The first one is the one everyone else has.  The second one is in charge of my headaches and has a mind of its own!

Since 2013 I’ve had an adjustable shunt, it’s changed me into a walking barometer.  Right now the sky is blue and the sun is shining, but I have a weather migraine.  Because of these migraines I usually know, with more accuracy than our local tv weather guy, if there’s a thunderstorm approaching.

I’m betting there’s going to be one later today.

My ‘other brain’ is responsible for: regular migraines, which I usually get after eating something on my ‘do not eat-it will give you a migraine’ list.  Until recently I couldn’t eat cheese without getting a migraine two days later.  However, now I appear to be able to eat most white cheeses?  Why only white cheddar and not yellow cheddar?  Ask my ‘other brain’.  How did I suddenly become able to eat pizza at all (including triggers of cheese, cured meats, etc.)? Why can I eat some pizza and not get a migraine and still get a migraine if I eat others? I’m not in charge of that.

I’ve also suddenly developed a sensitivity to gluten, which by-the-way only exists in wheat, barley and rye.  Why can I eat whole barley (as in the rice-looking grain) but not something made from barley?  Why can I eat some wheat bread and not others.  These gluten headaches appear immediately after I’ve eaten something that offends-you guessed it-my ‘other brain’.

My ‘other brain’ has also decided I can’t lie on the back of my head, or sit in a recliner without getting a headache.  I have to put a tiny pillow behind my head while in the recliner, and use a small travel tempur-pedic-like pillow to sleep with.  Just the sort of thing you want to deal with while getting a massage, or about to try to meditate your poisonous thoughts away.  Apparently the ‘other brain’ doesn’t understand these headaches aren’t relaxing, and they add more to the poisonous thoughts.😒

I don’t think an ‘other brain’- ectomy is available currently, but maybe with the advances in modern medicine, who knows anything can happen.  I survived infant viral meningitis, I’m thriving well for someone who acquired hydrocephalus as an infant.  I’m actually blessed.😇

1. The Witch Hazel Concoction Book One of the Moore-Thyme Case Files

2.Kidnapped Book Two of the Moore-Thyme Case Files

3. Something New Book Three of the Moore-Thyme Case Files

Genre: Mystery

I’m Having Brain Surgery on Tuesday: Living with a Hidden Disability

Genre: Memoir

Any time the barometric pressure changes significantly, my adjustable shunt is unable to keep up.  It’s unable to adequately drain the excess cerebral spinal fluid from my brain, causing a pressure build up. The result is a migraine caused by weather. What helps is a diuretic that’s able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

I wake up with a headache almost every day. Mostly, they disappear as I go from horizontal to vertical and the built up fluid drains appropriately.

Sometimes I’m not so lucky.  I get headaches for many reasons. Five types of headaches and three different types of migraines makes for an interesting daily life.

I also work out six days a week. Two yoga classes, two weight training classes and one intense cardio class. On Sunday’s I work out with a friend, usually another cardio/weight workout. This helps keep the headaches less severe than they could be.

Hydrocephalus is a condition in which there is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull.