Surviving Migraine’s

 If you suffer with Migraines I’m here to help you understand and hopefully give you some tips you may find useful.

After suffering migraines now for a little over 15 years I have had my fair share of issues when it comes to pain and suffering, I actually suffer from Aura Migraine meaning I unfortunately will go “blind” usually in one eye but it’s not uncommon for it to move into the other eye as well, along with the visual disturbances i can also get left sided weakness numbness tingling, slurred speech brain fog and nausea.

There is a common misconception with migraines that they are induced by chocolate or other sweet foods but did you know that craving for something sweet is often the brain trying to repair itself before the attack takes hold, a migraine will start up to 48 hours prior to the head ache, so when you get the pain your actual attack could have started nearly 2 days prior! 

There are many reasons people can suffer migraine and it is believed that some people can be triggered by smells, flashing lights, certain foods, dehydration…

When I first started having migraines I was convinced banana’s were a trigger food, it wasn’t for around a year after doing food diaries etc that I realised my migraines were connected to my monthly cycle and in fact my migraines were hormone related! 

Here’s what annoys me most,

After My first born child the doctor strongly advised me having “the pill” something I never felt comfortable with and after asking many questions i was “reassured” all that will happen is it will prevent any further pregnancies until I was ready for another baby.

After 6 weeks of taking the pill I had 3 what I said were really bad head aches and had starting getting chest pains, after consulting with another doctor I was told to stop taking it immediately and to go in to the doctors office, after talking with her for nearly an hour we discovered I should never have been given any hormonal pill medications due to a sever medical complication that I had had a few years previous, it was from then I started getting Aira Migraines, never had them previous to that never had any medical issues until that dam pill!!! 

And now 15 nearly 16 years on I will have regular aura migraines every month I will have 1 or 2 when my hormones are rising and then il have another when they begin to drop so basically before and after a period, my life has been some what controlled by migraines, if I’m invited to an event I have to look to see where I will be in my cycle and what the probability of one starting will be, and when people say oh it’s just a head ache take some paracetamol and you’ll be fine, no! Let me explain what happens, keep in mind I’m nearly 16 years in and I have researched migraines now for many years so whilst my experience can be different to someone else’s please remember migraines are not nice in any shape or form. 

I generally can wake up and feel like I’m dehydrated and have a thick sticky substance in my throat that I just can’t quite get rid of, I will be generally well and energetic but will find myself wanting and craving something sweet, this will be my first warning sign that a migraine attack has started, and within the next 24/48 hours I should expect the full aura and head pain.

By day 2, I will notice a stiffness through the neck and shoulders and no matter how much I stretch rub or massage it just don’t quite ease the tension in the muscles, from then I know within as little as a day I will be out! 

On the day of the migraine I will feel very tired very fatigued, my mouth will be super dry and regardless of how much I drink it won’t quite be enough, my appetite will be zero and at some point today I know il start the aura, 

The Aura will start something similar to this.

I could be reading a book watching a program doing the washing up and I will suddenly notice I can’t quite see the full picture of what I’m looking at, I will look at a face and will only see half of it.

I know now I have limited time to take medication to get it to start working in the next 30-40minutes which is when the pain will start.

I will have some strange visual disturbances that aren’t necessarily the same every time but mostly the only way I can describe it is looking through a kaleidoscope, 

Blindness and zigzags will begin to flash.

after around 15 minutes of that I will start feeling nauseas, loud sounds high pitch sounds are becoming too much and even closing your eyes won’t really help at this point because the flashing zigzags are still there. At around 30 minutes I will start yawning non stop, I will feel super tired my eyes will feel heavy and bruised like but this is usually where the zig zags start to ease off and by around the 40-50 minute mark the zig zags will have stopped and I just have a blurred vision, 

It can look something similar to this, a concentrated spot that’s dark and or blurry.

This usually lasts around 10-15 minutes and by the end of that I either 1. Have to sleep because I will be so tired and exhausted or 2. It started in the other eye and I go through that same process all over again.

If it starts in the second eye I know that this is going to be a bad one meaning, I will get pins and needles down my left side usually my arm will be weak so I can’t grip anything I may even struggle to walk due to the pins and needles going down the leg, my speech will be slurred so I will sound drunk and brain fog will set in, and that is so frustrating for me, the brain fog is strange I can be looking at an object but just can not say the name of it, so for example I could say to my partner “can you pass me the” and then blank il be looking at a cushion on the chair but the word cushion evades my brain, I can have a conversation and completely forget what it is we was discussing so I get confused, or I can be talking and say the wrong word for something example, “this Ice-cream is really hot”  thankfully i have a very understanding partner but the frustration that comes along with the forgetfulness and hazy brain is something that can get me so down. 

This usually trends for a day or 2 after the actual attack, if  I have the pins and needles I know that rest is needed asap  and that includes a lot of sleeping to let the brain recover, something that’s scary… every time we have an attack it leaves a little scar on the brain so recovery and rest is essential as is keeping hydrated and eating healthy nutritious foods! 

Why Migraine isn’t classed as a disability is beyond me because it really is debilitating, it does harbour your quality of life because when the attack starts I’m usually out for 2/3 days of normal living! 

So how do I cope with migraine? 

My one best purchase is, blue light glasses! They are cheap and yet they are fantastic for helping to take away strain on the eyes especially when in the blind phase, they really do help and for the sake of a few pounds I’d highly recommend picking up a pair or 2.

The eye packs with the beads in, pop them in the fridge mine usually stay in there until I need it, but popping that on the base of the skull helps to ease the inflammation there and will help to manage the pain and tension that stems from there.

Big water bottles, I can be that exhausted I can’t even get up to get a drink so a big drinks bottle is a life saver, it’s so important to keep hydrated but when you can’t even stand up straight because of a pounding head and nausea it’s nice to be able to stay where you are and still be able drink what you need, if you can drink water with electrolytes and added minerals even better! 

Sleep elevated, when your head is pounding sleeping lying down can increase the head pain it certainly does for me! So I usually prop up some pillows and melt into them sitting up, I usually get the most comfortable by sleeping on the side I went blind in because the pain usually starts on the opposite side.

I’m not big on taking medication but hey when needs must best believe I’m taking 2 ibuprofen to help with any swelling in the muscles etc and 2 paracetamol and I will keep up with them every 4 hours for however long I need to, usually it’s just that initial day the head pain starts and once I’ve slept I can usually manage the next day medication free. 

Migraines for me have been life changing, I wish I had stuck to my guns and said no to the pill because in my heart of hearts I absolutely know that is what started migraines for me, it was just unfortunate that I gave into the pressure from a “medical professional” and went with the typical “they know best” Do I believe that now? 

Absolutely not! I have fought against many of opinions and I have turned out right so I question everything after many medical mishaps now, regardless I hope that anyone suffering with this horrendous medical condition well and hope my tips of surviving a migraine may help others. 

Stay healthy 

Sage & Magic