Okay, so as you guys know, I started on this daily migraine prevention medication in late November of last year. Well, it worked really well for a while. No migraines, just headaches. Easy to live with and I wasn't a horrible, angry bitch anymore! Win-win for everyone!!!  Then, when I worked-up to the dosage my doctor wanted me to be on, I started noticing some really crummy side effects. They were tolerable, but shitty.

In the meantime, I went to new "lady" doctor as my normal doctor for that stuff retired last December (I miss him! I started going to him WAY back when I was 20). Anyway, this new doc was very much a "whole body wellness" driven kind of gal (first-ever woman doctor for me!).

As I briefly mentioned in an earlier post, when I went in for my appointment with her, we spent a LONG time going over the few prescriptions I take (two daily, two "as needed") and all the supplements I take (Niacin, Vitamin D, B-6, B-12, Fish Oil and Flaxseed Oil). She then asked about the things I was taking medication for, chiefly, the migraines. She was horrified that I was taking one of the daily Medes (not for migraines) and she took me off it pronto. The make-up of the pill, according to her, was way too high for someone with my type of migraines (I neglected to tell her that it was a recent "downgrade" to lower levels, as advised by my neurologist). Then she asked how I liked the daily preventative med. I told her I REALLY didn't care for the side effects, but they were super good to start and now the migraines were trying to creep back in, always in the middle of the night. This was tolerable as I usually woke up at the onset, took an "as needed" pill and went back to sleep.  She recommended that I research what I was taking and to think about going off it and replacing it with magnesium supplements. Turns out that you can't test someone's magnesium levels with normal blood tests, but people taken to the hospital for migraines routinely tested low in magnesium in their spinal fluid and their brain. The reason blood tests don't work is that we store it in different places that don't show-up on those tests. Women tested especially low.

I waited a while to do the research and make a decision. If you know me well, you know I don't like taking prescriptions ......The thing is, the main side effect of the preventative pill is weight gain (body and chest in both female AND males). If you know me, you know how I am with both those types of weight gain. I put on a solid 15-20lbs. Instead of quitting the script, right after my birthday I decided to keep taking it and just go back on my old Weight Watchers program to lose the extra weight. I can't weigh myself (I have issues!), so I was using a tight pair of pants as my gauge. Well, Weight Watchers has always been the ace up my sleeve, so I went back on program diligently. I waited 5 weeks and I went to put on those formerly tight pants, I expected to be able to fasten them up easily. NO. SUCH. LUCK. I couldn't even put them on!!! I GAINED weight on a restricted calorie plan! That sucked ass and, I'll be honest, I teared-up.

So I decided to stop going to the neurologist, phase out the script slowly and work the magnesium into my routine.  The magnesium takes about a month to six weeks to take effect, so by the time I'm done with the other stuff next week, I should be seeing a difference.

In the meantime, I'm still on program, plus I got a Fit Bit and a Pilates chair. I get buzzed at if I don't take enough steps in an hour, which is annoying. I'm not up to 10,000 steps a day (I just got it Sunday...today is Tuesday), but I'm averaging 1,000 steps more each day. I was over 8,000 today and should be at 10,000 tomorrow. Not bad for day 3 of having the thing, right.? I don't feel healthy at this size, I want to be back to a size four, maybe six.

Keep positive thoughts for me!!!