Yo GABA

[brightlotusmoon]

Migraine *headsmack* Migraine *headsmack* Migraine
Time for baclofen and deep neck massages. And the Shiatsu couch pad. And later codeine if necessary.

‎"There has been limited study of the use of baclofen, an agent that acts centrally via GABA(A) receptors, in migraines and cluster headaches."
I also just love saying GABA a lot. It is one of my top favorite neurochemicals. Any drug, supplement, food, exercise, activity, and therapy that works as a GABA agonist gets love from me.
Also, yay chemistry:
http://www.pediatric-orthopedics.com/Treatments/SDR_baclofen_OH/Baclofen/baclofen.html

(Also, I have never seen that kids' show, Yo Gabba Gabba, but I've heard of it. Is it any good?)

Comments

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

Also, I have never seen that kids' show, Yo Gabba Gabba, but I've heard of it. Is it any good?

Yes, but only if you like seizures.

Seriously, that show is nothing but a seizure-inducing headache of a nightmare. I've tried it, since I thought, "Hey, I have a kid, maybe he'd find it entertaining." But even he didn't watch it. He's happier with Jeopardy already, ha. :)

So don't do it. DO NOT. You will need lots of GABApentin if you do turn it on. ;)

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. That's BAD. I'm surprised it's still popular!

Here's a joke:
A female neurologist owns a female cat named GABA. The cat is strictly an indoor cat, which means that her owner keeps her GABA pent in.

*clears throat*
My next adopted kitten will probably be a male whom I shall name Sero. I shall make sure he gets exercise every day. When guests come over and ask about what my cat is doing, I shall say, "Oh, that's just my Sero tonin'."

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

I think it's popular for parents who plop their kids in front of the TV but don't pay attention - and sadly, I know a lot of parents like that. I'm not a hardcore jerk about what James watches - hell, he's watched Repo! with me - but I don't just turn on some random thing and leave. Eventually, he's going to ask questions, and I want to be there to answer them before the TV gives a BS answer, if that makes sense.

And HA. HAHAHA. To both cat jokes. I lol'd for real, not just in Internet slang. ;)

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Ahh, electronic babysitting. Siigh.

It makes perfect sense - you are an amazing and excellent parent!

Aw, I'm glad I could make you laugh!

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I mean, I don't mind if James watches TV, but that's not the ONLY thing I want him to do. We read, we play, we sit at the piano - I refuse to let him stare at a screen all day long.

But thank you for saying that, love. It especially helps right now since he's having a tantrum about going to bed. He's a year old but acts like he's 3, I swear.

And it did make me laugh. And it made me laugh again when I read it. ;)

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

You really remind me of how my mom raised me. Of course, it was the early 1980s, but still. Same artistic bent, same creative nourishing. Once they found out that at two, I loved reading and creative outlets, my parents did everything in their power to help me feed my brain. I wasn't diagnosed with cerebral palsy until I was three or so, because it was mild, but Mom knew something was wrong very early on. She kept taking me to doctors who said nothing was wrong, and then she finally took me to the famous Lamm Institute, where they took one look at me said said, "Oh, we've got mild CP over here!" And I spent eight years getting therapy there. Mom also was very strict about how I worked with and against my disabilities. She would force me to use my left side even when I complained. Of course, nobody actually paid attention to the fact that I was epileptic, because everyone assumed I was having a huge, overactive imagination (my seizures were psychic, sensory, and autonomic, but not always motor, so they were hard to distinguish from pains and sensations).
http://www.ehow.com/list_6020170_signs-symptoms-focal-seizure.html
So, I think you are and will always be an ideal and extraordinary parent, because you are really truly raising and nourishing your child yourself, which is so much more than most parents these days!
James will be an intellectual handful, I can tell. He might do what I did at ages three and four, when I was obsessed with dinosaurs. My parents took me to the Natural Museum of History in Manhattan quite often, and in the dinosaur exhibits, there would be this tiny, high-pitched voice perfectly reciting the names of every single skeleton; people would stare around in confusion, then look down and see this tiny child with this big voice, and they would get even more confused because not even they could pronounce some of those words!

Mom likes to tell a story about when I was a little under two years old. She had me out in the stroller, and was in a store. To keep me from getting fussy, she grabbed a random novel off the rack and handed it to me upside down. I immediately turned it right side up, opened it, and began slowly flipping through the pages. A woman nearby stared at me, stared at my mother, and said, "Wait, she's not supposed to be able to do that yet!" to which my mother just shrugged and smiled, like, What can you do, the kid is smart.
James does that now, doesn't he?

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

I really try to be the type of parent who makes sure her child is completely nourished in all definitions of the word - including intellectually. I know that, despite what happened within my family, my mother made sure I was always intellectually and creatively stimulated, and I do that for James. He knows when two notes are cacophonous, so when we sit at the piano, he won't hit them - he'll choose different notes. When I ask him to go get his "I Like Bugs" book, he smiles, gets it, and brings it to me (or sits quietly off to the side and reads). And I keep encouraging that. If he likes music, and likes to read, I am all for that (obviously:) He's very active, too, so I definitely encourage him when he walks, kicks, rolls toys, and plays. I want to make sure he has a good balance between learning and play - but also want him to know learning is creative and fun, if you know what I mean. It's so important to me that, no matter what, he has every opportunity to express himself, even if he is only a year old. The only thing I do not tolerate is when he throws a tantrum. I generally just walk away or ignore it, and five minutes later, he's back to playing or reading. He's even throwing those too early, haha.

As a kid, I was reading before I was one, and my mom (and birth father) used this as a "show" - they'd take me to McDonald's, and I'd read the newspaper to customers. Same thing happened with music - my birth father would sign me up for karaoke competitions at bars when I was 4 or so, and then take the money when I'd win. So I had advantages, but they were manipulative ones. I could never do that to my son.

And that's why I really am glad that you think I am and will be a great parent. I want James to be happy, healthy, creative, intuitive, and an individual. I don't want him to see the world as ugly and jaded by the age of 4. It's not all roses - hell no - but he's going to be one in a few days. He should have some child-like innocence about him, even if his intuition already steers him toward "this is serious" or "nah, this is nothing, on my way I go."

Your dinosaur story made me laugh - not because it was funny (though it was cute:), but because I did the same thing. My mom and grandmother used to take me to DC all the time, and I'd very properly read the names of all the animals and dinosaurs, and try to teach visitors about them like some mini tour guide. Too bad we didn't know each other back then!

But yes - James definitely is doing things a good year or two older than most kids his age (or kids that I know who are his age). He's doing things I did at his age, which I find fascinating, because I don't remember those times. But as long as he isn't feeling pressured, and remains happy and engaged, I'll feel like I'm really doing my job. And despite the shitty illnesses, I'm glad that I CAN stay home with him, so I can watch all the cool things he does as the days pass. :)

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday, James! And almost happy birthday Mandi in just over two weeks!

He's a genius already, probably a polymath. But he certainly won't be a jaded genius. :)

I wonder if he will actually remember these things when he's older. I know it's very hard to have memories of life before age two or so.