Oooooooh!

I feel a little hopeful.  I woke up with a stuffy head that quickly progressed into a headache that I could tell was going to be a problem.  I was out of Claritan, which I didn't know until I went to get one.  I popped a Mucinex and a Sudafed and hoped for the best.  A couple hours later I popped some Excedrin and had a coffee, for the caffeine, and water for hydration.  No good.  I stopped at a gas station and picked up an over-the-counter allergy/sinus med.  And Aleve. And a Dt. Mt. Dew.  I ate food, I have now hit all the things that can help, and it's getting worse.  I have flights from 2-8 pm and it's a beautiful day.  Chuck asks me if I've ever tried oxygen.  I actually have, in airplanes.  I used to take a hit off the O2 in the Seneca and it would help.  But we don't really have another airplane where I can easily do that anymore, so it's been years.  He happened to have a brand new bottle of aviation oxygen next door, which he gives me.  I hit on that for awhile, and I can feel it take the edge off, but it keeps kinda coming back.  So I keep hitting on it off and on for about 20 minutes.  I go fly with my 2 pm, and when I get back, the pressure has eased.  I take a couple more hits, and shortly my headache is completely gone.  This made me so pleased.  The bottle of oxygen is like $10 on Amazon.  If that's what I need and will help on some of these, that will be just amazing.  Makes me wonder, so I googled it.  Apparently early application of inhaling oxygen has been shown to reduce migraines in up to 80% of people.  In "cluster" headaches, up to 75% of people had complete cessation of head pain within 15 minutes in at least 7 out of 10 'attacks'.  There is some waffling on that number.  A guy says he thinks the study might have combined a couple types of headaches and that he's noticed a 50% help in migraines and an 80% help in cluster.  I don't care, if it helps and saves me from relying on triptophans or 16 Advil/Tylenol/Excedrin, if I can avoid drugs by using simple, basic, healthy oxygen any percentage of the time, and with no side effects associated with O2, I will be thrilled!

And why don't doctors know about this?  Why have I never, ever read anything about this before?  It's basic, simple, no negative side effects, and works a big percentage of the time apparently on certain types of headaches.  Why are drugs the first go to solution?  I mean...really?  Why wouldn't you start simple and then go to drugs if non-drugs didn't work?  What am I missing here??

Anyway.  I went to the store after flying to pick up a few things, and continued a tradition of picking up a birthday treat of my own.  I've gotten a delicious Italian Creme cake last year I think it was.  This year I decided not to get a whole cake, just a piece of turtle cheesecake.  It's my nod to "I'm getting back on the horse and eating better".  So all in all: my three flights went great, I got a few groceries and a treat, Steve has friends over on the deck, Kaylee is working on a six page paper due by midnight (it's now 10 pm and she has like 2 pages done).  The cats are inside and living it up.  All is well in the Stants household, except for maybe poor Kaylee.  ;)