Posted by Betsy in
Migraine on 08 6th, 2010 |
2 CommentsA simple question with a not-so-simple answer. This post is dedicated to Diana Lee and her Somebody Heal Me blog. It appears in the August 2010 Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival where this question is the theme.
I am 56, and I have migraine disease. My first migraine attack came out of the blue when I was 16. What follows is my history and how over the 40 years I have ‘coped’ (or NOT) with migraine disease.
My attacks were sporadic in the early years and I took tons of aspirin and tried to figure out what was wrong with me – why I was violently ill in bed with head pain and vomiting for two to three days at a time. Doctors I discussed it with told me they were tension headaches and I needed to relax. Hmmm…
“Sonata of Pressure” by Fred Camargo, ©2006, from Migraine Expressions
In my 20s and 30s, I began to lose about half my life to migraine attacks. I finally found a doctor who diagnosed my episodes as migraines. He was sympathetic and gave me Fiorinol. That would ease the pain a bit, but if I took it too late, I just threw it up and suffered through the episode as usual.
When I was nearly 40, I found a doctor who was knowledgeable about migraine, and when Imitrex (sumatriptan) injections came out, he tried that for me. It worked with a couple hours of sleep, although I hated the injections and would use them only in desperation.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding also worked – I did not have migraine attacks during my two pregnancies or while breastfeeding. This at least confirmed that hormones were primary triggers for my attacks. Too bad I couldn’t have been a surrogate for 30 years!
My 40s were the experimental years; I tried a wide variety of preventive meds, including but not limited to anti-depressant, anti-seizure, blood pressure, antihypertensive combinations, SSRI’s, SNRI’s and Alzheimer’s meds, plus various and lots of supplements. I should have kept a list because there are too many to remember. I never found the right combination of meds and usually couldn’t tolerate the side effects. The few that seemed to work at first eventually brought crushing disappointment when the migraines broke through again.
In addition to hormones, my attacks were triggered by other factors as well, and gradually – after losing many days of my (and my family’s) life to migraine attacks – I learned what to avoid and how to improve my lifestyle to minimize attacks.
I still struggle to cope, but I am one of the lucky ones in that menopause has seemingly brought me some relief. Although I still have attacks, they come less often and are less intense – sumatriptan, ibuprofen, an icepack and sleep still work. I almost always find that resting/sleeping with an icepack in a semi-upright position works best.
“Sleep” by Nick Beery, ©2007, from Migraine Expressions
The things I try To Do, sometimes without success, are: breathe deeply, sleep well and regularly, exercise (this has always been a weakness for me – I don’t enjoy sweating and sometimes exertion causes a migraine), eat better (this is extremely challenging since I am a true junk food junkie who doesn’t like many vegetables; luckily I have a husband and two daughters who are nutritional geniuses and great cooks!), and all other things in moderation.
On my try to Never-Do list are: drinking wine, eating MSG, getting overly stressed or worried (yes, this is difficult), overeating any foods that might be triggers since I’ve not been able to determine mine, panicking when I do have an attack, taking Fiorinol, or using any abortive migraine med more than three times a week. (A couple of years ago, I went through a painful period of withdrawals to stop having rebound attacks and don’t wish to do that again!)
And speaking of stress and triggers, I continue to learn about my migraines as life and circumstances change. Last December my husband and I, with no other choice, walked away from our home in California with its underwater mortgage and became members of the new homeless class in America. Since then we have lived with relatives in Florida and Michigan, gone to Berlin for our son’s graduation (a goal we set two years ago and were determined to reach even with our last dime), and are now house sitting in North Carolina – and completely starting over.
Through all of this, my migraines have miraculously not been too much worse! But I have discovered that at each new place we’ve been or visited, I have had a rough three- or four-day period of migraines and general malaise. This makes me think seriously about environmental issues and adjustments, whether climate, humidity, air quality, chemicals or whatever else, and my generally oversensitive body/brain/neuro system.
"Ballet" by Katie Sapp, ©2007, from Migraine Expressions
In conclusion, one of the ways I have coped – and still do – with migraine is to constantly be a student of the disease and my own brain and body. I’ve always read everything I can and tried to be an educated consumer and patient. I also try to be optimistic.
I wish for all migraineurs everywhere that better research and treatments are right around the corner, and I’m encouraged by the studies and progress albeit too slow in the last 10 years or so. There are more migraine specialists and more knowledgeable non-specialists, and I think at least some of the stigma of migraine is beginning to dissipate. My deep desire is that no one else, anywhere, has to wait 40 years or more for relief.
in the Anthologies-Nonfiction category of the 2009 National Indie Excellence Awards! I am honored to thank and congratulate all who contributed to and supported the project.
