weight has been healthy eating and excercise.

I currently eat a healthier diet than 99.99% of North Americans. With the exception of the occasional bag of crisps, I don't do junk food. No cakes, candies, cookies, pies, twinkies, etc. At home I eat only whole grain breads and pastas and brown rices. I eat most of my vegetables raw, and summer meals are often no more than a large salad. I avoid fat, favor chicken and fish over red meat, and usually eat only two meals a day. It hasn't helped. I admit that I'm fairly sedentary now, but even when I was on a competetive swim team and cycled regularly, I gained weight.

I'm hardly the only one in North America in that situation either. I've always said, when one student in a class is failing, its the student. When they all are, its the teacher. Atkins essentially claims that the medical establishment's ideas about what constitutes a healthy diet has serious problems. So, having read his work and seen that the scientific studies favor him over his detractors I'm willing to give it a try.

This, by the way, will be the first 'diet' I've ever been on, because no other one has passed the simple tests required to be acceptable:

1) Is this scientifically valid?
2) Does it work for most people?
3) Am I capable of doing this for the rest of my life?

Another way of looking at it, is that doing Atkins properly (actually reading the book and designing a system geared to your particular metabolism, and then sticking with it forever) IS doing healthy/balanced eating along with daily excercise (which he does claim is essential).

RE: Good for you.

[designergirl.livejournal.com]

Fair call! Looking back on that comment I can see how that might come across as a solution only people who don't understand the real struggles of weight gain/loss would say. I have struggled with weight more than once in my life, and I know first-hand how complex it can be.

I apologize for making that comment without thinking about the bigger picture, which simply put is that weight gain isn't always a direct result of lack of exercise and nutrition.

If you've done your research and feel that the Atkins diet will work for you, I say more power to you!! =)

Sarah

Re: Good for you.

[swestrup]

I don't know that it will work for me, but lets just say I'm cautiously optimistic for the moment.