So had I known then what I know now.....

Ah, yes....the Monday-morning quarterback. The second-guesser. The guy who says, "I told you so." That's me. I'm very smart about three days after the fact.

So here's what I wish I'd known last week, last month, and last year.

While I'm sitting there digesting the idea of avoiding Aleve for a month (ohmigod, a month; that means I'll have cramps!) the doctor told me a bunch of other stuff to avoid. Instead of sitting there like the RCA Victor dog, I could have gotten head start on some of this.

Alcohol - luckily I did get a head start on this one. It was the second thing the doctor mentioned. Glad I don't have to fight this fight.

Stress - with a stern face, she said, "You know, stress can make this worse." Because that's such a stress-reliever. Lucky again here - I'm a happy stay-at-home mom. But if I had a stressful job, I'd be in big trouble.

Smoking - another lucky strike (sorry, couldn't resist that one). Not a smoker. But if I had to give it up while giving up Aleve, I think I'd die. Seriously.

Caffiene - this one is trickier, as I often medicate with caffiene in one form or another. One strong coffee in the morning, an occasional Diet Coke for lunch, and a strong cup of Earl Grey once or twice a day isn't much caffiene - but it's hard to give up. Especially when I can't have Aleve. So now I look like a really mad RCA Victor dog.

Carbonation - what? No Sprite? No ginger-ale? That's right - no bubbles. No matter how soothing that sounds, no matter what remedy your parents used for tummy troubles. No bubbles.

I think every migraine sufferer uses both Aleve and caffiene in some combination or another. Giving both up - while suffering! - isn't fun. In fact, it's enough to make me want to give up caffiene in my regular life. But I'm gonna need the Aleve.