Tag: chronic pain

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Migraine Favourites migraine life

Migraine Favourites

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Some links are part of the Amazon affiliate program, and if you buy something from the link, I will make a bit of money.

As a migraineur for two decades, I’ve tried A LOT of things to help with the pain. Some work, some don’t, and some work every so often. Because drugs don’t always help, or you can’t take too many, I’ve reached for a lot of ‘natural’ type of remedies that I can do when I’m traveling, or while I’m waiting for drugs to kick in. Remember, I’m not a doctor, but this is just what has helped me.

Ice Headband
Lots of people reach for the ice cap, but ice doesn’t always sit well with me, so I wanted something a little less intense and something that can be moved around a little easier. This headband is great for when your brain feels like it’s inflamed. I also love that it covers my eyes so I can use it in areas that have strong light (or if my husband needs to get something out of our bedroom, he doesn’t need to use a flashlight).

Green Light
I’ve the Allay lamp, but it’s pretty pricey and they don’t ship to Canada, so you’d have to go through Reship, which just adds extra to the price. I do love my lamp as it can fold up easily for travel, and has a charging docking station for phones (though, I’ve no idea how to use it yet!), so if you’re American, jump on it! Or, e-mail the company if you’re Canadian so they get back to shipping to Canada.

I’ve also heard good things about this bulb, and I’m thinking about buying one so I can keep it at the lake. The downside looks like it needs a dimmer switch, or just to not be right next to you as the light can be bright (an issue I have with the Allay lamp, sometimes, even when it’s dimmed).

Acupressure Mat
I’ve been using this ages. I love my acupressure mat, both for my back, and for my feet. Every night, I stand on the mat (takes a little getting used to. I started with sitting on with my feet on it and then adding more pressure until I could stand), stretch my neck, and feel better. Like some migraine remedies, it’s hard to tell if it 100% works, but it feels good and releasing tension in my feet really helps me. Plus, you can get pillows like this mat, or roll yours up, so it hits your neck and head and feels AH-mazing.

I highly recommend getting one like this that includes the foot ball(s), as well, as it’s a major life saver when traveling. My mat didn’t include a round pillow, but a travel mat I could fold up, and though it works okay on the neck, the pillow would be SO much better.

Foot Massager
So, I’m big into feet when it comes to my migraines. I love reflexology, my acupressure mat, and foot massages when it comes to my migraines. Doing them often to keep migraines at bay, or rubbing my feet (or having someone else – way better) during a migraine attack.

Get one with a warmer, like this one, as warming feet during a migraine attack can help take the blood away from your brain. People always say to immerse them in water, but there is no way I can stand and draw a bath in order to do so. Wrapping my feet in blankets helps loads, though.

Mushroom Hot Chocolate
I’ve become obsessed with mushrooms and their benefits after watching Fantastic Fungi and decided to try this hot chocolate mix. It’s delicious, not too sweet – which I love – and easy to make. I make mine without the coconut oil, and add a splash of oat milk, and/or some whipped cream. I’ve been feeling way better since I’ve started drinking it everyday, and I’ve drank a cup when I felt a migraine coming on a time or two and it’s dissolved.

Every body is different, so it may not work for you, but it’s a delicious treat nonetheless! Make sure you buy any products like this from reputable sources. I get mine from Harmonic Arts.

Ginger
Ginger can really combat migraines. Some people eat ginger candies, something I’ve tried but just can’t do. I do drink a ginger tea every single night before bed. Nothing fancy or special, just this Tetley one. They used to have a ginger peppermint, which was amazing for when your tummy is upset during an attack, but I’ve since not been able to find it. Strong ginger teas aren’t palatable for me, but if they are for you, may be a better option as they’ll have more ginger properties in them.

Whiteflag App
I’ve, honestly, never used this app yet, but I’ve heard so many good things about it. Sometimes, we’re stuck with chronic pain for so long our brains begin to spiral. I always, always recommend a therapist, but if you’re waiting on a referral, or just need someone to talk to in the moment, this app has people who have experienced everything in mental health. Lean on people on you need it.

Do you have any remedies for migraine pain that I haven’t mentioned? Drop a comment below so we can all help one another out!

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migraine life

Tracking my Near-Chronic Illness Made it Worse

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

For years I just assumed I’d have to live with migraines; they were there every so often, would knock me down into bed, and would leave for a few day, maybe if I was lucky, a few weeks, giving me respite from the spirit-breaking pain. Eventually, I landed in the ER where I — finally — made an appointment with a neurologist. After running a bunch of tests, I was put on a preventative medication and told to track my migraines.

It was simple to track them in terms of pain; all I had to do was write down 0, 1, 2 every day, depending on what type of migraine I had. My notebook was filled with 1’s, too many 2’s, and only a small handful of 0’s. Upon noticing this, my neurologist upped my preventative medication (something I never actually followed through with) and gave me a prescription for vitamins.

We never talked about other ways to get rid of my migraines, like triggers or the use of healthy, good-for-you-and-your-brain foods. He threw out exercise, something I still couldn’t do properly since I was in pain nearly every day. Taking matters into my own hands, I downloaded a migraine tracking app (Migraine Buddy) and set to work finding out my triggers.

This app is extremely useful if you’ve no idea what’s going on with your body. You can track everything you did that day, from activities to things you ate, to possible triggers. You’re supposed to track every single day, everything you did, and when a migraine pops up, it can pull up your possible triggers. It even has a link to weather, giving you alerts if the barometric pressure changes in either direction.

It sounded perfect and exactly what I needed to rid myself of these monsters once and for all. Happily, I set to work trying to find triggers, cutting out everything that seemed to fall under the trigger category. Unfortunately, recording everything you do every day can get a bit obsessive. I’d start to feel better, watch as the hours grew to days, then weeks, without a migraine, only to fall once I slid back into my old routines.

I’d feel as if I had failed myself. That I failed some sort of a test. I was tracking my migraines to see what was the problem (later, I’d realize a few other triggers on my own, and the biggest one: retreating back to the habits that bothered me in the first place once I felt better, assuming I was ‘cured’ and could do whatever the hell I wanted), but I was using it as a way to feel better about myself. I would get a surge of happiness, of accomplishment, anytime I would go a week, or longer, without a migraine. I’d feel like I had made it. Of course, that wasn’t the case.

As soon as I felt that tell-tale pain come on, I’d drown in instant stress. And, of course, exacerbate the migraine, making it way worse than it could’ve been. I felt like my body had let me down, that I had let myself down for hoping too hard. Instead of celebrating the small successes and learning from each attack, I would wallow in self-pity. I’d refuse to include any small migraines that would last only a few hours as they didn’t seem to count; if they didn’t count, then my track record would still look good.

This mindset does absolutely nothing for getting better. It just stressed me out and caused me to lose sight of the whole reason I was using an app in the first place: to find my triggers and slowly get better. When I saw that notification that I had been migraine free for a whole week, it was like the finish line was in front of me. When the notification that I had been migraine free for a whole month, I could feel myself crossing that line to cheers and applause. To reset the clock felt like I had been given the gold medal only to have it ripped away for technical reasons.

After a few months of feeling too stressed about a potential migraine, thus giving myself a migraine, I called it quits. I deleted the app and just listened to my body. I packed my fridge full of nutrient-rich foods, I tried a little more exercise, I didn’t think twice if a migraine hit. Eventually, they became fewer and far in between. I can’t say, exactly, what my longest stretch has been, but I do know that I’ve been able to do more and I’m feeling so much better. Which was the point of tracking in the first place.

Once I found the triggers, it felt easier to just read my body every day, listening for clues of an impending attack, of the blah feeling that can turn into horrendous pain. Instead of feeling like I lost, I now acknowledge the migraine, and turn to my devices and foods that help rid me of it. Health is more than looking good on paper, of your track records, of your Instagram account. We all need a little reminder as to why health is important and what it really is. It’s simply feeling better.

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Life

The Silent Pain of Living with Chronic Pain

Photo by Viktoria Goda on Pexels.com

I can’t really remember a time in my life when waking up with searing pain above my eye, or a throbbing so deep that I assume my brain will explode with the my next heartbeat wasn’t normal.

I know that I didn’t have migraines when I was a child, that they came upon me when I became a teenager, when hormones were thrown into the mix of my body, but it feels like this pain has always been there, always been on the back of my mind. And, you know what? It’s starting to wear me the fuck down.

My migraines started in high school, but were very episodic. No big deal, I could pop some Advil and away I went to school or my job. Soon, Advil wasn’t cutting it, though, and naproxen came onto the scene. I loved naproxen and it seemed like the best solution for my pain. However, it didn’t last long. I’ve had a long road of different pain relievers, all working at one time, but never really hitting the pain every time, or for the long-haul. I now know this to be normal for most everyone, but it is one of the most annoying parts of finding something that works only to find out it only works sometimes. Cue the start of fatigue of finding treatments.

Years went by and the migraines only got worse. They went from episodic to chronic, and it was normal for me to have 11-15 migraines a month. I was in pain every single weekend, when my stress let down, causing a migraine, grabbing for pain killers that only sometimes worked. I’d go to my job, feeling like absolute garbage, like my brain was going to explode, as I had already taken two sick days that month. Luckily, I never had a job where anyone counted sick days – if you were sick, then why were you at work? was the thought process.

It took one horrible migraine day where my co-worker brought me to the hospital, one nurse who asked if I took any preventatives (a preventative? I didn’t even know there were such options. I was still riding that naproxen wave), to get me to see a neurologist.

Sure, things got a little better in the migraine department, I went down to two migraine days a month with preventatives, vitamins, and cutting out alcohol and some foods. But by then, the damage had already been done. I was stressed, anxious of when my next attack would occur. I couldn’t work out, something I had loved to do. I had to stop boxing, had to stop any intense physical activity. I could barely go for walks without feeling like I’d get an attack.

I ended up feeling so nervous not to be stressed, that I was making myself stressed. I had a rigid bedtime routine, I had to sleep a specific amount of hours, I could only eat certain foods, I couldn’t have any alcohol, my stomach could barely handle pain killers as I had ripped it to shreds with uncoated naproxen throughout all those years. I worried about my job wanting to fire me (something I know had come up in a previous job, though that work-life balance was very toxic) because I had migraines. I had to quit a previous job I loved due to the stress that exacerbated my migraines.

It was only the beginning of what I would have to change in my life because of these stupid things that came and went as they pleased, wreaking absolute havoc along the way. I didn’t yet know that it would get worse, that the anxiety surrounding my chronic pain would ratchet up to new heights, that I would start to feel hopeless in ever feeling normal, again.

Recently, I went to a bachelorette weekend, armed with everything I usually do in a normal day: I had my acupressure mat, my vitamins, my ginger tea, I was going to bed later than usual, but at a still appropriate time. I brought a fan in case I got too hot in the cabin, which – thankfully – had A/C. It was a bougie place, my friends. I had three sips of wine during the fun wine tasting that was put on, knowing that if I imbibed a little more than that I could end up with a migraine. I ate cherries, having my healthy snack before bed. And yet…I still woke up with one.

The next morning, I quietly sobbed as I realized that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the weekend, that my pain was going to be there all day and not be a quick fix with any drug, that I’d probably end up with one the next day, as well. I packed up my things, trying my best not to wake anyone while I alternated between vomiting and sobbing. I wasn’t upset that I was missing out on the fun, at least, that wasn’t what was giving me these feelings of dread. It was the fact that I couldn’t do anything, anymore, without an impending attack.

I cried while my friend held me, telling her I just wanted to be normal, that I couldn’t do anything, that I couldn’t just have a day, or a night, or a weekend, where my pain was looming, waiting to attack. She told me that my body was being an asshole and had let me down. And, it was true.

My body, something I had my normal doubts about regarding how it looked (or, rather, how magazines said it should look), but still felt very comfortable in and loved. My body that got me through pregnancy and birthed my daughter, showing me just what it can really do. My body, once so strong and lean, ravaged by a neurological disorder, a silent pain that people believe to be ‘just a headache’.

My migraines may not be chronic anymore, they may be only 3-5 a month, but the silent pain is still chronic. The anxiety over wondering if I will get an attack on an airplane, again, or if I will miss out on days while I travel. If I will be able to make plans, or if I’ll have to cancel them. The plans that I have missed, both not important and very. The days that I miss in my daughter’s life because I am unable to take care of her.

The pain isn’t chronic, but the damage has been done. I no longer feel like I can do properly live my life, not how I would like to, not in any way that is considered ‘normal’ (see: waking up without pain being a normal thing). The exhaustion of trying different treatments, the money spent, with nothing truly working as well as it should, is heavy. Thinking outside the box, thinking inside the box, feeling as if it’s futile to even try.

I know I’m not alone in this feeling as there is a huge migraine community out there, and many more who suffer from some sort of debilitating disease or disorder that feel the same as I do. I know that we all need to tweak our lives so we can live them to the best of our ability, to be happy, but also so that we don’t aggravate whatever it is that is ailing us.

But, damn, this silent pain that anyone with chronic pain goes through is exhausting. Perhaps one day I won’t feel the constant pressure and anxiety coursing through my veins, and that gives me the little hope I need to just keep trying.