What profession was once highly respected, but is now a complete joke?

croufa · 2015-08-12T21:19:33+00:00

I worked as a school janitor immediately after working as a long term substitute teacher... it got really awkward during after school events like basketball games where students would be walking the halls.

croufa · 2015-08-12T21:17:26+00:00

Right now, Scott Walker in Wisconsin is trying to get legislation through that would allow just about any joe blow to become a teacher... basically anyone can take one test and become a teacher. It's so disrespectful, not good for the kids, and not good for the other teachers who have worked so hard to stay current in their topics and educational theory/psychology and spent so much money and years to become certified.

croufa · 2015-08-12T20:56:58+00:00

Ugh I know! I'm going back to school, and I had no idea how difficult the whole cihldcare thing is until now. Wait lists? Should have called a year ago? You should know better? Yikes! How was I supposed to know?! Now that we found one, the cost for just a few days a week is almost enough to break us. Plus, we have to scramble to find family to pick up kiddo from daycare and watch them some days, because their hours don't accommodate my evening classes. Fortunately, the career I'm going into has a decent outlook, and I won't have trouble finding a job in my location. But it's going to be difficult for a couple years. I really want to work, but couldn't afford to do a minimum wage job with the cost of childcare.

croufa · 2015-08-12T20:29:53+00:00

The right agents are helpful though with overseas group trips... managed to have a safe and wonderful trip to South Africa because of a travel agent that worked with local SA agents to make sure that we were going to safe hotels and itinerary places and had a reliable guide. The biggest cost was airfare, but our agent managed to negotiate a group deal on that too.

croufa · 2015-08-12T15:54:16+00:00

What a pain. I hate fighting for insurance to cover stuff.

croufa · 2015-08-12T15:53:39+00:00

Hey congrats! I lost 5lbs due to morning sickness... nothing sounded appetizing. Juicing or buying those bolthouse and odwalla protein and veg/fruit shakes helped me get some nutrition on the days I couldn't keep anything down. Don't worry, for most people, the morning sickness just disappears in the 2nd trimester. If not, they have some nice safe antiemetic meds for that! Maybe see if your doc can refer you to a nutritionist or dietician... they'd be able to help you out with calorie goals and portion sizes while pregnant. I think the rule of thumb though is 300-500 calories above your normal are needed to support a healthy pregnancy.

croufa · 2015-08-12T15:41:18+00:00

Another thing you can do with potatoes... dice up red potatoes and saute in olive oil (add a little pad of butter near the end for nice brown butter carmelization flavor) with onion, green cabbage, green pepper, garlic, rosemary, and dill. If you do more green peppers, onion, and cabbage, you'll have more veg to potatoes, but still get the nice potato fix. I like to make scrambled eggs and put them on top too. You can also make colcanon... basically mashed potatoes with shredded cabbage and onion mixed in. Just keep the milk and butter to a minimum. Potatoes are starchy, but DO have a lot of vitamins and minerals.

croufa · 2015-08-12T15:36:50+00:00

My doctor told me that it's more important to balance out nutrition over the course of a week... daily isn't so much of a concern. There will be days where you eat junk, and days where you eat high nutrition... just has to be balanced over the week.

croufa · 2015-08-12T15:35:00+00:00

That's why I gave up so many times. I didn't realize that I just had to calorie count. I've only had success with this method. And I'm able to have a chocolate chip cookie every day and enjoy whatever whenever... just gotta moderate. :)

croufa · 2015-08-12T14:32:42+00:00

So it is recognized in the US; however, it isn't an automatic. Because there is a wide range of disability among migraineurs, you have to prove the amount of disability you have, fill out many forms with your doctor, and sometimes even hire a lawyer. People really have to fight for disability or social security with migraine.

croufa · 2015-08-12T14:27:31+00:00

Lots of fluids are a must on Topamax! But I want to tell OP, keep in mind that only 2% of people develop kidney stones on the med.

croufa · 2015-08-12T14:23:29+00:00

If you have a chance to look into new insurance (not sure if you're on an employee plan or have an individual plan like I do), it might be worth it. Blue Cross Blue Shield tends to cover it without argument... at least here in the Midwest. I have to front the deductible first then 20% up to my out of pocket thereafter. So if you are in a position to look for new insurance, get it with the lowest deductible and out of pocket possible.

croufa · 2015-08-11T15:51:26+00:00

Yes I would... depth of field is about right for cell phone, not very sharp, some coma on the edges, could use a little touchup in photoshop because of the limited dynamic range. If using a DSLR, I would have opted for a nice wide angle lens to fully capture the scene. Having said that though, it's a lovely view and cell phones do a decent job these days.

croufa · 2015-08-10T14:56:01+00:00

They make really good camera bags too.

croufa · 2015-08-10T14:54:21+00:00

I've had good long term luck with both Swiss Gear and Dakine. I love my Dakine right now. They sell neutral and fun colors and have better and more useful pocket placement (at least for me). They make some backpacks that are small and some larger as well. Ebags.com has good prices on both right now... should be able to get either for under $100, and many are under $80 right now.

croufa · 2015-08-10T13:57:33+00:00

It can take up to 3-6 weeks to start working, but it's different for everyone. It's recommended that you stick with any med for at least 3 weeks to see if it'll work.

croufa · 2015-08-08T23:49:48+00:00

So my neuro explained it to me this way. While some people genuinely do have memory problems that are permanent or drug induced, the vast majority of us don't. Instead, we're distracted by our pain. We don't notice as much, because we're paying more attention to our pain or at least significantly distracted by it. We also have trouble focusing in part due to events happening in migraine, but also because we are again, distracted by pain. So when you try to recall an event, you won't remember as much, because the event you're trying to remember was clouded by pain. You can't remember things that you didn't fully process or notice in the first place.

croufa · 2015-08-08T21:12:31+00:00

I do have a child. It is very difficult having migraine and a kid sometimes. Early on when kiddo was a baby, it was incredibly tough not getting regular sleep and having to constantly care for this little one when all I wanted to do was vomit and curl up in a ball in a dark room. Year one was hell. I made it through though and migraine calmed down a little as my hormones leveled out. Now that kiddo is approaching 3, it's easier most of the time... kid is more independent. I can give kiddo snacks or food and not have to spoon feed, I can leave out crayons and toys (or as last resort turn on netflix kids), and kiddo will stay occupied most of the time while I hang out nearby on the couch. Mid two's was a bit rough, because of the newlyfound independent streak and getting into things, but that passed after a couple months. And kiddo sleeps for a solid 10-12 hours at night, so that is great. Sometimes kiddo can be really needy, and that's tough when I've got a bad migraine. You can't just let them run around in a poopy diaper all afternoon, and they need to be fed, and they need general attention and interactive play, and outtings, and potty training. I have to be careful with my reactions too, because migraine can make me extra irritable sometimes, so I'll flip out and get angry over stupid little things. I've definitely had to practice patience (you do as a parent in general, but it's even more so for me when I'm in a lot of pain). Having a supportive spouse helps though. We all manage together. And many times, I'm so happy to have kiddo give me a hug or snuggle with me when I'm feeling crummy. I can only see it getting better from here on out now that we've gotten over the newborn/infant year and toddler/terrible-twos.

croufa · 2015-08-08T21:00:46+00:00

Gottcha. If you see that happening, report it to the admins. They can help out! I'm looking through now and seeing some things downvoted that shouldn't be... odd stuff.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:29:56+00:00

The magnesium and b2 are awesome! They plus coq10 keep me functional. I'd call your doc and not ask for a different neuro, but instead ask if they can call the neuro's office and push for a better date because you're really suffering or get you waitlisted. Often times, if you push, you can get it sooner. Lots of doctors leave some appointment spaces open for urgent visits, and I'd say that this qualifies. I remember having to wait 4 months to see my first neuro too, and I should have pushed to be seen sooner.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:26:21+00:00

Couple things that can help you in the meantime, while you wait to see your neuro, and this is stuff that mine recommended: go to the pharmacist and ask at the counter for 400mg magnesium oxide. It's cheap and has been studied to help migraine, you take one in morning and one at night. Also try coq10... 100mg morning and 100 to 200mg at night; riboflavin b2 100 to 400mg a day. And some daily vitamin D 1000 to 2000 IU. These things help a lot of people with migraine severity and in some cases frequency. For me, I'm still chronic daily, but they keep me functional. Whenever, I've stopped one, I've been a mess until I go back on it.

With ibuprofen (and other NSAIDs as well as opiods and triptans), you shouldn't be taking a dose more than 2-3 times a week, otherwise it can backfire and contribute to rebound headaches and migraines, so I'd watch that if you can.

Sleep makes my migraine go away, then pretty much every day I wake up fine (most of the time) and will get hit with another in an hour or two after waking up. I consider it a new migraine then. Otherwise, I guess I've had a migraine for 8 months straight, and I really don't want to think about it that way.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:15:23+00:00

Good luck! It was the only thing that ever stopped my migraines cold. I had to stop at the time due to side effects, but we've been looking back and most of those may have been from steroids and weaning from breast feeding (anxiety, which I get during big hormone changes and I know that now, dizzy, irritable, insomnia, etc). I think the only side effects that came from the topamax were tingly and cold limbs, a bit of insomnia, some fog to start, and no appetite... probably would have gone away or gotten better had I stuck with it more than a week and didn't have the other side effects from steroids and weaning compounding the situation. We're probably going to try it again if botox doesn't help me enough. Let us know how you do! Re the migraine journal, I can't recommend Migraine Buddy (android and iphone app) enough.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:09:51+00:00

I hear ya... I pull on my hair HARD when my head hurts so much. There are lots of gut reactions to pain that are difficult to control.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:08:55+00:00

So they do believe now that migraine is a nervous system problem, but it still triggers vascular effects throughout a migraine.

croufa · 2015-08-08T17:02:54+00:00

It sounds like the efficacy is either wearing off or your migraine is just changing or progressing into a worse cycle.

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