Supplements, the snake oil of the 21st Century — I’ve long had a love/hate relationship with supplements and herbs. When my migraines went off the rails I was lucky to have the support of a naturopath and acupuncturist, Dr. Samantha Brody, and a neurologist, Dr. Kyle Smoot* who were willing to work together. They helped me through the worst years; I don’t know what I would have done without…

The birds are my guide to the changing of the seasons. — In my little corner of New Mexico, the Fall trickles in slowly, and I track its progression by the birds. Midsummer, the Black-chinned hummers are so thick around the feeders we call them feathered mosquitos. I’ve counted over 30 vying for the 6 feeding ports. With little warning, sometime near…

It is all in the stories we tell ourselves. — In my memory, there is a fixed moment in 2008 when my migraines went from episodic to chronic. There were three stages. Stage 1 — the 2-week migraine, followed by Stage 2 — the 2-month migraine, and then Stage 3 — the 6 hours without a migraine before the one…

Timing is everything — My timing sucked. — One thing I have to continually remind myself — don’t delay your monthly CGRP injection. You feel okay now, but soon you won’t. I think it is a holdover from the triptan dilemma. You have X triptans a month, you may need up to 2 to kill a major migraine, but is this a major migraine? And can I survive…