Living with Migraines

I’m surprised that I didn’t write at all here in July.  That is odd for me.    I’ve started tracking my cycles more closely against my migraines and use of medications, though I’m doing it elsewhere as it’s a bit personal to share in a blog.

I’ve been very tired lately as I’m looking after a litter of five motherless kittens.  I’ve had them since they were about a day old, and I’ve been getting up at night for a feeding, so it’s starting to wear me down.  I had a migraine yesterday that’s lingering, and I am attributing it to fatigue.   The kittens are getting bigger, thoug, so if I time the last feeding of the day just right I ought to be able to go 7-8 hours before their next feed and get some decent sleep.

I go back to work in a couple of weeks and would like to feel rested, not exhausted!  But it’s worth it, knowing we’re raising some sweet little kitties who will make loving pets in new homes.

I had to take a Maxalt this morning but feel as though maybe, just maybe, I missed the monthly headache that occurs a week or so before my cycle starts.  That would be weird, and out of the ordinary.  I took ibuprofen this morning, but that didn’t help at all, so I took one Maxalt and it seems to be keeping the migraine at bay.

Last week and the one prior were emotional ones for me, as well as exceptionally busy.  Not much of a break in sight, but summer is coming.

I think it’s been two weeks to the day since my last headache, and this morning I woke up with a pretty bad migraine.  it’s odd - I felt OK last night and no idea that this one was brewing.  Anyway, I took a maxalt this morning around 5:45 a.m., got through the day at work, took another Maxalt around 3:00 p.m. and finally feel pretty decent tonight.

So, I guess I’m documenting this one solely for calendaring sake.

I made it through both long drives without really even a twinge of a headache, which is pretty amazing.  I aimed to drink plenty of water and go easy on the junk food, and by and large I feel like I did well.

I’ve had PMS the past couple of cycles.  Normally, I don’t really have any classic PMS symptoms, but lately I have.  Don’t know what to make of that.   Took a frova tonight, which I would have done preventatively but as it turns out am taking acutely as well.  Hope it does the trick.

I fear chocolate is no good for me in any sort of moderate to large amount, and I’m in denial about it.   More on that to come, when I can properly think about it.

It was exactly two weeks ago that I went to bed feeling off and woke up with a migraine. Same thing happened last night and this morning, although I didn’t feel nearly as bad this morning and one Frova plus three ibuprofens has basically kept things tolerable. Every two weeks seems to be a pattern, which is why I know these are hormonal beyond all else.

We’re heading out to some friends’ house tonight for dessert, so I best get off the computer to get changed and get something together for dinner before it’s time for us to leave!

Ah, it’s Friday! And that means I have ballet tonight, after three weeks of no class. I suspect I will be sore tomorrow and rather lacking in the flexibility department this evening. But it will be good to go back - I’ve missed it. 90 minutes of focusing on the here and now, doing something I enjoy, and putting everything else out of my mind. I only wish I could go more often. That is one of my goals this year, however - to add a second weekly class.

My period started this week, so perhaps that helps explain the migraine on Monday. I’m contemplating trying acupuncture again. If it helped keep things under control in the fall, then it’s worth going back. Now, I don’t know for a fact that it did anything at all, but to go as long as I did without any major episodes was rather unheard of. My insurance covers some of the price. I need to see if I can go x times a year or x times, period. It’s one or the other, but I’m not sure which.

I may look into going back to the migraine clinic again. I stopped going when they closed, but then they reopened (accepting insurance this time!) and I never went back. Now that I work in the same town that it’s in, it becomes a lot more convenient to go every three to six months for check-ins and blood work (when needed). I’ve been putting off a lot of medical appointments and need to start scheduling them and getting them over and done with.

I’m not feeling too great today, and I’m not sure why. I was also really tired this morning and had a hard time getting up and getting going. But that may just be Friday/back to work stuff. I’ve been staying up later than is good for me, reading a new book. I’m almost done with it, and then I have the sequel.

Happy Friday, everyone.

It truly amazes me  that I’ve gone as long as I have without a major migraine episode.  My period started today which means the last 3-5 days were prime days for a migraine.  I wouldn’t say I was feeling 100% great (I rarely so) but I escaped unscathed.  Something’s different.  Something’s changed.   I wrote about it in my last entry, I think.  I’m so grateful to have had so many days in a row without the vomiting, without the pounding and debilitating pain.