tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post7512434264546332939..comments2024-03-05T14:07:28.062-08:00Comments on Ask Sister Mary Martha: What a HeadacheSister Mary Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-73616128542848809292014-10-07T00:49:20.814-07:002014-10-07T00:49:20.814-07:00I have had migraines for over 50 years, and it is ...I have had migraines for over 50 years, and it is good to know there are Saints just lining up to help me with them. thanks for this blog post.Ginnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09437299775459307822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-22930030294930026422014-04-30T09:23:30.731-07:002014-04-30T09:23:30.731-07:00Kathy, have Ray check his house for mold caused by...Kathy, have Ray check his house for mold caused by an unseen water leak as that water caused mold can cause tremendous cluster headaches.guydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558881367426484787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-9849377960813722132012-07-07T11:42:39.456-07:002012-07-07T11:42:39.456-07:00Thanks for the tips, everybody. I go to the neurol...Thanks for the tips, everybody. I go to the neurologist on Monday, and we'll see what s/he says.<br /><br />Meanwhile, my friend Ray's experimental brain surgery for cluster headaches...failed. He posted this the other day: "Time to face the reality that the physical world is never going to go my way anymore, and I have been reading much about how some of the great saints handled extreme pain and debilitating illnesses. I intend to stay around this beautiful little Earth as long as I can, but the spiritual realm will now be my focus. I cannot help myself physically, but if I can help others through my journeys into faith, pain and love, I will endeavor to be the best debilitated person for God and for others that I can be." It made me cry.Kathy (not the other one)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-41276584253819414832012-07-03T16:50:37.114-07:002012-07-03T16:50:37.114-07:00Kathy - one of our sisters is a doctor, who suffer...Kathy - one of our sisters is a doctor, who suffers from headaches. You might try doing some research on oxygen therapy. IMHO, it sure beats surgery. Also, I have had headaches (less severe than yours, I'm sure) and taking iron helps. If you are anemic (and please have your doctor do lab work to check for this) low iron can actually case headaches. I'm not a doctor, so I will do my best to explain this in simple, regular people terms: The iron in your blood is what enables it to "hold onto" the oxygen, and then delivers it throughout your body. If you don't have enough iron, your blood cells can't "hang onto" enough oxygen to make your cells happy. They are "oxygen starved." Drink enough water, too. Dehydration causes headaches. I hope this helps!Sister Mary Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09033012870193990053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-12272105359269037962012-07-03T16:44:09.419-07:002012-07-03T16:44:09.419-07:00Kira,
I am a Catholic Sister who reads this blog....Kira,<br /><br />I am a Catholic Sister who reads this blog. I was very touched by your story, and want you to know that ALL my sisters are offering their humble prayers for you for the next 30 days. We are so very sorry for the loss of your dear daughter. I know that Sister MM will agree that Eva is a lovely name, and your little girl is already in heaven waiting for the rest of her dear family to join her. God bless you. Please comment again so we'll all know how you're doing!<br />WELCOME HOME!!!!!! (((HUGS)))<br />From all YOUR SistersSister Mary Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09033012870193990053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-73444705555484394722012-06-28T14:12:49.009-07:002012-06-28T14:12:49.009-07:00P.S.: I don't know if this means anything, but...P.S.: I don't know if this means anything, but the captcha word I needed to decipher to put up my last post was "ionaHos." Since Iona is one of the great Holy Isles of Christian history, home to St. Cuthbert and the probably birthplace of the Book of Kells, I found this rather ironic.Kathy (not the other one)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-2059846313481874982012-06-28T14:08:19.754-07:002012-06-28T14:08:19.754-07:00St. Stephen, huh? I've always had a soft spot ...St. Stephen, huh? I've always had a soft spot for St. Stephen. For one thing, my grandmother's birthday was on his feast day, Dec. 26th, which made it easier to both remember which day was his AND when her birthday was. My mother said his was the first feast day after Christmas because he was the first martyr, another thing that helped me remember it. <br /><br />And though I was kind of joking about St. Joseph of Arimathea, using his name as a random example of a saint, it's good to know he might be helpful, since I've always had a soft spot for him, too, based on the story my mother told me as a child of him sticking his walking staff into the soil when he landed in England and it sprouting into a tree. A THORN tree, as it turns out (the Glastonbury Thorn, which blooms twice a year instead of the usual once), so if you want to stretch a point, you can connect him to headaches, too--thorn tree > Crown of Thorns > headaches.<br /><br />So I think I'll go with those two. Hildegard has a lot going for her, but her main connection with headaches seems to be the migraine aura, which I don't have--it just HURTS! Though it might be worth seeing if she came up with any tips for a cure in her role as medic.<br /><br />Thanks, Sister!Kathy (not the other one)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-45524410128798273282012-06-26T10:00:57.560-07:002012-06-26T10:00:57.560-07:00I agree that Hildegarde is a great choice. A pers...I agree that Hildegarde is a great choice. A personal story...I was staying at a retreat center and the rooms were named after saints. I was in "Hildegarde's Room." I had a migraine all throughout the retreat. Later, after the retreat, I wanted to do some research on Hildegarde, and I found that same page from Fordham about her and her headaches! I felt blessed in some way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-33032847119476105382012-06-25T18:31:53.407-07:002012-06-25T18:31:53.407-07:00I have a question, and I'm hoping wildly that ...I have a question, and I'm hoping wildly that this isn't disrespectful or wrong. I'm in the process of becoming Catholic and OH, I am wrong so often these days.<br />As I said, I'm becoming Catholic - finished RCIA and am waiting and praying for my husband's first marriage to be declared null so I can finally come home. During the RCIA process, one of the events that changed my thinking from "Oh, I suppose I can do this Catholic thing to make my husband happy" to "Oh please. Only say the word and my soul shall be healed. Please may I come home?" was a miscarriage. I lost my fifth child at four months gestation, and it all but broke me. I am still so very sad.<br />The day we found out she'd died, my husband and I went to the Adoration Chapel, a place I'd always felt very uncomfortable in. That day I was just so shocked and sad. I knelt and prayed and wept and shook. And then I looked up and realized that Jesus was there. Not like "I feel Him here," he WAS THERE, because he said he would be. Not because I deserved it or asked Him the right way, because He promised. It totally spun my thinking around on the Real Presence.<br />I told a friend about that, and she said, "You know what that was? That was your daughter, praying for you, and taking you by the hand into the Truth."<br />So this leads to my question. We named our daughter Eva. And since losing her has made this whole process of conversion so much more real and personal to me, I want to take Eva as my patron saint. From what I can tell, there was a Saint Eva, from the third century, who was a mother with four children, no less. But really, I mean it in gratitude for the life of my little one and what her loss has taught me about what really matters. Do you think that would be okay?<br />Thank you for what you do here. I'm a little scared of you, but much more grateful for your insight.Kirahttp://kiwords.blogs.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-85572464137938656222012-06-25T14:33:42.314-07:002012-06-25T14:33:42.314-07:00As a migraine sufferer, I have turned to Hildegard...As a migraine sufferer, I have turned to Hildegard of Bingen. The following is quoted from this site: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/hildegarde.asp <br /><br />The Most Distinguished Migraine Sufferer<br /><br />It is now generally agreed that Hildegard suffered from migraine, and that her visions were a result of this condition. The way she describes her visions, the precursors, to visions, to debilitating aftereffects, point to classic symptoms of migraine sufferers. Although a number of visual hallucinations may occur, the more common ones described are the "scotomata" which often follow perceptions of phosphenes in the visual field. Scintillating scotomata are also associated with areas of total blindness in the visual field, something Hildegard might have been describing when she spoke of points of intense light, and also the "extinguished stars." Migraine attacks are usually followed by sickness, paralysis, blindness-all reported by Hildegard, and when they pass, by a period of rebound and feeling better than before, a euphoria also described by her. Also, writes Oliver Sachs<br /><br />"Among the strangest and most intense symptoms of migraine aura, and the most difficult of description and analysis, are the occurrences of feelings of sudden familiarity and certitude... or its opposite. Such states are experienced, momentarily and occasionally,by everyone; their occurrence in migraine auras is marked by their overwhelming intensity and relatively long duration."<br /><br />It is a tribute to the remarkable spirit and the intellectual powers of this woman that she was able to turn a debilitating illness into the word of God, and create so much with it.Laurahttp://dormitantius.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-92132090179254682352012-06-25T13:10:27.061-07:002012-06-25T13:10:27.061-07:00Sister MM, you often make me want to go to a Catho...Sister MM, you often make me want to go to a Catholic church. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-58859319350247555642012-06-25T13:05:17.234-07:002012-06-25T13:05:17.234-07:00Hello, Sister! Isn't St Rita, of the thorn in ...Hello, Sister! Isn't St Rita, of the thorn in the head, also a patron saint of headaches?Leticia Austriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09868175680409605274noreply@blogger.com