Living with Migraines

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.

This week isn’t shaping up to be much better than last week.  Why??  Maxalt yesterday afternoon and another this morning.  Maybe I’m just getting them all out of my system before going back to work?  Wouldn’t that be nice…

I did get a massage yesterday, though it did nothing to improve the head pain.  Still, it was probably good for me overall.  Wish I could afford to get one every week.

So, I’m on vacation this week.  And every day since Monday, my neck (and consequently head) have hurt.  Is it because of a slightly different sleep cycle?  is it because I used a different pillow for a few nights?  Is it because I’ve been more sedentary?  Is it because my eating patterns have changed?  Is it a let-down of stress?  Maybe it’s all of the above.  I finally took some Maxalt to try and break the cycle and it seems to have helped today, though a nice deep tissue massage sounds heavenly.  Ironically, I have no time for that with everything else going on over the next two and a half days.  Maybe by Sunday afternoon I’ll have the opportunity.

Took a private lesson ballet class for thirty minutes this morning and while I was somewhat distracted by the pain in my head, it was still fun and I’m glad I had the lesson.

This week hasn’t been that great.  I had to take a Maxalt on Tuesday afternoon, followed by Frova Wednesday evening.  Now it’s Friday and I’m doing alright, but I am so ready for some down time and a rest.

My head toyed around all day with the idea of developing a migraine.  I thought about taking some medication this morning and then waited to see.  Things were basically fine until this evening, ad then it got iffy again.  I tucked a Maxalt in my pocket before heading out to meet  up with friends for dinner, but I didn’t need to take it.  We had some pretty strong winds today and the weather is changing, so it’s not surprising that my head was complaining off and on.  But by and large I feel alright, and I’m grateful.  Coming up on the guessing game of when to take the Frova; as usual, I hope I guess correctly.

Last Thursday (2/28) I took some Maxalt after a tension headache that started brewing Wednesday night refused to break. The Maxalt helped, though Friday morning I again felt off, but it resolved itself without any other medication. This week has been TENSE and I am hoping very strongly that in the letdown phase I can avoid the migraine that often follows these kinds of situations. Where ballet would often serve as a release for me mentally and physically I have had to miss it tonight and will have to miss it again one night next week. So I need to take good care of myself and find other ways to release this tension before it creates physical problems for me.

When I go for more than a couple of weeks feeling good, I’m always reluctant to write about it because of an irrational fear of jinxing things.  But here I am, writing, and it hasbeen a pretty good couple of weeks as far as the  migraines are concerned.  I would guess the next week coming up will be the one to be particularly careful with in terms of all knows triggers, and I need to figure out my best guess as to when to take the Frova at night for 2-3 nights.

I used Frova and seemed to keep at bay the usual monthly migraine. Last week I slept wrong on my neck a few nights which triggered some headaches and pain, but I got through that. It’s hard to manage my sleeping posture unless I somehow get myself to sleep lightly and evaluate my posture throughout the night. This, however, leads to fatigue which - well, guess what happens when I’m overly tired…

I feel really down today, and some of it is work stress. Some days I just want to escape from the entire world and sequester myself in my safe little home. But the world doesn’t let that happen, and it means I’m not dealing with whatever needs to be dealt with. There are always lessons to be learned, but sometimes I just don’t want to learn them.