Living with Migraines

I was feeling somewhat better this morning, although the migraine hadn’t broken yet.  Breakfast was a few bits of dry cereal and a couple swallows of coffee and hopes that the headache would let go of the right side of my head before too long.  By lunch, however, I was feeling pretty decent and was able to eat what I’d packed and drink my water too.  I added some drops of Bach rescue remedy to my water when I filled my bottle this morning, and I’m going to keep doing that for at least the next couple of days and see if it makes a difference.  I used our jacuzzi last night too.  Sometimes the hot water just sends me over the edge in terms of nausea, but last night was alright and did a little bit to help the tension.  Two more days, then a three-day weekend.  I may have to do some work this weekend, but I also have plans to get a pedicure for myself and a manicure for DD, just for fun.

back to headaches.  Not much else to say, although this week would have been a challenge anyway, given what week it is with regards to my cycles.  But I felt tense last night and feel rotten today. I’m trying to function as best I can.

I did pretty well on my vacation.  There was one morning where we had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to cach a flight, and there was stress involved in dropping off the rental car, making a connecting flight, etc.  I took a maxalt that morning, but other than I felt pretty good.  I was particularly pleased that the high altitude didn’t get to me - yea!  I’m back to work now and have the typical evening tension headache, so I really need to work on this and get it worked out once and for all.

I’ve been feeling fairly good lately.  I think the combined efforts of supporting my system along with a more conscious effort to keep things in perspective are really helping.  I went for a smoothie today instead of coffee for a midday pick-me-up in anticipation of a meeting, and I think that was a healthier choice for me.  I’ve been taking melatonin almost every night (missed a night a night or two ago) and I think it’s beginning to help - I slept through to 5 a.m. this morning after going to sleep around 11:30 p.m., and I haven’t slept straight through that long in a long time.  I think the rescue remedy is helping as well - maybe it’s a placebo effect, maybe not.  I got in a dance class last night and took a walk this morning, which helped me feel better too, mentally.

We’re getting ready to do some traveling soon, so I’m hoping for the best and packing along some Maxalt too, just in case.

In an effort to better support my body’s efforts in maintaining an even keel, I’ve gone back to taking feverfew, a B vitamin complex and magnesium on a daily basis.  I stopped for a long time (I think I got really sick of taking pills every day), but now I think it’s time to give it all a try again.  My guess is that lately my body has been needing some extra help and I haven’t been doing anything above and beyond to help it out.  I’m exercising, and I’m drinking water, and I’ve got no chocolate in the house, but it seems maybe there’s more to try still.  I need to get my cat to not sleep on my pillow at night.  When she does that, I end up sleeping in a weird position and sometimes I wake up with a stiff neck.  Not good.

Wow - some amazing typos when I write in a migraine fog! Here is what it should have said (after an edit Sunday night!):

Does anyone have an opinion on this stuff? I’ve heard great things about it and have started using it the past couple of days. I noticed that one of the ingredients - clematis - is the same homeopathic remedy the acupuncturist treated me with last summer, so that’s promising. Why do massages and physical therapy have to be so damn expensive? And why can’t I just live a basically pain-free life? I am really sick of waking up with pain, or feeling worse as the day wears on.

Does anyone have an opinion on this stuff? I’ve heard great things about it and have started using it the past couple of days. I notcied that one of the ingredietns - cyclamne - is the same homeopathic rememdy the acupucturist treated me with last summer, so that’s promising. Why do massages and physical therapy have to be so damn expensive? And why can’t I just live a basiclly pain-free life? I am really sick of waking up with pain, or feeling worse as the day wears on.

Bah. Not a good start to a Sunday. My apologies for being a whiny brat this morning.

Is it possible to read in bed with any semblance of decent posture?  I find that if I read for too long (which is often) my neck starts to hurt like crazy.  How does one read, period, in a way that doesn’t throw the neck out of whack?  I love to read, and when I get into even a halfway decent book, I don’t want to stop after 15 or 20 minutes; I want to read for at least an hour or two.  But I don’t know how to configure myself so that I’m not tweaking my neck in the process.

I walked over 13,000 steps the other day, which was great, but yesterday was pretty inactive.    Today’s a new day and a new chance to take care of myself.

So, here’s the deal with chocolate, I think:  I don’t think any one piece of chocolate is a problem for me, but I’m starting to think that having some every day creates a cumulative effect and acts as a migraine trigger for me.  Does anyone know if this could possibly happen?  There have been weeks this summer where we’ve had more chocolate in the house, and I’ve had some every day.  Those same weeks have seen me feeling bad, though they’ve also seen me in tougher times of my cycle.  So who’s to say?  In any event, I’m cutting back on the chocolate,just to be safe.  Better for my waistline, too, although indulging in some dark chocolate does appear to have health benefits.  The key for me is indulging, but not over-indulging.

This week’s been alright.  Ballet has been cut way back due to forces outside of my control at the moment, so I’ve gone back to using my pedometer and striving for 10,000 steps per day.  I’ve gotten a few walks in this week, mainly for stress management.  I’m having nightmares regularly now and need an outlet for the anxiety.  I haven’t hit 10,000 steps yet, but I got over 9,300 yesterday and am close to 9,000 already today (and it’s only about 4:45 p.m.).   DD is asking to go on a bike ride, so maybe I’ll get in another bout of walking today after all.  I’m hoping the exercise will help me sleep better, help stave off migraines and help me ease the tension I’m feeling.