Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Coffee Will Eff You Up (Or Maybe It's Just Me)

Oh man, I have no tolerance for caffeine anymore. I only consume it medicinally, to treat my head, and never more than twice a week, per the rules of rebound headache avoidance. But I still love the taste of coffee, so I have to be really careful when I do drink it because I can easily forget, drink two cups and end up giggling maniacally and twitching until four in the morning which leads the following four days to be face-meltingly painful and somewhat crazy-making. And here I am.

I love nature shows lately. When my head is really bad and I feel like death and/or dying, watching a documentary about how the sun is going to fry and then freeze our solar system in a million trillion years or so, or about how an asteroid named Apophis might hit us in 2036 is somehow comforting. It makes my experience smaller, I guess. Puts it in perspective.

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I love electricity. (I'm a little delirious, but stay with me. Electricity is pretty great, you know.) Without it, I wouldn't have my treadmill, or sewing machine or dishwasher and they are the holy trinity of household appliances. And my blender. Let's make it a quartet. Actually, I shouldn't neglect the other appliances that make my life easier, because they might find out and stop working. Like my air conditioner and fan. The refrigerator. The microwave. A special shoutout to the greatest little laptop that could and the waterpik. Am I just naming appliances now? Toaster.

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I wonder how new acquaintances see me. Probably aloof and snobby, or shy and weird. I smile and wave to the neighbors, when I see them, and make occasional token efforts with my boyfriend's friends. I'm not trying to narrow my social field, but I don't have the energy for casual friendships anymore. People that I don't really like tend to suck the soul right out of me, so avoidance is survival. And casual social interaction is taxing, at best, and I'd rather save my energy for cleaning my house, training my dog or spending quality time with my man. Maybe not in that order.

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Hey, I taught my dog a new trick! The one where you put a treat on their nose and they have to wait to eat it. She's been comfortable with sit, stay, up, down, shake, roll over and drop it for years but we had hit a bit of a wall with new material, so learning a new trick was exciting for all of us. Though I think she hates it. As soon as I put the treat on her nose, her ears go back and she gives me the victim-eyes. I am one of those people who talks for my dog and her reaction is very, "Moooooom! Why are you doing this to meeeee???? Just let me eeeaaaat iiiiit! ZOMG TREEEEEATS!" She's a whiner, but she waits. Such a good dog.

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I've been crocheting plastic bags. I know, weird. But they are easy and quick (with my massive hook!) and they might be perfect for christmas gifts. Look at me, thinking ahead. There is something really cool about making trash into something useful.

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So, this is what you get when I overindulge in caffeine four days ago. Scattered, irrelevant blogging. Let's bring it back to the head with some awesome links of interest: An open letter from a doctor to all chronically ill patients, this month's Migraine Blog Carnival is up, and magic mushrooms can be useful in (cluster) migraine treatment. You're welcome.


5 comments:

WinnyNinny PooPoo said...

Someone gave me one of those thought of the day calendars years ago. My favorite was "I am grateful for my appliances" a thought I remind myself of once in a while. Even toasters need to feel appreciated!

Enjoyed your musings. Perhaps some decaf coffee might work???

steph said...

Lol, decaf would be a good choice, wouldn't it? I have gone that route, when I remember to switch over. I need to write it on my hand or something. :)

jasminepw said...

I've eliminated caffeine in all forms and my body loves me for it. I reacted the same as you. I drink naturally caffeine free rooibos tea when I want something warm. Decaf still has traces of caffeine.

I love what you said about reusing trash. Good for you! I'm hoping California bans plastic bags soon, as well as polystyrene containers.

steph said...

Cutting out caffeine was a life-changer for me. It was the first everyday toxin to go. Next was nicotine, then scented products and processed food. We're still working on that last one, but it's an avalanche, once you realize how mindlessly dependent we are on destructive products.

I keep hearing about roobios tea, I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

Sue said...

I walk a really fine line with caffeine. Half a cup in the morning and that's it. Anything more and my head hurts, but none at all and the pain is even worse.

I've had an Occipital Nerve Block (three weeks ago) and the caffeine level/trigger hasn't changed. That tells me I'm dealing with both myofascial pain syndrome AND some classic migraine stuff. So in a twisted way, I'm kind of thankful for caffeine for letting me in on that....

Oh - and I LOVE the crocheted bags!!!! How creative.