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Monday 28 May 2012

Migraine and Weather

Hello my FBR's (fellow blog readers). I'm in my sunny garden! Yes!! The UK has finally discovered the Summer. The paddling pools are out, I'm showing my rather white legs, the children are running around naked in the garden, and icecream, ice pops and ice cubes are being consumed in abundance. We are finally, after a long month of rain, basking in high temperatures and sunny days.

And I've had 3 migraine attacks since Wednesday. That Ugly Beast is back with avengeance!

The Ugly Beast must like a spot of sunbathing as it came to visit me on the day the hot weather started. I suddenly remembered that I can find the Summer hard work. Everyone is rejoicing in the sudden appearance of the heat and sun and I'm feeling like a right old party pooper (English saying for someone who can ruin everyone elses' fun!) I love the sun but my brain appears to have a reaction to it.

The other two attacks may or may not be due to the weather but I'm pretty sure it has contributed to me feeling unwell.

Research
There are a few studies on the influence of weather on migraines, none of which prove that weather is definitely a factor. But neither has it been disproved.

The BBC reported on a study that found that the risk of migraine goes up by 7.5% every 5 degree celsius increase. So I guess the sudden swing over night last Wednesday may have been a factor.....

A study in Canada reported that South Easterly Winds can affect migraine. There's plenty of wind in our household (3 children who laugh their heads off when someone blows off.....can toxic smell cause a migraine?!) But reading that makes me think I must watch the weather more often! In Germany there is a telephone number you can ring to find out the changes in weather, to find out the risk to your health......like it!!! A migraine hotline......

Another study states that low Barometer readings (stormy, cloudy skies) can induce a migraine 2-3 days later and high humidity can also have the same effect.

We don't have much chance really do we!?!

A preventative approach
So what is the answer to this? Firstly, the research suggests that migraineurs try to avoid as many other triggers as possible during the above mentioned weather changes. Whilst I agree with this, I also think it
is quite often impossible, especially when you have so many other triggers that are out of your control (children!).

Secondly, they suggest you take your medicine as soon as you notice any changes in your head/neck. Good advice. You won't stop a migraine coming by taking the triptans before the migraine appears....

Eat healthily....yes
Drink loads....of course
Exercise regularly.....try to, dancing to the Wii!
Get enough sleep.....not always under my control with children waking with bad dreams, sick, temperatures, or just needing a cuddle.....but I do try to catch naps or go to bed early if nights are restless ones.
Have sunglasses with you always (see link for Mediview migraine sunglasses)

The final suggestion is to keep a diary. This is excellent advice as it helps to show you where your brain is most sensitive. By doing this, you are more likely to learn to avoid the triggers you can avoid whilst the weather is causing you a bit of strain.........

Ultimately, it's obvious we can't avoid the weather but we can learn to manage our Ugly Beasts in the weather to maximise our good health.

I would love to hear your thoughts on whether the weather (!) is a trigger for you.....please leave a comment if you can so we can learn from each other how to cope with this uncontrollable trigger....

See The Migraine Trust for an online diary www.migrainetrust.org. Also the Migraine Trust has a travelling migraine diary...a book is sent for you to write your migraine story in and it is uploaded onto Flickr with everyone elses' stories. This will become a document for developing new nationwide policies. If you prefer to have a hard copy of a diary then visit  www.migraine.org for a printable diary

















Monday 21 May 2012

Migraine: to be cured or not to be cured........

Where has the Ugly Beast gone? Still frightened by the prospect of Botox? Migraine Mum has had no migraine since last weekend (hurray!). Instead, I had a virus which gave me a thumping head and the shivers for 3 days, a bit like having a migraine (booo!) but I wasn't left with that horrible feeling of being drained and low (hurray!). I wonder if the Ugly Beast decided that the viral headache was enough for me this week and gave me a reprieve?! He normally visits me about 2 times a week!

So, on Thursday I had an idea that me and my family could spend Saturday going to a theme park. A big day out. We decided that we wouldn't mention it until we were sure we felt up for it (always a sensible plan when you're not sure if you're going to have a migraine or not, or if any of your children are going to be sick the night before!).......wow, what excitement in our house there was on Saturday morning!!

Anyway, I knew I was at risk of migraine. Big days out always present a few more challenges.
Probably because:
  • I don't drink or eat as much as I normally do
  • there is a tendency to eat rubbish
  • car travel can make me feel worse
  • the stress of dealing with 3 children on a long day out too can stretch me at the best of times. 
  • the rides can make me feel icky which seems to provoke my head!
  • excitement can bring on a migraine........and I was very excited!!
  • tirednesss can trigger a migraine too
So I went in prepared, drinking water, eating gluten free snacks regularly, always on the look out for rides which might make me feel icky and being prepared with the children with snacks etc. I stayed as calm as I could but screamed like hell on Vampire, laughed my head off in Bubbleworks as I got soaked and giggled to myself when I sat on Professor Fartawhatsits chair in Hocus Pocus Hall ( my children had walked off and I was left shouting "look I'm blowing off!" to a complete stranger! Can embarrassment bring on a migraine?!) We had a fantastic day!

Its success made me think......... I have finally accepted that I suffer from migraine. This may sound odd.......I have had them since I was 18yrs old and remember having sicky heads before that on buses or in cars. That's about 24 years of fighting the illness, believing that I would find a cure one day and it would all be ok. Of course I haven't found a cure and this has only made me feel worse in the past. Why can some people get cured by giving up tomotoes or seeing a hypnotherapist once......Well I've decided to do it differently.....I don't want to live my life feeling I should be cured but by accepting the Ugly Beast in my life, I can learn to live with it. And it seems that may be by learning to accept the difficult things in your life, somehow their hold over you is not as great, the dark thoughts lessen and you are freer to get on with your life. The Holy Grail Quest is I believe, to find effective ways of managing this illness, to find ways of increasing your threshold to migraine, and not necessarily to be cured........and may be then, the Ugly Beast may get a bit bored and decide to blog off for a little bit.....

Monday 14 May 2012

Migraine: watch out Ugly Beast, there's Botox about...

Migraine mum is feeling washed out from 2 days of pain, noise and light phobia. It all started on Thursday night when I woke up at 2am with an excruciating stomach pain, (I'm only used to head pain and know what to do with that!) I thought I was going to be sick. It felt like a reaction to something and bearing in mind I've not been eating gluten for nearly two weeks, I wondered if maybe I had eaten some by accident.

So, I went downstairs, doubled up in pain, made a hot water bottle, took an anti sickness pill and started to google food I had eaten......doubled up over my laptop!!....why did I put Guinness in my Steak and Guinness stew?? ..all beer and ales have gluten in!! Well, I know that now......

The headache reared its ugly head on Saturday. "Oh I can get rid of that with aspirin!" I said to myself optimistically.  But no I couldn't......I took the triptan and said to my husband, "I know I get migraines very frequently, but at least I don't have to go to bed much these days with them, they're much milder than they used to be!"...

The Ugly Beast heard these confident words and decided to show me that the Ugly Beast is still in charge.......the pain (in my head this time) woke me up in the night and I resorted to another snort of triptan. I was bed bound on Sunday morning but managed to sleep. When I woke up, the Ugly Beast made sure I felt rubbish, low, weepy and unable to deal effectively with my boundary testing children.

Later I began to feel some more energy and managed to convince myself to go out with my family for a meal. I wanted to grasp the day, but I found myself following child number 3 around the overheated pub, standing at fruit machines (with my Migraine glasses on), and going in and out of toilets (she has an obsession with going to public toilets) On the third visit just after she had shouted "I'm going to have a squidgy pooh!" while everyone was eating their Sunday roast (the gravy suddenly didn't look too appetising!), I rushed her in to the toilet, locked the door..........and watched her rip toilet paper up, flinging it into the air and shouting, "mum, we're locked in the dungeon!".........she didn't need the toilet.......

She summed it all up. I felt I was locked in the dungeon.......trapped on my own with the Ugly Beast (who is not my child I hasten to add!) I realised that even when the pain has gone, the post migraine phase can be as debilitating as the migraine pain itself. The impact of having a migraine when you need to be social and energetic is asking too much of anyone's brain. The Ugly Beast sends you into solitary confinement, isolating you from everyone and it's very hard to combat.

The Ugly Beast is still lurking but I've had stern words with it. I have told the Ugly Beast that if I find that I cannot get rid of it with a gluten or a dairy free diet, then having tried every prophylactic drug under the sun, and alternative therapies, I may get rescued by the new Knight in shining armour....Botox.........I can feel Ugly Beast's power is now shrinking away as this new hope emerges for migraine sufferers and may be for me......

So I could end up migraine free and looking like Angelina Jolie! What a result!

(See the links for more information on Botox)




Monday 7 May 2012

Migraine Toolkit Part 3: Preventing Migraines..it's not easy!

Migraine Mum is yawning her way into the virtual world of Blogdom. In fact, I'm not sure I can be blogged to blog.

Knowing that sitting at the computer is one of my triggers for migraine is frankly very inconvenient when I am trying to blog about having migraines! (NEE-NAR NEE-NAR. The migraine police has just entered the room and correctly told Migraine mum to sit at the table with the laptop (not the settee!) and put the light on so Migraine mum can actually see the keyboard!!)

There, that's better, I've even got a cushion behind me to support my back.
Right, I am going to keep this short.

I have been in a migrainous state for 2 days....this means that I feel as though one is coming but luckily, something is keeping it at bay. I feel tired, sore in the head, neck and shoulders, irritable, light sensitive and slightly anxious (I have to be on form for tomorrow as we are back to normal routines with me parenting on my own for chunks of the day. I can't be ill!)

This migrainous state is utterly explainable when you look at the pace of family life. We have had an amazingly social and lovely weekend. A family farewell, a late night in the pub, a duck race (plastic ones!), a walk with friends, church, socialising with family, 2 children's parties....not to mention the gigantic loads of washing, shopping and tidying up that has to go on inbetween all these exciting events!

When I see that list, I think, no wonder I'm not feeling right. However, instead of just feeling tired, my body decides it is going to kindly remind me I've overdone it by provoking symptoms of migraine. It is, I believe, a warning sign and is raising the alarm, reminding me to pace myself........

But despite this migrainous state I haven't had to take a tablet. Something is preventing me from having one. I'm really pleased with this!

I am looking after myself during and either side of this busyness......
  • drinking water,
  • trying to eat little and often,
  • breathing (I'm not joking.....I've been catching myself holding my breath!!),
  • stretching (I do pilates...more on this another time!),
  • going to bed and getting up roughly the same times each day (apparently lying in can give you a migraine.....oh, and so can having late nights too)......

All in all, living with migraine can turn you into a control freak who can't be wild, spontaneous or lazy!! You have to be prepared and organized for everything!! Oh and stay relaxed!

Anyway, last week, I decided to do an experiment and give up Gluten.......the jury is out on this, but I have noticed that I feel a spark in me....a spark of energy, lightness, clearheadedness. It is early days but I am keen to continue with this experiment as it may be helping me to raise my threshold for migraine. There is a strong chance it is a placebo but time will tell. I'm not expecting this to be a miracle and cure me.....I know there are many reasons why I get migraine but I just want to try to tackle the number of migraines I get, and subsequently the number of drugs I take..

So, with this in mind, I'm off to breathe, stretch, drink, eat (gluten free) and sleep. Night Night, don't let the migraine bite! x