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Behind the Scenes at HLL



Happy hump day! Ready for the weekend yet?

Life here has been up and down lately. Sound familiar? When is it not really?

On the upside, I am in the midst of making some rather significant structural changes to my counselling practice that I am excited about, including renting an office space in my favorite neighbourhood in Toronto (the Annex), which also happens to be extremely convenient and close to home. One of the many benefits is that it will be much easier for me to bike to and from work when the weather cooperates.

I completed the 2nd part of my EMDR training and just have a few more group consultations before I get my certificate. Yeah, I am already seeing great results of incorporating this therapy into my practice.

I also made a somewhat radical change to my hair style: I got a fringe! The kids are iffy about it, but most people have been very complimentary. Hey, its cheaper than botox and it hides my forehead wrinkles!!

On the downside, my headaches have been frequent and unrelenting lately. These have been going on since 1998 for goodness sakes! I have tried everything, and absolutely nothing helps. Not any pain relievers (Tylenol 3, Naproxen, Celebrex, Imitrex, etc., etc.), not nasal sprays to clear my sinuses, not ice packs to my head, not standing in ice water (yes, I really tried that!), not menthol rubbed between my eye brows, not antihistamines, not decongestants, nothing! My doctor has now labelled them as atypical migraines, but really we don't know what they are. Maybe allergy related, but I don't respond to antihistamines, nor can we identify what I am allergic to on scratch tests (though clearly I am reacting to something because I am always congested). The could also be weather/pressure related. The past few weeks have been really bad. After a client recently told me she got relief from chronic headaches through botox treatment (for headaches, not for wrinkles), I went straight to the doctor to discuss this option.

Actually, my doctor is on mat leave, but her replacement (nice dude), agreed it seemed like a good alternative to try since nothing else has worked and gave me a referral to a headache specialist at Women's College Hospital. Problem is, its going to be months before I get an appointment. At the time, I thought I could handle that, but, now, I'm praying every day they'll call with the appointment, because I am having headaches almost daily.

Nevertheless, this stuff doesn't have me down that much. We've all got our challenges and this is definitely one of mine, but it could be a heck of a lot worse. Though I might struggle to agree with that on a really bad headache day!

Keep truckin' with me, because we all have our struggles, but I'll get through it all, and so will you!
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